This post has been updated.
For the first time since 2005-06, Cornell men’s hockey has been picked by both the media and coaches to finish atop the ECAC, the conference announced on Wednesday morning.
Cornell was also picked No. 7 nationally in the USCHO.com preseason poll released Monday. It’s the third-highest preseason ranking for Cornell in the poll it began in 1997. The Red was ranked fourth in 2005 and sixth in 2012.
In the ECAC polls, Cornell received 16 first-place votes from the media and eight from the coaches to go along with a double-digit vote total cushion on consensus No. 2 Princeton in both polls. Princeton, which upset the Red in the ECAC semifinals last season, received four first-place votes in each poll while Harvard received a lone first-place vote in the media poll.
As for the national rankings, reigning champion Minnesota-Duluth leads the pack with 44 first-place votes out of 50 total voters. Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan and Providence round out the top five, respectively, while Princeton at No. 14 and Clarkson at No. 17 are the only other ECAC teams represented in the top 20.
The Red is coming off the heels of a first-place finish in the ECAC in the regular season last year, going 17-3-2 in conference en route to the program’s ninth regular season title. As it looks to defend the Clearly Cup and beyond this upcoming season, Cornell will benefit from the retention of all of its defensive corps and its star goaltender sophomore Matt Galajda — recently selected as the goalie on the preseason all-ECAC team.
While the Red remains intact from its title-winning campaign on the defensive side of the ice, it will forge through this season without its top three scorers from 2017 in Trevor Yates ’18, Alex Rauter ’18 and Anthony Angello ’19, who left Cornell early to join the Penguins’ AHL affiliate in Scranton.
Replacing those who have taken off the Carnelian and White for the last time will be eight new freshmen set to join the squad this year, including five forwards, two defensemen and a goaltender.
It is the first time since before the 2005-06 season that Cornell was selected first overall in either poll, when it was chosen in both. That season saw the Red finish third in the conference with an ECAC record of 13-6-3.
Cornell will open its 2018-19 campaign with a pair of home contests against Michigan State October 26 and 27.
The full polls are below. First place votes are in parentheses.
ECAC Preseason Polls:
Coaches Media
1. Cornell — 117 (8) 1. Cornell — 246 (16)
2. Princeton — 106 (4) 2. Princeton — 217 (4)
3. Union — 97 3. Clarkson — 200
4. Clarkson — 92 4. Union — 193
5. Harvard — 89 5. Harvard — 180 (1)
6. Yale — 64 6. Dartmouth — 126
7. Quinnipiac — 63 7. Yale — 124
8. Dartmouth — 54 8. Quinnipiac — 119
9. Colgate — 36 9. Colgate — 92
T-10. Rensselaer — 28 10. Rensselaer — 56
T-10. St. Lawrence — 28 11. Brown — 47
12. Brown — 18 12. St. Lawrence — 40
Preseason All-Conference Selections:
G — Matthew Galajda, Cornell
D — Josh Teves, Princeton
D — Adam Fox, Harvard
F — Ryan Kuffner, Princeton
F — Joe Snively, Yale
F — Max Veronneau, Princeton
USCHO Preseason Poll:
Team (first-place votes) Points
1. Minnesota-Duluth (44) 982
2. Notre Dame (2) 857
3. Ohio State (2) 835
4. Michigan (2) 790
5. Providence 698
6. St. Cloud State 697
7. Cornell 676
8. Boston University 597
9. Denver 552
10. Minnesota State 488
11. North Dakota 437
12. Boston College 398
13. Minnesota 387
14. Princeton 357
15. Northeastern 345
16. Penn State 302
17. Clarkson 299
18. Michigan Tech 115
19. Western Michigan 109
20. Northern Michigan 98
Others receiving votes: Air Force 94, Union 90, Bowling Green 62, Harvard 58, Massachusetts 35, Wisconsin 27, Colorado College 23, Mass.-Lowell 20, Maine 18, Omaha 17, Canisius 14, Mercyhurst 11, Quinnipiac 8, Miami 2, Brown 1, Connecticut 1.