The defending league champion Eagles are picked to win the conference for the second consecutive year, receiving seven first-place votes in the 2011-12 Hockey East preseason coaches' poll, which was revealed at Tuesday's Hockey East media day inside TD Garden. The Terriers are tabbed to finish second, receiving three second-place votes.
BC captured both the regular season and the Hockey East Tournament crown last season, going 20-6-1 in league play and defeating Merrimack 5-3 in the league title game. Boston College reached the NCAA Tournament for the 12th time under head coach Jerry York, a streak the Eagles hope to continue.
"We lost six really important guys from last year's team, so we need to find a way to make up those contributions," York said. "It won't be easy for us [to repeat]. I think BU, Maine and New Hampshire have some real strong teams."
The Wildcats are picked to finish third after coming in second last season, followed by Maine in fourth place.
Last season's surprise team, Merrimack, is predicted to land in fifth place. The Warriors won 25 games a year ago, reached the conference championship game and made their second NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.
"They're not giving out any awards in October and November," Merrimack head coach Mark Dennehy said of preseason accolades. "But you can put yourself in a pretty tough position if you're not ready to play, so hopefully some of our experience bodes well early in the season."
Vermont is pegged to finish sixth, followed by Massachusetts, Northeastern, UMass-Lowell and Providence.
Norm Bazin and Nate Leaman are two of the three new head coaches in the league, taking over at Lowell and Providence, respectively. Though preseason projections have their teams failing to reach the Hockey East playoffs, each knows that every team in the league can be dangerous, regardless of where it's ranked.
"The depth of our league is second to none," Bazin said. "The bottom and the top can be very similar on any night. I think because of that, the league is one of the strongest in the country. It's going to be very exciting to be a part of that and compete against the elite of the country."
"This is probably the best league in the nation, having won three of the past four national championships," Leaman said. "Top to bottom there's no game off in this league. We know we have to bring our 'A' game to try and be successful."
