DANBURY, Conn. – The 2013-14 ECAC Northeast Hockey regular season and conference tournament champion, Nichols College, has been tabbed to defend its crown, according to the preseason coaches poll released Thursday. The Bison collected six of the eight first place votes and 62 total points. Salve Regina University received the other two first place votes and finished ten points behind Nichols in the second slot.

Nichols will return five all-conference players and its five leading-scorers from a team that finished 18-7-3 a year ago and defeated Wentworth Institute of Technology in overtime to claim the conference tournament championship. The Bison begin the season receiving votes in both the U.S College Hockey Online (USCHO) poll and the D3hockey.com poll.

Salve Regina will look to build off a program record 11 wins and a 9-5 conference record from a year ago. The Seahawks will also have a great deal of firepower returning from last season, with five players who scored at least eight goals back in the lineup this season.

Curry College and Johnson & Wales University each come in at the three spot, accumulating a matching 41 points. The Colonels and Wildcats both collected quarterfinal wins in last year's conference tournament but could not get past the semi-final round. The Colonels senior goaltender Derek Mohney (Amherst, N.Y.) and the 2013-2014 ECAC Northeast Goaltender of the Year will return for his final season.  Last year's ECAC Northeast Player of the Year, Josh Obregon (Omaha, Neb.), will return for Johnson & Wales, looking to build upon his 17 goals and 15 assists from last season.

Wentworth Institute of Technology comes in at number five in the poll, seeking its seventh ECAC Northeast Hockey championship. Finishing second in last year's regular season, the Leopards' year ended with a 3-2 overtime loss to Nichols in the conference title game.

Western New England University comes in selected to finish sixth, followed by Suffolk University at number seven and Becker College in the eighth position. 

All eight ECAC Northeast teams will begin the 2014-15 season this weekend.

Full Preseason Poll: