St. Norbert has won the last two Division III national championships and earned five of seven first-place votes in the NCHA preseason coaches’ poll.
Conference play opens Oct. 26-27.
This is also the final season for the five schools who are also members of the WIAC – Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Wisconsin-River Falls, Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Wisconsin-Stout and Wisconsin-Superior – to compete as members of the NCHA.
Eau Claire, River Falls and Superior were charter members of the NCHA when it was formed in 1980, Stevens Point joined in 1987 and Stout in 1996.
| School (First-place votes) | Total points |
|---|---|
| 1. St. Norbert (5) | 60 |
| 2. Wisconsin-River Falls | 48 |
| 3. Wisconsin-Stevens Point (1) | 40 |
| 4. Wisconsin-Superior (1) | 34 |
| 5. Wisconsin-Eau Claire | 34 |
| 6. St. Scholastica | 28 |
| 7. Wisconsin-Stout | 8 |
