Sept. 23, 2015 The National Collegiate Hockey Conference unveiled its 2015-16 pre-season media poll on Wednesday, with the University of Denver Pioneers coming in at No. 2 on the eight-team list. Denver received 187 points and seven first-place votes in the poll, 21 points and 10 FPV behind top-ranked Minnesota-Duluth.
During the polling process, a total of 30 ballots were submitted by local media members from each of the conference's member institutions. Select national media members also contributed to the poll. Points were awarded on a descending scale with a first-place vote worth eight points, a second-place vote worth seven points and so on. The complete poll can be found below:
NCHC Pre-Season Media Poll
1. Minnesota Duluth - 208 points (17 first-place votes)
2. Denver - 187 pts. (7 FPV)
3. North Dakota - 183 pts. (4 FPV)
4. Omaha - 148 pts.
5. Miami - 142 pts. (2 FPV)
6. St. Cloud State - 117 pts.
7. Western Michigan - 60 pts.
8. Colorado College - 35 pts.
The Pioneers registered their NCAA-best 14th straight 20-win season in 2014-15, finishing with a record 24-14-2 and earning their first berth in the 'Elite Eight' since 2011. Denver returns 17 letterwinners in 2015-16, including the reigning NCHC Forward of the Year Trevor Moore (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) and last season's NCHC Rookie of the Year Danton Heinen (Langley, B.C.); both student-athletes were named to the NCHC's Pre-Season All-Conference Team on Tuesday.
Denver opens its 2015-16 campaign on Sunday, October 4 (puck drop - 6:06pm) with an exhibition contest versus the Calgary Dinos. The Crimson & Gold will then battle Air Force in a home-and-home series the following weekend to commence regular season action. Tickets to all 2015-16 DU home games are currently available for purchase at DenverPioneers.com/Tickets. Season ticket packages, meanwhile, start as low as $180/seat and include myriad benefits such as a discount on team merchandise and access to a multi-month payment plan. Information on joining the Pios' Season Ticket Holder Family can be obtained by clicking HERE or by calling (303) 871-GOAL (4625).
Tickets to the 'Battle on Blake', an outdoor game pitting the Pios against their archrivals Colorado College and set to be staged on February 20 at Coors Field in downtown Denver, are also currently available for purchase at Rockies.com/Hockey. More information on this special game can be obtained by clicking HERE.
