The CCHA coaches and media differed in who each thought was the preseason number on team in the league – but just barely.
Michigan State took seven of the 12 first-place votes in the CCHA Coaches Poll, but Michigan, with 26 first-place votes, took the top spot in the media poll. But only by one point over the Spartans.
Michigan State received 38 of the 77 first-place votes in the media poll, but it wasn’t enough to overtake Michigan in that poll. Michigan got only one first-place vote from the coaches, but took second in that poll.
Miami was third in both polls, garnering four first-place votes from the coaches and 13 from the media.
There was also some difference in spots four to nine in both polls.
Ohio State placed fourth in the coaches poll and sixth in the media poll. Northern Michigan was fourth in the media poll and eighth in the coaches poll.
Nebraska-Omaha placed fifth in both polls while Notre Dame was sixth with the coaches and eighth with the media. Alaska was seventh in the coaches poll and ninth in the media poll, while Ferris was ninth with the coaches and seventh with the media.
Both polls agreed on 10-12 with Lake Superior, Bowling Green and Western Michigan finishing in that order.
In the Preseason Teams, Michigan placed three on the first team (T.J. Hensick, Matt Hunwick, Jack Johnson) and one on the second team (Kevin Porter). Nebraska-Omaha (Scott Parse), Miami (Nathan Davis) and Michigan State (Jeff Lerg) all had one on the first team.
Miami placed two on the second team (Ryan Jones, Mitch Ganzak), while Michigan State (Tyler Howells), Bowling Green (Jonathan Matsumoto) and Lake Superior (Jeff Jakaitis) filled out the rest of the second team.
Coaches Poll
1.Michigan State (7), 117
2.Michigan (1), 108
3.Miami (4), 107
4.Ohio State, 84
5.Nebraska-Omaha, 75
6.Notre Dame, 62
7.Alaska, 60
8.Northern Michigan, 59
9.Ferris State, 55
10.Lake Superior State, 30
11.Bowling Green, 18
12.Western Michigan, 17
Media Poll
1.Michigan (26), 845
2.Michigan State (38), 844
3.Miami (13), 800
4.Northern Michigan, 570
5.Nebraska-Omaha, 539
6.Ohio State, 514
7.Ferris State, 437
8.Notre Dame, 403
9.Alaska, 390
10.Lake Superior, 379
11.Bowling Green, 158
12.Western Michigan, 127
CCHA Preseason First Team
F Scott Parse, Michigan
F T.J. Hensick, Michigan
F Nathan Davis, Miami
D Matt Hunwick, Michigan
D Jack Johnson, Michigan
G Jeff Lerg, Michigan State
CCHA Preseason Second Team
F Ryan Jones, Miami
F Jonathan Matsumoto, Bowling Green
F Kevin Porter, Michigan
D Mitch Ganzak, Miami
D Tyler Howells, Michigan State
G Jeff Jakaitis, Lake Superior
Honorable Mention
Sean Collins, Ohio State; Charlie Effinger, Miami; Wes O’Neill, Notre Dame; Tyler Eckford, Alaska; Darin Olver, Northern Michigan; Andrew Cogliano, Michigan; Jeff Zatkoff, Miami
