The Northern Collegiate Hockey Association released its 2022-23 Preseason Coaches Polls on Thursday and the Lake Forest College men were tied-for-sixth in the rankings.
Voting is done by the NCHA head coaches. Each coach votes for the other nine teams in the league in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (nine points for first, eight for second, etc.). Coaches may not vote for their own teams.
With 37 points in the poll, the Foresters were tied with Marian University for sixth in the rankings. Adrian College was listed first with 81 points, followed by St. Norbert College (71) and Aurora University (66). Milwaukee School of Engineering and Trine University tied for fourth place with 52 points apiece.
The Foresters return 23 players from last year, including NCHA All-Freshman Team defenseman Matteas Derraugh. Seven additional players who ranked among the team's top 10 in points are also back. Lake Forest finished 2021-22 tied-for-seventh in the league standings with Marian.
Head Coach Sean O'Malley's second year as head coach will start at Saint Mary's University October 28-29 and the Foresters will begin their 18-game league schedule with a home-and-home series against Milwaukee School of Engineering a week later. The regular season will conclude on February 11 and the top eight teams in the conference will qualify for the Harris Cup Playoffs.
PLACE | TEAM (First Place Votes) | POINTS |
1 | Adrian College (9) | 81 |
2 | St. Norbert College (1) | 71 |
3 | Aurora University (1) | 66 |
4t | Milwaukee School of Engineering | 52 |
4t | Trine University | 52 |
6t | Lake Forest College | 37 |
6t | Marian University | 37 |
8 | Lawrence University | 28 |
9t | Concordia University Wisconsin | 13 |
9t | Finlandia University | 13 |