The Hockey East regular season and tournament championships a season ago were not enough for the Boston University men’s hockey team to retain its titles this year, at least according to one poll.
In the sixth annual Hockey East Writers and Broadcasters Association poll, BU was picked to finish second (with seven first place votes), while rival Boston College was predicted to win Hockey East, garnering 20 first-place votes.
University of Massachusetts Lowell placed in third and defending national champions Providence College rounded out the top four teams. The University of Notre Dame was the last team to receive a first place vote, coming in fifth in the poll.
BC led the way with three players on the All-Hockey East Preseason Team, but BU saw two of its players selected for this year’s squad, senior captain Matt Grzelcyk and senior forward Danny O’Regan. A tie in votes occurred at the forward position, so there are four forwards on the team instead of the normal three.
Here’s the the full media poll, as well as full breakdown on how we at the Boston Hockey Blog voted:
2015-16 Hockey East Preseason Media Poll (First place votes in parentheses)
Boston College (20)
Boston University (7)
University of Massachusetts Lowell (5)
Providence College (2)
University of Notre Dame (1)
University of Vermont
Northeastern University
University of New Hampshire
University of Connecticut
Merrimack College
University of Maine
University of Massachusetts
All-Hockey East Preseason Team
Forward Tyler Kelleher, University of New Hampshire
Forward Kevin Roy, Northeastern University
Forward Danny O’Regan, Boston University
Forward Alex Tuch, Boston College
Defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, Boston University
Defensemen Ian McCoshen, Boston College
Goalie Thatcher Demko, Boston College
Andrew’s Predictions
University of Massachusetts Lowell
Boston University
Boston College
Providence College
University of Vermont
University of Notre Dame
Merrimack College
University of New Hampshire
University of Connecticut
Northeastern University
University of Maine
University of Massachusetts
All-Hockey East Preseason Team
Forward Tyler Kelleher, University of New Hampshire
Forward Kevin Roy, Northeastern University
Forward Danny O’Regan, Boston University
Defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, Boston University
Defenseman Ian McCoshen, Boston College
Goalie Thatcher Demko, Boston College
Judy’s PredictionsÂ
Boston College
Boston University
University of Massachusetts Lowell
University of Vermont
Providence College
University of Notre Dame
Northeastern University
Merrimack College
University of Connecticut
University of New Hampshire
University of Maine
University of Massachusetts Lowell
All-Hockey East Preseason Team
Forward Tyler Kelleher, University of New Hampshire
Forward Kevin Roy, Northeastern University
Forward Alex Tuch, Boston College
Defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, Boston University
Defenseman Brandon Hickey, Boston University
Goalie Thatcher Demko, Boston College
Sarah’s PredictionsÂ
Boston College
Boston University
University of Massachusetts Lowell
Providence College
University of Vermont
Northeastern University
Merrimack College
University of Notre Dame
University of New Hampshire
University of Connecticut
University of Maine
University of Massachusetts
All-Hockey East Preseason Team
Forward Tyler Kelleher, University of New Hampshire
Forward Kevin Roy, Northeastern University
Forward C.J. Smith, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, Boston University
Defenseman Brandon Hickey, Boston University
Goalie Thatcher Demko, Boston College