Even though the University of Maine men’s hockey team finished sixth in Hockey East a year ago after being picked last in the coaches’ preseason poll, the coaches aren’t convinced that this year’s UMaine team is ready to continue its progression.
UMaine was picked to finish ninth in the 11-team league this season when the poll was released on Tuesday morning.
This is the 40th anniversary of the men’s league and defending regular season and tournament champion Boston University was picked to win the league again, garnering 109 points and nine first-place votes.
Archrival Boston College was second with 99 points and the other two first-place votes.
Rounding out the top five are Merrimack (81), Northeastern (75) and the University of Connecticut (68).
Providence, which tied UMaine for sixth a year ago, was chosen to duplicate last year’s finish with 65 points followed by UMass Lowell (62), UMass (54), UMaine (52), New Hampshire (30) and Vermont (20).
UMaine third-year head coach Ben Barr took the poll in stride.
“There are lots of good teams in this league. We still have a lot to prove,” Barr said.
The men’s hockey team returns nine of its top 12 point-producers along with five defensemen who played in at least 24 games and All-Hockey East second team goaltender Victor Ostman.
Leading scorer and captain Lynden Breen, who had 21 goals and 15 assists in 36 games, was also an All-Hockey East second team selection.
The Black Bears won eight more games under Barr than they did the previous year. UMaine wound up 15-16-5 overall and the Black Bears also won four more league games with its 9-11-4 slate.
UMaine had gone 7-22-4 and 5-17-2, respectively, during the 2021-22 campaign.
Ben Poisson (9 goals, 17 assists), Nolan Renwick (9 & 11) and Donavan Houle (9 & 10) were the second, third and fourth-leading scorers and defensemen Luke Antonacci (3 & 10), David Breazeale (1 & 12), Brandon Holt (4 & 7) and Grayson Arnott (2 & 9) were also among the top 12 point-getters.
Ostman was 14-12-4 a year ago with a 2.21 goals-against average, a .918 save percentage and five shutouts.
UMaine has also added an impressive list of newcomers including Carolina Hurricanes first-round draft pick (30th overall) Bradly Nadeau, his brother Josh and defenseman Ryan Hopkins. The trio led Penticton to the British Columbia Junior Hockey League regular season and playoff championships.
Bradly and Josh Nadeau were the top two scorers in the BCHL regular season with 113 and 110 points, respectively, and they were also the leading playoff scorers with 35 and 36 points.
Among other newcomers are Bentley University transfers Nicholas Niemo and Harrison Scott, both forwards.