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The WCHA released the results of the preseason coaches poll, and the coaches votes for preseason player of the year and rookie of the year. In what should come as no surprise, the Gophers swept all three categories.
The Gophers were named by the WCHA coaches as their pick to once again win the WCHA, however, it was not unanimous. Two coaches selected Wisconsin to win the WCHA, while the other six all took Minnesota. Of course, one of those votes for the Badgers was from Gopher coach Brad Frost as coaches could not vote for their own teams....who the second one is from is a mystery though. The full preseason poll is below:
| Rank | Team (1st Place Votes) | Points |
| 1 | Minnesota (6) | 48 |
| 2 | Wisconsin (2) | 44 |
| 3 | North Dakota | 35 |
| 4 | Bemidji State | 31 |
| 5 | UMD | 26 |
| 6 | Ohio State | 20 |
| 7 | St. Cloud State | 13 |
| 8 | Minnesota State-Mankato | 7 |
Votes were assigned points on a 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale.
The Gophers also took home both preseason awards. Gopher senior forward and two-time defending WCHA Player of the Year Hannah Brandt was named the WCHA Preseason Player of the Year. She recorded seven of the available eight votes with Wisconsin's Sarah Nurse receiving the other.
Additionally, Gopher freshman Sarah Potomak was named the WCHA Preseason Rookie of the Year. This voting was much closer as Potomak received four of the eight votes, with Ohio State's Jincy Dunne receiving two, and Wisconsin's Sophia Shaver and Mikeala Gardner receiving one vote each.
Congrats to the Gophers, and hopefully they can live up to the preseason hype as they try to win their fourth national championship in five seasons. The Gophers begin play on October 1 with a series at Penn State.