UMaine No. 2 in HE poll Coaches pick Friars to win league crown

The University of Maine men’s hockey team received the most first-place votes in the annual Hockey East preseason coaches poll released Monday, but the Providence College Friars nudged the Black Bears out for the top spot even though the Friars didn’t receive any first-place votes.

Providence received 68 points to edge the Bears by one point. Maine garnered four first-place votes.

Boston College (3), New Hampshire (1), and Boston University (1) also notched first-place votes and occupied slots three through five with 61, 57, and 54 points, respectively. UMass-Lowell was a distant sixth with 34 points followed by Northeastern (33), Merrimack (18), and Massachusetts (13).

It is the first time since the league’s inception in 1984 that a preseason No. 1 in the coaches poll didn’t receive at least one first-place vote.

The poll was conducted prior to the death of Maine coach Shawn Walsh due to complications from kidney cancer eight days ago.

“As you can see, it’s pretty wide-open this year,” said Maine interim head coach Tim Whitehead. “Every team is pretty solid. I don’t see a lot of difference between top and bottom. It’s going to be a crap shoot.”

Whitehead said he doesn’t put a lot of stock in polls.

“Polls are irrelevant especially when you consider that the coaches vote. There are hidden agendas, obviously,” said Whitehead, referring to the fact coaches might pick their own teams lower than most to avoid putting pressure on them.

“The important thing is we need to focus on us,” added Whitehead, who spent the last five years as the head coach at UMass-Lowell. “We have to take care of business: our systems and our style of play. Dealing with Shawn’s death is another factor. We have plenty to worry about other than where the other coaches think we might be.”

Senior captain and defenseman Peter Metcalf said, “They’re [coaches] optimistic about our season. It’s good to see that.”

He added that Providence was a good choice for No. 1 because “they return a lot of guys.”

Defending national champ Boston College, which also won the Hockey East regular-season and tournament championships a year ago, not only lost seniors such as forwards Brian Gionta, Mike Lephart, and Marty Hughes; defensemen Bobby Allen and Rob Scuderi; and goalie Scott Clemmensen, it also lost underclass defenseman Brooks Orpik and forwards Krys Kolanos and Chuck Kobasew to pro hockey.

“They lost a lot. They won’t be the team to beat this year,” said Metcalf.

Maine senior goalie Matt Yeats observed, “This is the highest we’ve ever been picked since I’ve been here.”

Junior center Marty Kariya said the final standings will be determined in part by the play of the newcomers and underclassmen who will take on more prominent roles.