Denver is the runaway favorite to win the WCHA this season according to both the league’s coaches and media.
The Pioneers took eight of the 10 first-place votes in the Grand Forks Herald coaches poll, while 23 of the 25 voters in the madison.com media poll put Denver first.
North Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota and St. Cloud State rounded out the projected top half of the standings in both polls.
Minnesota forward Jordan Schroeder was the choice for player of the year by the media, and he shared that honor with St. Cloud State forward Ryan Lasch in the coaches’ voting.
St. Cloud State goaltender Mike Lee was the consensus pick for rookie of the year.
The all-league first team, picked by the media, included Schroeder, Lasch and a tie between Minnesota-Duluth’s Justin Fontaine and Denver’s Rhett Rakhshani at forward; Denver’s Patrick Wiercioch and North Dakota’s Chay Genoway on defense; and Denver goaltender Marc Cheverie.
Here is the coaches’ poll:
Team (first-place votes) Points
1. Denver (8) 80
2. North Dakota (2) 70
3. Wisconsin 61
4. Minnesota 58
5. St. Cloud State 55
6. Minnesota-Duluth 37
7. Minnesota State 34
8. Colorado College 26
9. Alaska-Anchorage 20
10. Michigan Tech 9
And here is the media poll:
Team (first-place votes) Points
1. Denver (23) 248
2. North Dakota (1) 205
3. Wisconsin 190
4. Minnesota (1) 186
5. St. Cloud State 152
6. Minnesota-Duluth 118
7. Colorado College 101
8. Minnesota State 88
9. Alaska-Anchorage 57
10. Michigan Tech 30
