The University of Maine men’s hockey team, coming off its first NCAA tournament appearance since the 2011-12 season, has been picked 12th in the United States College Hockey Online preseason poll.
It is the highest a UMaine hockey team has been picked in a national preseason poll since the 2010-11 team was selected seventh.
UMaine went 23-12-2 a year ago and was ranked 10th in the final weekly USCHO poll.
The poll consists of 50 voters who include coaches and media representatives from across the country.
The Black Bears were picked third in the Hockey East preseason media poll and fourth in the coaches poll.
Last year’s 23-12-2 campaign was the program’s best since the 2006-07 team went 28-12-2.
Defending national champion Denver tops the USCHO preseason poll, earning 42 of the 50 first-place votes and 988 points.
Denver finished at 32-9-3 a year ago which marked a program-record third consecutive 30-win season.
The Pioneers were chosen the favorite in the preseason National Collegiate Hockey Conference media poll.
Boston College, which lost to Denver in the NCAA championship game 2-0, was second with six first-place votes and 945 points. BC was 34-6-1 last season.
BC was the preseason No. 1 choice in the Hockey East media and coaches polls.
Boston University (28-10-2) was third with 869 points.
UMaine will play two-game series against Denver, BC and BU this season.
The Black Bears will play a two-game set at Boston College on Nov. 8-9 and then host BU the following weekend, Nov. 15-16.
Denver will invade Alfond Arena in Orono for games on Jan. 3-4.
Big Ten preseason favorite Michigan State (25-10-3) was fourth with 775 points and rounding out the top 10 were North Dakota (26-12-2, 755 points), Minnesota (23-11-5, 748), Michigan (23-15-3, 690), Quinnipiac (27-10-2, 633), Cornell (22-7-6, 585) and Wisconsin (26-12-2, 425).
Cornell, which beat UMaine 3-1 in the first round of the NCAA tournament at the Springfield (Mass.) Regional, received the other two first-place votes.
UMaine will host 2022-23 NCAA champion Quinnpiac (Conn.) on Oct. 18-19.
Colorado College was 11th (21-13-3, 449) followed by UMaine (23-12-2, 425), Providence College (18-13-4, 392), UMass (20-14-3, 329), Omaha (23-13-4, 262), St. Cloud State (17-16-5, 247), Western Michigan (21-16-1, 224), Minnesota-Duluth (12-20-5, 95), Notre Dame (15-19-2, 79) and Arizona State (24-8-6, 61).
UMaine returns nine of its top 12 scorers, its entire defense corps and No. 1 goalie Albin Boija while adding 10 newcomers including transfers Ross Mitton from Colgate, Taylor Makar (UMass), Owen Fowler (UMass Lowell), Charlie Russell (Clarkson) and Frank Djurasevic (Merrimack).
Sophomore winger Josh Nadeau, the team’s second-leading scorer with 45 points on 18 goals and 27 assists, was chosen to the All-Hockey preseason team by the media.
His younger brother Bradly, was the top point-getter with 46 points on 19 goals and 27 assists but decided to sign with the Carolina Hurricanes after the season.
Bradly was a first-round draft pick of the Hurricanes and played in an NHL game for them last spring.
The Black Bears will open the season when they host American International College from Atlantic Hockey on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m.
