Yale, Cornell and Union Earn Spots in National Polls

ALBANY, N.Y. -- The trio of Yale, Cornell and Union maintained its presence in the national polls, garnering spots in the latest polls, released Monday.

Yale holds the No. 5 slot in both the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine (345 points) and USCHO.com (751 points) polls.  The Bulldogs, who begin practice on Oct. 15, lost four significant players to graduation but have plenty of talented skaters anxious to earn those spots.  Yale is looking to make it three straight conference regular season titles, NCAA Tournament appearances, and 20-win seasons under head coach Keith Allain.

Cornell ranks No. 12 in both polls.  The Big Red totaled 137 points in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll, and 453 points in the USCHO.com poll.  Cornell will hold its annual Red-White Scrimmage at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 16, at Lynah Rink.  The defending ECAC Hockey champion Big Red will officially open its season with the intra-squad game, giving fans their first opportunity to watch the 2010-11 team in action as it prepares for the upcoming season.

Union (2-0-0) overall, jumped three spots from No. 19 to No. 16 in the USCHO.com poll after a weekend sweep of visiting Sacred Heart.  The Dutchmen accumulated 255 points.   Union’s offense exploded for a 9-0 win Friday and a 7-3 victory Saturday. 

Click here to access complete USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll

Click here to access complete USCHO.com Poll 

About the Polls:

The 16th annual USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll is conducted each week in conjunction with the American Hockey Coaches Association.  The poll includes input from coaches and journalists representing each of the five NCAA Division I ice hockey conferences, as well as composite votes from officers of the AHCA and USA Hockey Magazine, the most widely distributed hockey magazine in the world.

The USCHO.com/CBS College Sports XXL Poll consists of 50 voters, including 28 coaches from the Division I conferences and 22 beat writers and sports professionals from across the country.  The poll, published weekly by the Associated Press, is a production of USCHO.com, which provides in-depth coverage of college sports, including hockey, lacrosse, soccer and others.