Ice Hockey-University of Minnesota Duluth Remains No. 1 on USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women's College Hockey Poll

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Defending national champion University of Minnesota Duluth remained in the top spot on this week's USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women’s College Hockey Poll. The Bulldogs accumulated 17-of-19 first-place votes for 188 points and will open the season Friday (October 3) in a non-conference match-up at Niagara University at 7 p.m. ET.

Aided by two non-conference wins against Quinnipiac University, the University of Wisconsin held on to the No. 2 spot on the poll with 167 points and two first-place votes. The University of Minnesota (142), Harvard University (131) and the University of New Hampshire (115) rounded out the top five.

Seven of the top-10 teams on the poll will be in action this weekend in non-conference and exhibition games.

NOTES: The Western Collegiate Hockey Association and ECAC Hockey lead all conferences with three teams on the poll ... A total of 16 teams received votes.

ABOUT THE POLL: The 12th annual USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women’s College Hockey Poll is conducted each week in conjunction with the American Hockey Coaches Association. The poll includes input from coaches and journalists representing each of the six NCAA Division I ice hockey conferences, as well as composite votes from officers of the American Hockey Coaches Association and USA Hockey Magazine, the most widely distributed hockey magazine in the world.

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine
Women's College Hockey Poll - #1
(first-place votes in parentheses)

Rank	School	Last Week's Ranking	2008-09 Record	Weeks in Top Ten
1	University of Minnesota Duluth, 188 (17)	1	0-0-0	2
2	University of Wisconsin, 167 (2)	2	2-0-0	2
3	University of Minnesota, 142	3	0-0-0	2
4	Harvard University, 131	5	0-0-0	2
5	University of New Hampshire, 115	4	0-0-0	2
6	Mercyhurst College, 92	6	0-0-0	2
7	St. Lawrence University, 68	7	0-0-0	2
8	Dartmouth College, 49	8	0-0-0	2
9	Providence College, 24	9	0-0-0	2
10	Wayne State University, 21	NR	0-0-0	1

Others receiving votes: Clarkson University, 18; University of Connecticut, 10; Boston College, 8; The Ohio State University, 4; Princeton University, 4; St. Cloud State University, 4.