BOSTON, MA – Just one day after garnering the coveted top slot in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey preseason poll, the UMass Lowell hockey team finds themselves again at the top of the charts. The River Hawks received seven of 11 first place votes, landing in a 104-point tie with the Boston College Eagles in the Hockey East Coaches' Poll.

Rk. Team (First Place Votes) Pts
1. UMass-Lowell (7) 104
Boston College (4) 104
3. New Hampshire 84
Notre Dame 84
5. Providence 79
6. Boston University 67
7. Merrimack 54
8. Maine 45
9. Vermont 34
10. Massachusetts 32
11. Northeastern 28

The River Hawks, who went 28-11-1 in 2012-13, have high expectations to live up to as they come off a stellar season that saw the team capture both the regular season and playoff Hockey East titles en route to the first-ever appearance in the NCAA Frozen Four. UMass Lowell returns a majority of their team from last season, including their goaltending tandem led by sophomore netminder Connor Hellebuyck and their top three scorers.

Head Coach Norm Bazin is appreciative of the accolades as voted by his fellow coaches while quick to temper expectations.

"I'm excited to hear that these organizations feel that we are in the upper echelon of Hockey East and in the country so it's a good thing for our program," Bazin said. "But in the end we don't put a lot of stock in it. We control what we can, and that's not something we can control but it's flattering that they think we're in the upper echelon.

"From top to bottom Hockey East is one of the better conferences in the country - there are reminders of that all year long where an 8^th place team beats a first place team on any given weekend," Bazin continued. "We're going to have to remind our guys, just like every other team in our league is going to have to remind their guys, how hard it is to become one of the better teams this coming season."

UMass Lowell will hit the ice for the first time Saturday, October 5 at 3 PM when they host McGill University in an exhibition game at Tsongas Arena. The team will open up the 2013-14 regular season on Friday, October 11 at 7:15 PM when they host the Sacred Heart Pioneers. Season and group tickets, as well as Mini Packs, are now available and can be purchased online at TsongasCenter.com or by contacting Andrew Ralph (andrew_ralph@uml.edu; 978-934-5749 ) or Joe Fellini (joseph_fellini@uml.edu; 978-934-5751 ).