Boston College Athletics
Eagles Predicted to Win Hockey East League Title
September 21, 2015 | Men's Hockey
Boston College picked as preseason favorite to win 2015-16 Hockey East regular season title; marks 14th time in 17 years the Eagles have earned that preseason distinction
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Boston College has been selected as the preseason favorite to win the Hockey East regular-season title as voted on by the league coaches and announced at the conference's annual media da at TD Garden on Monday morning, Sept. 21. The Eagles received 115 overall votes and picked up seven of the league's 12 first-place votes.
Boston University and Providence, the two participants in last year's national championship game, were tabbed second and third, respectively. The Terriers, who lost to PC in the title bout, garnered 107 overall points and three first-place votes. The Friars collected 95 overall votes and a pair of first-place votes while UMass Lowell (92 votes) and Northeastern (76 votes) rounded out the top five picks, in that order. New Hampshire (74 points), Notre Dame (74 points), Vermont (57 points), Connecticut (34 points), Maine (29 points), Merrimack (27 points) and Massachusetts (14 points) finished off the 2015-16 Hockey East coaches' preseason poll.
"It's always an honor to be thought of as the team to beat," head coach Jerry York said. "This is just a preseason gauge, though. We have to prove ourselves night and night out. Every point in this league matters and we know that the competition will be as strong as at ever has been in Hockey East this season."
The Eagles' pick as the preseason favorite marks the seventh time in the last eight seasons and the 14th time in the last 17 occasions that BC has been picked as the preseason favorite, or co-favorite, to win the league title.
Boston College concluded the 2014-15 season with its sixth-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, tied for longest streak in all of college hockey. The Eagles finished with a 21-14-3 record and a 12-7-3 mark in Hockey East play. The Eagles tied for second in the league with Providence to cap the conference slate last year.
Boston College hopes to return to site where the Eagles' last hoisted a national title. This year's Frozen Four will be held in Tampa, Fla.; the site of BC's fifth national championship. Fifteen letterwinners return from last year's 21-win club and will link up with 10 newcomers in 2015-16.
BC's preseason begins with a Saturday evening exhibition against University of New Brunswick on Saturday, Oct. 3, at Kelley Rink. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m.
Boston College's 94th hockey season will open on the road when the Eagles travel to New York for a Friday night contest in West Point. Boston College and Army open the season on Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. and finish the opening weekend with a 2 p.m. puck drop at Rensselaer on Sunday, Oct. 11.
2015-16 Hockey East Preseason Poll
Boston College (7) – 115
Boston University (3) – 107
Providence (2) – 95
UMass Lowell – 92
Northeastern – 76
New Hampshire – 74
Notre Dame – 72
Vermont – 57
Connecticut – 34
Maine – 29
Merrimack – 27
Massachusetts - 14
