Here come the polls!

The polls are out, and Minnesota State has been picked to finish seventh or eighth in the WCHA, depending on who's been asked. Denver is the clear choice to win the league.

First, the annual Grand Forks Herald coaches poll, now in its 39th year:

1. Denver (8 first-place votes) 80 points

2. North Dakota (2) 70

3. Wisconsin 61

4. Minnesota 58

5. St. Cloud State 55

6. Minnesota Duluth 37

7. Minnesota State 34

8. Colorado College 26

9. Alaska-Anchorage 20

10. Michigan Tech 9

Player of the year: Ryan Lasch, SCSU (3), Jordan Schroeder, UM (3), Chay Genoway, UND (2), Rhet Rakhshani, DU (1), Patrick Wiercioch (1).

Rookie of the year: Mike Lee, SCSU (5), Nick Leddy, UM (2), Dylan Olsen, UMD (2), Matt Donovan, DU (1).

Meanwhile, the madison.com media poll, looked quite similar, with the only difference being a flip-flop of MSU and CC:

1. Denver (23 first-place votes) 248 points

2. North Dakota (1) 205

3. Wisconsin 190

4. Minnesota (1) 186

5. St. Cloud State 152

6. Minnesota Duluth 118

7. Colorado College 101

8. Minnesota State 88

9. Alaska-Anchorage 57

10. Michigan Tech 30

Player of the year: Jordan Schroeder, UM

Rookie of the year: Mike Lee, SCSU

All-WCHA: Forwards -- Schroeder, Ryan Lasch, SCSU; Justin Fontaine, UMD; Rhett Rakhshani, DU (tie). Defensemen -- Patrick Wiercioch, DU; Chay Genoway, UND. Goalie -- Marc Cheverie, DU