Hockey Picked Tenth in Hockey East Preseason Poll

BOSTON, MA – The Merrimack hockey team was picked to finish tenth, according to the 2009-10 Hockey East Preseason Coaches’ Poll as announced Wednesday afternoon at Hockey East Media Day at the T.D. Garden.

The Warriors, who finished tied for ninth last season with a 9-21-4 record (5-19-3 in Hockey East), picked up 23 overall votes, one fewer than Providence, who was picked ninth.

Boston University, the defending 2008-09 National Champion, earned six first-place votes and 84 overall votes to grab the top spot. UMass Lowell was second with 79 total votes and two first-place votes, while Boston College was third with 76 votes and two first-place nods.

New Hampshire and Vermont tied for fourth, with Northeastern sixth, Massachusetts seventh, and Maine eighth.

Led by captains Pat Bowen (Marshfield, MA) and Chris Barton (Calgary, Alberta) and assistant captain Adam Ross (Red Deer, Alberta), Merrimack opens the 2009-10 season at eighth-ranked North Dakota on Friday, October 9 and Saturday, October 10 in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Both games will be televised live on Fox College Sports, with Friday’s game airing on Fox Sports Atlantic (Comcast-262, Verizon-300) and Saturday’s on Fox Sports Central (Comcast-263, Verizon-301).

They will return home for four straight home games beginning with Holy Cross on October 16 at 7 p.m.

Last season, the Warriors finished tied for ninth place, while setting the school record for fewest goals allowed in a season for the second straight year with eighty-nine.

For the first time since 2002, Merrimack had two players selected in the NHL Entry Draft, as sophomore goaltender Joe Cannata (Wakefield, MA) was selected by Vancouver and freshman defenseman Kyle Bigos (Upland, CA) was drafted by Edmonton.