Marian University NCAA men’s ice hockey received 52 points to finish sixth in the NCHA preseason poll, as voted on by the head coaches of the league.

Adrian was once again picked as the league favorite with 97 points and seven first-place tallies.  Aurora followed closely with 90 points and the remaining three first-place votes.  St. Norbert earned a clear third-place finish with 81 points, while Trine followed with 67.  MSOE and Marian were separated by just six points at 58 and 52 points, respectively.  Lake Forest was just seven points behind the Sabres to round out the top seven.  Concordia Wisconsin, Lawrence, and Dubuque rounded out the poll and were all separated by just 11 points.

Marian looks to build off of a strong 2022-23 campaign under second-year bench boss Clay Van Diest.  Marian went 11-14-2 a season ago but had an especially dominating second half that saw the Sabres go 8-4-2 over the final 14 games of the regular season.  The Sabres boasted a 3-2-1 record against teams that were nationally ranked with regulation victories over No. 1 Adrian, No. 5 Aurora, and No. 9 St. Norbert.

The full release from the NCHA can be found at https://www.nchahockey.org/landing/index.

Marian opens the season at Bethel Friday, October 27 for a 7 p.m. puck drop.