MGoBlue: Michigan Hockey picked #1 in CCHA

Wolverines Tabbed for No. 1 Spot in CCHA by Media

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. -- The No. 2-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team split the top ranking with Notre Dame in this year's Central Collegiate Hockey Association's preseason media and coaches' poll. The CCHA announced today (Sept. 30) that the league's media voted Michigan to finish first in conference, while the league's coaches tagged the Wolverines to place second. U-M looks to repeat its success from 2007-08 when it finished 33-6-4 overall and 20-4-4 in CCHA games and captured both the CCHA regular season and tournament championships on the way to the Frozen Four.

Three Wolverines were named to the fifth-annual All-CCHA preseason teams. Senior captain Mark Mitera (Livonia, Mich.) was selected as one of two defensemen on the All-CCHA first team, while sophomore Aaron Palushaj (Northville, Mich.) earned one of the three forward spots on the first team. Senior Billy Sauer (Walworth, N.Y.) was selected as the All-CCHA second team goaltender.

In this season's media poll, the Wolverines gathered 945 points and 43 of the 83 first-place votes to sit atop the CCHA. They were 30 points ahead of second-place finisher Notre Dame, which received 35 first-place votes and 915 points. Michigan State (776 points) and Miami (746 points) were ranked third and fourth, respectively, with each earning two first-place votes. Northern Michigan rounded out the top five with one first-place vote and 700 points.

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