NCAA defending national champion Boston College earned a share of the nation’s No. 1 ranking with Minnesota in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine preseason poll.
The Eagles finished with 476 points and 20 (of 34) first-place votes, while the Gophers’ 476 included 12 first-place votes. Michigan , which received the other two first-place votes, is ranked No. 3.
BC coach Jerry York has 15 returning lettermen from last year’s squad, which won the school’s fifth national title and third in five years. North Dakota and Union round out the top five.
UMass-Lowell is ranked No. 7, Boston University 13th.