HENNIKER, N.H. - The New England College men's ice hockey team was voted to finish 5th place in the Little East Conference (LEC) Preseason Poll conducted by the league's ten head coaches. 

NEC sits near the middle of the conference with their fifth-place selection of 47 points. The team has their eyes set on making some noise in the LEC's first season of ice hockey after 10 seasons in the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC).  

Plymouth State sits atop the preseason poll, collecting six of the ten first-place votes. The Panthers went 19-7 last season and fell in the quarterfinal round of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) to conference runner-up MCLA.  

Norwich and Babson were each tabbed with two first-place votes to round out the top three as both teams also made the move from the NEHC. The Pilgrims went 1-0-1 with a shootout victory over Norwich last season and 0-2 against Babson in the regular season before beating the third-seeded Beavers in the NEHC Quarterfinals, 2-0.  

Former NEHC schools University of Southern Maine and Vermont State Castleton tied for sixth place while UMass Dartmouth was voted in eighth place. Keene State and Western Connecticut round out the poll in the ninth and tenth spots, respectively.  

The Pilgrims also received one vote in the USCHO Division III Men's Poll on October 13th. The 'Grims open their season on November 1st in a non-conference matchup with Rivier University before LEC play opens against Vermont State Castleton on Friday November 7th.  

2025-26 LEC Men's Ice Hockey Preseason Coaches' Poll 

1. Plymouth State - 76 (6) 
2. Norwich - 73 (2) 
3. Babson - 70 (2) 
4. UMass Boston - 53 
5. New England College - 47 
T6. Southern Maine - 36 
T6. VTSU Castleton - 36 
8. UMass Dartmouth - 30 
9. Keene State - 20 
10. Western Connecticut - 9 

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