USA Today Poll

[Jeff Hopkins \'82]

The first of the new polls is out:

2003-04 USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Preseason Coaches Poll

Place  School, points (first-place votes)
1.  Minnesota, 481 (25)
2.  Michigan, 442 (3)
3.  Boston College, 439 (3)
4.  New Hampshire, 369
5.  North Dakota, 366 (2)
6.  Harvard, 301
7.  Boston University, 267
8.  Cornell, 251 (1)
9.  Ferris State, 246
10. Colorado College, 202
11. Michigan State, 159
12. Denver, 154
13. Maine, 128
14. Ohio State, 83
15. Minnesota-Duluth, 60
Others receiving votes: Massachusetts, 29; Dartmouth , 21;
MSU-Mankato, 16; Miami (Ohio), 19; Northern Michigan, 12;
Wisconsin, 10; St. Cloud State, 9; Notre Dame, 8; Providence, 5;
Brown, 1; Mercyhurst, 1; Yale, 1.

More on the Athletics webpage:

http://cornellbigred.ocsn.com/sports/m-hockey/spec-rel/092903aaa.html

I find it hard to believe we're #8.

JH

[ugarte]

Jeff Hopkins '82 wrote:
I find it hard to believe we're #8.

I find it easy to believe. ("Hey, weren't they in the final four? I'll vote for them then!")  I find it difficult to agree. Yet.

[Robb \'94]

Yeah - the only part I don't *believe* is the first place vote...  Schafer doesn't strike me as the type who would have done that - my guess is the coach of some other mid-to-low level ECAC team wanted to give some props to the league.  Who knows?

[Section A]

The USCHO poll is also up, and we're #9 with no first place votes.

http://uscho.com/rankings/

[kaelistus]

If the USCHO has us 9th at the end of the season, that probably means our recruits are as good as they are touted. I'm down with that.

Harvard must drop tho'.

[Will]

I'm happy to see we're in the top ten in both polls.  Didn't we start out at about #8 last year?

[calgARI \'07]

The Harvard-Cornell rivalry is only gonna get better this year.  It is unfortunate that the game at Harvard is during winter break.

[Greg Berge]

Hey, if we're going to ever be top 10 in the pre-season, it might as well be after a F4 appearance.

[Greg Berge]

Cornell has now been in the top ten in both national polls for 36 consecutive polls, dating back to 2/4/2002:

2002-03: http://members.cox.net/tbrw/2003/polls/2003_poll_history.html
2001-02: http://members.cox.net/tbrw/2002/polls/2002_poll_history.html

Unfortunately we may drop out because of the late season start.

I do not have polling histories for the golden age -- not sure there even were formal polls -- however if there were I would not be surprised if Cornell remained in the top ten from early 1966 through the end of 1979.



Post Edited (09-29-03 20:42)

[David Harding \'72]

There was a long discussion here on the history polls last December, n the occasion of Cornell breaking into the top four.
http://elf.elynah.com/read.php?f=1&i=11669&t=11669
From a cursory review of that thread, my impression is that there probably wasn't a poll for most of the "golden age".

[Jeff Hopkins \'82]

I have to admit I don't remember a poll during the '78-'82 timeframe I was on the hill.

Then again, at the time, the NCAA tournament consisted of 4 teams - two from the east and two from the west - and hockey didn't get nearly the amount of national coverage that it gets today (which still ain't much).

JH

[nyc94]

I don't understand Harvard's poll standing.  I don't think they got higher than 10th in either poll last year and now they are 6th?  I know they didn't graduate too many guys of importance so they definitely didn't get worse.  But significantly better?  It's essentially the same guys that couldn't beat BU is how many tries? 3?  Three losses to Cornell, a loss to Maine.  Their best game was the tie against BC.  The primary reason they are picked to win the ECAC is because Cornell DID lose guys to graduation and the NHL.  Needless to say, I'm skeptical.  Their early non-conference schedule is going to determine if they stay in the top 10:  BU on 11/25 and BC on 12/10.  And Cornell on 12/6.  Anyone got an extra ticket?

[Greg Berge]

IIRC, which is an open question, there were radio stations in Detroit and St. Paul that sponsored polls during the 1980's and perhaps before.  The loooongtime Troy sag, Dan Birkmeyer (sp?), may also have compiled a poll or reprinted the western ones in those beautiful, single-spaced typed college hockey weekly newsletters that he turned out from the 50's through the 80's, and which are a principle inspiration for TBRW.

[Al DeFlorio]

Bill '94 wrote:

I don't understand Harvard's poll standing.  I don't think they got higher than 10th in either poll last year and now they are 6th?  I know they didn't graduate too many guys of importance so they definitely didn't get worse.  But significantly better?  It's essentially the same guys that couldn't beat BU is how many tries? 3?  Three losses to Cornell, a loss to Maine.  Their best game was the tie against BC.  The primary reason they are picked to win the ECAC is because Cornell DID lose guys to graduation and the NHL.  Needless to say, I'm skeptical.  Their early non-conference schedule is going to determine if they stay in the top 10:  BU on 11/25 and BC on 12/10.  And Cornell on 12/6.  Anyone got an extra ticket?

Let's not forget they came within 30 seconds or so of repeating as ECAC champs.

[ugarte]

Al DeFlorio wrote:

Let's not forget [Harvard] came within 30 seconds or so of repeating as ECAC champs.

Who can forget?  I think about the last minute of that game all the time.