Women’s Hockey Shares Third in CNE Preseason Coaches’ Poll

CNE RELEASE 

BEVERLY, Mass. – Suffolk women's hockey earned a share of third in the Conference of New England's Preseason Coaches' Poll, a compilation of the predictions of the league's seven head coaches, the league office announced Tuesday morning. 

The Rams, who missed the conference postseason a year ago for the first time in program history, captured 27 points alongside Curry and the University of New England to finish in a three-way tie for third. 

Three-time conference champ Endicott is the preseason favorite with 45 points and three first-place votes, while last year's title winner Western New England picked up the most first-place nods with four to finish one point shy of the Gulls in second. 

Conference newcomer Johnson & Wales slid into sixth with 16 points and Nichols rounded out the seven-team poll in seventh with 10 points. 

It is the second time that Suffolk was been selected to finish third in a league's preseason poll, first since 2021-22. 

Suffolk will skate into year two of the Abby Ostrom era. The Rams compiled an 8-15-2 overall mark a season ago and went 7-9-2 in conference contests to land just outside the playoff bubble.

Back in blue-and-gold looking to push Suffolk back into the league tournament is grad goaltender Lily O'Neil, the only netminder in Rams' women's hockey history to record 1,000 career saves, two-time all-league defender Leslie Steiner and the top two scorers from last year Jenna Caballero (6g, 8a) and Liliana Moose (3g, 9a). 

The Rams will drop the puck on their seventh season this Friday, Nov. 1 at No. 13 Utica at 4:00 p.m. as part of the Utica Kickoff Tournament.