October 2, 2005
Alabama-Huntsville Favorite Among CHA Coaches...Barely

College Hockey America Preseason Coaches Poll

1. Alabama-Huntsville (3), 22 2. Bemidji State (2), 21 3. Wayne State (1), 19 4. Niagara, 14 5. Robert Morris, 8 6. Air Force, 6

First place votes in parentheses, followed by total points.

The second-place team in last season's College Hockey America regular season and playoffs is the choice among league coaches to win the conference crown this season.

Alabama-Huntsville, which graduated just five seniors from last year's squad that posted an 18-10-4 overall record and a 14-5-1 CHA mark, earned three first-place votes and 22 overall points to get the nod in the circuit's preseason poll. Bemidji State, which bested the Chargers for first place on both occasions last year, earned second place with two first-place votes and 21 total points. Wayne State, third in the CHA poll with 19 points, earned the remaining first-place tally. Niagara (14 points), Robert Morris (eight points) and Air Force (six points) comprised the bottom half of the poll.

Alabama-Huntsville and Bemidji State each placed two players on the preseason all-CHA team. The Chargers are represented by forward Bruce Mulherin and defenseman Jeremy Schreiber. It's the third time Schreiber has been a unanimous pick for the all-league squad. The Beavers placed forward Luke Erickson and goaltender Matt Climie, who also was chosen as the conference's preseason player of the year, on the unit. Rounding out the contingent are Wayne State forward Stavros Paskaris, the 2005 CHA Rookie of the Year , and Niagara defenseman Andrew Lackner, who was also named to the preseason all-conference list last fall.