
Can Hockey East regain its perch atop the college hockey mountain top? That’s the ultimate question as league teams begin their season this weekend with everyone’s sights set on April in Tampa.
Defending regular season champion Northeastern was picked first by the league’s coaches in the annual preseason coaches’ poll that was released earlier this month. Boston University was slotted second with two-time defending Hockey East Tournament champion UMass coming in third.
Whether it’s Northeastern or Boston University finishing first is up for debate, but both the Huskies and Terriers have a huge advantage in the goaltending department heading into the season. 2022 Mike Richter Award-winner Devon Levi returns for Northeastern while U.S. Olympic goaltender Drew Commesso (Norwell, Mass.) is the man between the pipes for Boston University.
The league will likely fall into three tiers during the 2022-23 season with Boston University and Northeastern holding the upper level. From there, it should be five teams in the middle then four vying for positioning at the bottom.