Harvard Ranked Eighth in USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Preseason Poll

Pictured: The Crimson will look to reach the NCAA tournament for the eighth time in program history in 2009-10.
Photo courtesy: Dave Silverman

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Harvard women’s hockey team appears eighth in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine preseason national poll, which was released Tuesday. The Crimson, which finished ninth in last season’s final poll with a 19-10-3 record, earned 42 points in this year’s initial ranking.

Harvard, which was recently picked to finish second in ECAC Hockey in the conference coaches’ poll, is one of three ECAC Hockey teams that appear in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine rankings, along with No. 7 St. Lawrence and No. 9 Dartmouth. Wisconsin, the defending national champion, is ranked No. 1 and earned all 19 first-place votes. Mercyhurst follows at No. 2, while Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth are ranked third and fourth, respectively.

Also appearing in the poll are No. 5 New Hampshire, No. 6 Boston College and No. 10 Boston University. Fellow ECAC Hockey members Clarkson, Princeton and Cornell also received votes.

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Preseason Poll
1. Wisconsin (19 first-place votes), 190 points
2. Mercyhurst, 162
3. Minnesota, 153
4. Minnesota Duluth, 126
5. New Hampshire, 113
6. Boston College, 83
7. St. Lawrence, 82
8. Harvard, 42
9. Dartmouth, 41
10. Boston University, 33

Others receiving votes: Clarkson, 9; Princeton, 6; Cornell, 3; Providence, 2.