The 1997-98 ECAC Men’s Division I Ice Hockey Poll was released today, and the Rensselaer Engineers were voted the top school this season. <\/p>\n
“We’ve gotten a lot of respect from the coaches,” said RPI head coach Dan Fridgen. “And it’s reflected in this preseason poll.” <\/p>\n
RPI received nine of 12 first-place votes, as it did in the 1993-94 poll. That year, RPI finished third in the standings and in the ECAC tournament. <\/p>\n
“RPI has everyone back,” said Princeton head coach Don Cahoon. “And on paper they should be the team to beat.” <\/p>\n
“I was so impressed with that RPI team last year,” said Dartmouth head coach Bob Gaudet. “And with everyone back they should make a run.”<\/p>\n
“RPI is the consensus team,” said St. Lawrence head coach Joe Marsh. “They will probably be first in the poll and with every right.” <\/p>\n
“RPI has got to be one of the teams to beat,” said Clarkson head coach Mark Morris. “They’ve got firepower and great goaltending.” <\/p>\n
“You’re going to see how good RPI is,” added Vermont head coach Mike Gilligan. <\/p>\n
Clarkson received the remaining three first-place votes to finish second.<\/p>\n
“You have to start with Clarkson,” said Harvard head coach Ronn Tomassoni. “They have got a great nucleus coming back.” <\/p>\n
“Clarkson is impressive,” said Gaudet. “They’re a team that will knock your lights out.” <\/p>\n
“Clarkson has a great defense,” said Cahoon. “And it starts with their goaltending.” <\/p>\n
Cornell, the defending two-time ECAC champions, finished third in the voting, while Princeton received its highest-ever preseason ranking — fourth. The highest the Tigers had previously been voted was seventh in 1988-89.<\/p>\n
“Cornell has superior goaltending,” said Morris. “That is a great start.” <\/p>\n
“Princeton will be there as well,” said Gilligan. “They were tough last year.” <\/p>\n
“Our league is as tough as any league out there,” said Brown head coach Roger Grillo. “And anyone can finish anywhere from first place to last place.” <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The 1997-98 ECAC Men’s Division I Ice Hockey Poll was released today, and the Rensselaer Engineers were voted the top school this season. “We’ve gotten a lot of respect from the coaches,” said RPI head coach Dan Fridgen. “And it’s reflected in this preseason poll.” RPI received nine of 12 first-place votes, as it did […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":140328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n