MSU women picked seventh

The WCHA women's preseason coaches poll was released today, and Minnesota State was picked to finish seventh in the eight-team league. This seems a little surprising for coach Eric Means' new team, as it graduated just one player -- although that player just happened to be Maggie Fisher, the school's all-time leading scorer -- from a team that finished in a tie for fifth place and made an impressive playoff push. I also think that MSU has a chance to make some hay as there will be more parity in the league this year with several teams missing Olympians. No matter, here are the results:

WCHA Coaches Pre-Season Poll

1. Wisconsin (6 first place votes) 48 points

2. Minnesota (2) 43

3. Minnesota Duluth 38

4. St. Cloud State 29

5. Ohio State 23

6. North Dakota 20

7. Minnesota State 16

8. Bemidji State 7

(Coaches could not vote for their own teams in poll and points were awarded on a 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 system)

Player of year: Brooke Ammerman, Wisconsin (5 votes); Natalie Spooner, Ohio State (2); Saara Tuominen, Minnesota Duluth (1)

Rookie of year: Brianna Decker, Wisconsin (6 votes); Hokey Langan, Ohio State (1); Jennifer Hars, Minnesota Duluth (1)