UConn women's hockey picked first, men's hockey eighth in preseason polls

On Monday, Hockey East released its annual preseason coaches poll, picking UConn women’s hockey to finish first in the league, as the Huskies received all but one possible first-place vote. UConn men’s hockey was picked to finish eighth — the same result as last season.

Women’s hockey

Last season, UConn won its first-ever Hockey East regular season and tournament titles, then went on to its first NCAA Tournament appearance. The Huskies compiled a 25-8-5 record overall (19-4-4 in league play) and lost just twice after Jan. 6.

Coming off the best season in program history, expectations remain high for the program.

While UConn lost key contributors such as forwards Coryn Tormala (6-18—24) and Kathryn Stockdale (11-7—18) as well as blue liners Camryn Wong (4-9—13), Claire Peterson (2-8—10) and Ainsley Svetek (4-10—14), it still brings back plenty of production.

Jada Habisch — whose 17 goals were six more than the next closest player — returns, as do Riley Grimley (8-11—19), Brooke Campbell (9-9—18), Ashley Allard (6-10—16) and Megan Woodworth (7-7—14) up top. The Huskies are also set in goal with Tia Chan (1.30 GAA, .951 save percentage) and Megan Warrener (1.01 GAA, .951 save percentage) back between the pipes. UConn added a strong incoming class to help replace the departures as well.

The Huskies will take on Quinnipiac in an exhibition this Saturday, Sept. 21 before kicking off the new season in earnest on Friday, Sept. 27 against Minnesota at Toscano Family Ice Forum — which will also serve as the banner-raising ceremony.

Men’s hockey

The men’s squad is coming off a disappointing 2023-24 campaign in which it finished outside the top five in the standings for the first time since 2018-19.

UConn’s offense had no trouble generating chances but struggled to put them in the net. The Huskies were shut out a staggering seven times — five of which came at home. They went just 15-19-4 overall and 9-14-1 in Hockey East, good for eighth in the standings.

In the postseason, UConn dispatched Vermont 4-1 in the first round then fell to top-seeded Boston College 5-4 in a quarterfinal thriller.

The Huskies faced significant roster turnover this offseason, losing its top two goal scorers in Matthew Wood and Chase Bradley, its two starting goaltenders Ethan Haider and Arsenii Sergeev, and a host of other players.

While they did bring in a talented freshmen class and a few quality transfers, their hope for improvement will be centered on improved discipline (their top four penalty-takers from last season are all gone) and better chemistry in the locker room.

The season begins on Friday, Oct. 4 against Colgate at Toscano Family Ice Forum.