Defending CHA tournament champion Niagara was the top pick in this season’s College Hockey America race, according to the preseason poll of the league’s head coaches, and also placed three players on the preseason All-CHA Team.
Niagara, which received three of four first-place votes (coaches could not vote for their own team), was followed by last year’s regular-season champion, Bemidji State. Finishing in third with four points each were Robert Morris and Alabama-Huntsville.
The CHA Preseason Player of the Year was Vince Rocco, who tallied career highs in goals (14), assists (32) and points (46) last year and is the CHA’s returning career points leader with 89.
Joining Rocco on the preseason All-CHA team were teammates Ryan Annesley and Juliano Pagliero, Bemidji State’s Matt Read and Tyler Scofield, and Chris Margott of Robert Morris.
2008 CHA Preseason Coaches Poll
School (Points)
1. Niagara (9)
2. Bemidji State (7)
3. Robert Morris (4)
3. Alabama-Huntsville (4)
