Men's Ice Hockey

Defending National Champions Pegged to Lead the League in Preseason Poll

Bobcats' Collin Graf Earns Unanimous Vote

CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. – The league is excited to announce the results of the highly anticipated ECAC Men’s Hockey preseason coaches poll and all-league team for the upcoming 2023-24 season. The league's coaches have weighed in on their predictions and tabbed the defending National Champions as the number one favorite for a second year in a row with 10 first-place votes.   

In the 2022-23 campaign, Quinnipiac finished with a 20-2 record in 22 conference games claiming the top spot in the league standings for the second year in a row. In the postseason, the Bobcats went on an NCAA tournament run and secured the 2023 National Championship trophy in a thrilling 3-2 overtime matchup against the No. 1 seed Minnesota Gophers. 

Cornell, a No. 4 seed in last year’s NCAA tournament, earned the second spot in the preseason poll with 108 points. The Big Red finished the season with a 15-6-1 record good for third place in the league standings. Harvard finished third in the polls with 98 points, narrowly edging out Clarkson who came in fourth with 92 points, while both teams received one first-place vote. St. Lawrence finished off the top five with 79 points.  
 
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The coaches have also voted on the 2023-24 ECAC Men’s Hockey Preseason All-League team, seeing all new faces from last year’s release. Starting up front, fresh off the 2023 National Championship, Quinnipiac’s Collin Graf and Sam Lipkin have been tabbed to have another breakout season with the Bobcats. Graf, a unanimous decision* by the coaches, put a ribbon on the 2022-23 season by scoring the game-tying goal in the National Championship which resulted in him leading the ECAC and ranking third nationally in total points with 59. Fellow linemate Sam Lipkin finished his freshman campaign as ECAC Rookie of the Year and came home with a bronze medal from World Juniors with Team USA. With 1.1 points per game and .74 assists per game, Lipkin ranked seventh nationally amongst all freshmen. Concluding the forwards is Clarkson’s Ayrton Martino who tallied a point per game last season and led Golden Knights in scoring with 38 points (9G, 29A). Martino finished his sophomore season 12th in the country for assists per game with .78 and was named to the ECAC All-League Third Team. 

Anchoring the blueline are a pair of north country rivals. Clarkson’s Noah Beck and St. Lawrence’s Luc Salem were elected following career seasons in 2022-23. Beck is fresh off leading the Golden Knights as their top point producer from the point with six goals and 17 assists. Salem posted 27 total points (10G, 17A) last season for the Skating Saints in a breakout season where he more than doubled his point total from the year prior. Among all defensemen, Salem was tied for 21st in the nation in scoring with his counterpart, Beck, tying for 35th.

Rounding out the preseason selections is Cornell goaltender Ian Shane after concluding his freshman season with a 20-10-1 record, 1.71 goals-against average, and .916 save percentage in the crease for the Big Red. Shane was named to the Mike Richter Award watch list, an annual award given to the most outstanding goaltender in the NCAA during the regular season. In addition, the freshman netminder was Cornell’s lone nomination for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award which is awarded to the top NCAA men’s ice hockey player in the nation.  
 
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*Unanimous selection requires 11 votes as coaches cannot vote for their own team or players.