Sept. 27, 2011
Notre Dame, Ind. – The Notre Dame Fighting Irish, fresh off a final 2010-11 ranking of fourth in the nation after a 25-14-5 season, open the 2011-12 campaign ranked first in the nation by USCHO.com and second in the USA Hockey/American Hockey Magazine’s preseason rankings that were released on Monday.
This marks the first time in the program’s 44-year history that the Irish have been ranked first in any preseason hockey poll. After advancing to the 2011 Frozen Four last April, Notre Dame was ranked fourth in both polls’ final rankings.
In the USCHO.com poll, the Irish received 11 first-place votes and had a total of 740 points to take the top spot over Miami as the RedHawks had one more first-place vote (12), but only 722 points. North Dakota (720), Denver (670) and Boston College (659) round out the top five spots. North Dakota had five first-place votes, Boston College and Boston University had two each and Yale one. Last season’s national champion – Minnesota-Duluth – had 10 first-place votes, but checked in with 586 points to rank eighth overall.
In the USA Today poll, Miami was first with 15 first-place votes and 453 points. Notre Dame was second with four first-place votes and 427 points. North Dakota (377), Denver (366) and Boston College (364) round out the top five in that poll. North Dakota and Boston University followed the Irish with three first-place votes, while Yale had two and Boston College one. Again, defending champion Minnesota-Duluth had six first-place mentions and was ranked 10th with 232 points.
This marks the sixth time in the program’s history that the Irish have been ranked in the preseason polls. The previous times occurred prior to the start of the 1972-73 season (8th), the 1973-74 campaign (2nd), in 2007-08 (8th), 2008-09 (3rd), 2009-10 (5th) and 1st/2nd this season.
Notre Dame opens the 2011-12 season on Sunday, October 2 at 6:05 p.m. when the Irish play host to the Western Ontario Mustangs at the Joyce Center. The No. 1/2 ranking is then put on the line the following weekend, Oct. 7-8, when Notre Dame travels to Duluth, Minn., to face defending national champion Minnesota-Duluth in the regular-season opener at AMSOIL Arena. Game time both nights is 7:07 p.m. (CT).
The Polls:
USCHO.com College Hockey Poll (Preseason)
2010-11 Final `10-'11 School Record Pts Rank1. Notre Dame (11) 25-14-5 740 42. Miami (12) 23-10-6 722 83. North Dakota (5) 32-9-3 720 24. Denver 25-12-5 670 75. Boston College (2) 30-8-1 659 56. Michigan 29-11-4 613 37. Colorado College 23-19-3 594 118. Minnesota-Duluth (10) 26-10-6 586 19. Yale (1) 28-7-1 571 610. Boston University (2) 19-12-8 542 1711. Union College 26-10-4 382 1212. New Hampshire 22-11-6 368 913. Western Michigan 19-13-10 362 1314. Nebraska-Omaha 21-16-2 288 1415. Merrimack 25-10-4 198 1016. Maine 17-12-7 190 1917. Wisconsin 21-16-4 129 NR18. Rensselaer 20-13-5 121 1619. Minnesota 16-14-6 107 NR20. Cornell 16-15-3 106 20
Receiving votes: Dartmouth, 80; Air Force, 74; RIT, 53; St. Cloud State, 48;Alaska, 22; Ohio State, 16; Northeastern, 15; Ferris State, 12; Lake Superior, 8;Northern Michigan, 8; Providence, 8; Princeton, 7; Michigan State, 4;Quinnipiac, 4; Massachusetts, 3.
USA Today/American Hockey Magazine College Hockey Poll (Preseason)
2010-11 Final `10-'11 School Record Pts Rank1. Miami (15) 23-10-6 453 82. Notre Dame (4) 25-14-5 427 43. North Dakota (3) 32-9-3 373 34. Denver 25-12-5 366 75. Boston College (1) 30-8-1 364 56. Boston University (3) 19-12-8 343 NR7. Colorado College 23-19-3 316 118. Yale (2) 28-7-1 277 69. Michigan 29-11-4 262 210. Minnesota-Duluth (6) 26-10-6 232 111. Union College 26-10-4 151 1212. New Hampshire 22-11-6 124 913. Western Michigan 19-13-10 116 1314. Nebraska-Omaha 21-16-2 89 1415. Maine 17-12-7 64 NR
Receiving votes: Minnesota, 29; Merrimack, 19; Wisconsin, 17; Cornell, 15;Alaska, 8; Dartmouth, 8; Rensselaer, 8; RIT, 6; Air Force, 5; Ohio State, 3;Holy Cross, 1; Lake Superior, 1; Quinnipiac, 1; St. Cloud State, 1.