November 4, 2014
The first ACHA West Rankings are out and the Utes make their debut at number three in the first rankings of the season.
The ranking ties the highest ranking ever for Utah, as they appeared at number three in the first ranking last season as well. The Utes have finished 5th in the polls the last three seasons.
At number one is Arizona State’s Elite squad, which picked up 10 of the 12 available first place votes. At number two is Northern Arizona who picked up a first place vote and is eight points ahead of Utah. The Utes received the final first place vote.
At number four is Utah’s opponent from Friday night in Boise State, who is seven points behind Utah. Rounding out the top five is Montana Tech, eight points behind the Broncos.
At number six and seven are two more Utah schools as Utah State and Weber state take the next two spots in the poll. Rounding out the top ten is San Jose State, Loyola Marymount, and Arizona State’s PAC 8 team.
Four California teams are on the outside looking in as San Diego State, Cal St Fullerton, Cal St Long Beach, and Cal State Northridge take the 11 through 14 spots. North Texas is the only Texas team in the top 15 as they take the final spot in the poll. Denver, Texas A&M, Dallas Baptist, USC, and UNLV all also received votes in the poll.
The Utes were also ranked third in the initial computer rankings, compiled by the website myhockeyrankings.com. The unofficial poll will be done alongside the official rankings as another tool to rank the best teams in the ACHA.
