MARSHFIELD, Mass. – The New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) has released its annual Preseason Coaches’ Poll for men’s ice hockey. The poll is compiled based on rankings from the league’s ten head coaches. Hobart College (95 points) took the top spot in the preseason poll after a run to the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal round last season. Elmira College (82 points) is slated second after qualifying for the 2021-22 NCAA postseason via an at-large bid and are followed by Skidmore College (71 points) who finished as league runners-up last season.
From its NCAA Tournament appearance a season ago, the Soaring Eagles return 18 of its 22 players to appear on the line chart against Hobart. Key losses for the Soaring Eagles include Chris Janzen ’21 (G), Adam Eby ’21 (D), and Marty Kapoian ’22 (F). Both Janzen & Eby inked professional contracts in the SPHL following last season. Returning to the Purple & Gold are NEHC All-Conference honorees Chance Gorman ’24 (F) & Janis Vizbelis ’24 (F), along with each of its top-three forward lines from the NCAA tournament appearance. Head coach Aaron Saul ’98 returns to Elmira for his 14th season, while Mike Grace joined earlier this fall as an assistant coach. Last week, the Purple & Gold were slated 9th in the USCHO Preseason National Division III Poll.
The league is stacked once again, with four programs (Hobart – 5th, Babson – 7th, Elmira – 9 th, and Norwich – 15th) ranked in the USCHO Preseason Top 15, with another three schools (Skidmore, New England College, and UMass Boston) receiving votes. It’s poised to be a tight race throughout the season. See below for the full poll.
Full NEHC Preseason Coaches’ Poll (First Place Votes), (Total Points)
1. Hobart College (7) (95)
2. Elmira College (2) (82)
3. Skidmore College (1) (71)
4. Norwich University (68)
T5. Babson College (67)
T5. University of Massachusetts Boston (67)
7. New England College (38)
8. University of Southern Maine (29)
9. Castleton University (19)
10. Johnson & Wales University (14)
Teams open the regular season nonconference schedule on Friday, October 28 with all ten teams seeing action that weekend. League play begins the following Friday (November 4) with all teams squaring off against each other twice in the regular season in home-and-home bouts.
