COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – On the eve of the NCHC’s tenth annual Media Day, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) unveiled its 2022-23 Preseason Poll Wednesday, with Denver being picked by the media to win the Penrose Cup for a second straight year.

The Pioneers collected 19 of 23 first-place votes and 180 points total to finish first in the media poll. North Dakota, which split the Penrose Cup with DU a season ago as co-regular-season champions, placed second in the poll, garnering 160 points and the four remaining first-place votes. Minnesota Duluth (136 points) and St. Cloud State (115) round out the top half of the preseason poll. Western Michigan (86) comes in fifth in the poll, followed by Colorado College (64), Omaha (59) and Miami (28), respectively.

Denver has won two Penrose Cups previously, first in 2016-17 and again last season. This is only the second time the Pioneers have been picked first in the NCHC Preseason Poll, last doing so in the 2017-18 poll when DU ultimately finished second. Denver is coming off the program’s ninth national championship and returns a plethora of talent, including four players from last year’s NCHC All-Rookie Team and four players named to this year’s NCHC Preseason All-Conference Team on Tuesday (forward Carter Mazur, defensemen Mike Benning and Sean Behrens, and goaltender Magnus Chrona). DU is ranked No. 1 nationally in both preseason polls, as well.

North Dakota won its third straight Penrose Cup in 2021-22, which was the first time the NCHC has seen co-champions. UND has also won Penrose Cups in 2014-15, 2015-16, 2019-20 and 2020-21. The Fighting Hawks bring back 20 letterwinners from last year’s team, including First-Team All-NCHC honoree junior forward Riese Gaber, who was also named Preseason All-NCHC. UND is ranked No. 4 in both national preseason polls released Monday.

UMD is looking to improve on its tie for fourth place in the NCHC last season, being picked third in the preseason poll. The Bulldogs are the defending Frozen Faceoff champions and rank fifth nationally in the preseason polls entering the 2022-23 campaign. Minnesota Duluth will go for its first Penrose Cup, while bringing in 12 newcomers, including 10 freshmen.

St. Cloud State, which tied with UMD for fourth a season ago, is picked to repeat that position. The Huskies have won three Penrose Cups previously in 2017-18, 2018-19 and the inaugural Penrose Cup in 2013-14. SCSU is ranked No. 13 nationally in the preseason polls released Monday.

All four teams in the bottom half of the poll, Western Michigan, Colorado College, Omaha and Miami, are still gunning for their first Penrose Cup. The Broncos had the best finish of the group last season, coming in third in the NCHC and winning the program’s first NCAA Tournament game. WMU is ranked No. 12 and No. 14 in the national preseason polls.
 
A total of 23 ballots were submitted by local media members from each school, as well as select national media. Points were awarded on a descending scale with a first-place vote worth eight points, a second-place vote worth seven points and so on.  
 
Tomorrow, NCHC Media Day takes place on Thursday, Sept. 22 at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minn., the home of the 2023 NCHC Frozen Faceoff. Fans can take part in 2022 NCHC Media Day by asking questions during the Twitter Takeovers in the morning, watching Instagram Live interviews in the afternoon, and streaming the State of the Conference address for free on NCHC.tv.
 
While Media Day serves as the unofficial start of the 2022-23 season, the NCHC officially drops the puck on its 10th season on Saturday, Oct. 1 with four non-conference contests and a quartet of exhibition games, as all eight NCHC teams are in action. Fans can watch more than 150 games live this season on NCHC.tv, including eight games opening weekend. To subscribe to NCHC.tv, click here.
 
2022-23 NCHC Preseason Media Poll

1. Denver – 180 points (19 first-place votes)
2. North Dakota – 160 (4)
3. Minnesota Duluth – 136
4. St. Cloud State – 115
5. Western Michigan – 86
6. Colorado College – 64
7. Omaha – 59
8. Miami - 28