The Northern Collegiate Hockey Association released its 2015-16 Women's Hockey Preseason Coaches Poll on Wednesday and Lake Forest College was picked to be the league's runner-up. The Foresters finished last season in a tie for second place with a league record of 11-5-2 before winning their second straight Slaats Cup title and advancing to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Voting is done by the NCHA head women's hockey coaches. Each coach votes for the six other schools in the conference in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (six points for first, five for second, etc.). Coaches may not vote for their own teams.
Lake Forest is led by 11th-year head coach Carisa Zaban Wahlig, who owns a career record of 140-90-35. The team returns three-time All-American forward Michelle Greeneway and All-NCHA defensemen Alex Stensland and Kayla Griffith.
The Foresters will open the regular season at home with a series against St. Catherine University October 31 and November 1. The team will begin league play the following Wednesday night at Marian University.
| Place | Team (First Place Votes) | Points |
| 1 | Adrian College (4) | 37 |
| 2 | Lake Forest College (2) | 31 |
| 3t | St. Norbert College (1) | 23 |
| 3t | College of St. Scholastica | 23 |
| 5 | Concordia University Wisconsin | 19 |
| 6 | Marian University | 12 |
| 7 | Finlandia University | 7 |
