Complete ACHA Div. 1 Top-25 Preseason Poll

UNION LAKE, Mich. – The Lawrence Technological University men's hockey team begins the 2023-24 season where it left off last March with a No. 17 national ranking, according to the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division 1 top-25 preseason poll. The Blue Devils received 199 points as one of three Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference schools making an appearance in the coaches' rankings.

"Our pre-season ranking is nice, but every program understands this is just a snapshot and before a game has been played," explains LTU head coach Ken Gaffney. "We take pride in our year-over-year improvements and have put expectations on ourselves to compete each game and earn another invitation to the national tournament.

"The (ACHA) D1 league is strong with many capable programs. We know there are many deserving programs and we will need to prepare for each opponent in order to have the success we are seeking," he said.

Lawrence Tech returns 16 skaters and two goalies from the 2022-23 squad that went 25-8-2 overall and 14-8-1 in the WHAC, including a trip to the ACHA Tournament. Graduate student forward Thimo Ey last season led the Blue Devils with 19 goals, 22 assists and 41 total points en route to 2023 All-WHAC Second Team honors. Classmate Sean Pilet also reached the 30-point mark with 18+13=31 scoring totals. Junior Noah Brandau is the team's top-returning goaltender, posting a 12-3-1 record with a 1.94 goals-against average and .929 save percentage in more than 900 minutes between the pipes.

"With a strong group of returning players added with a highly skilled group of first year players, we are confident we will compete each game night against any opponent on our schedule. It will be another exciting season of Blue Devil Hockey," Gaffney said.

Minot State University, the defending ACHA men's Division 1 national champions, received 23 out of 28 first-place votes to come in as this season's pick for the top spot in the 2024 preseason ranking. 

Lawrence Tech opens the season this week at non-conference foe Purdue Northwest.