Preseason college hockey poll picks UMD 3rd, Gophers 8th, MSU 9th

First official #Gophers practice of the season is underway at Mariucci Arena! pic.twitter.com/qw02goiHEr

— Minnesota Men’s Hockey (@GopherHockey) October 3, 2015

With the opening of the college hockey season drawing near, three of Minnesota’s men’s hockey programs have made their way into the top 10 of a major college hockey preseason poll.

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine’s Top 15 poll has the Minnesota Gophers ranked No. 8 in the poll.

The Gophers are the highest-ranking Big Ten team in the poll. The only other conference team to receive any votes was Michigan; the Wolverines are ranked 13th.

Minnesota is well represented, with the Bulldogs of the University of Minnesota, Duluth ranked No. 3, and Minnesota State University Mankato ranked No. 9.

The Bulldogs play in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, which has a nation-leading five teams included in the poll, according to the Pioneer Press.

Here are the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine’s Top 15 college teams:

1. Boston College
2. Boston University
3. University of Minnesota, Duluth
4. University of North Dakota
5. Harvard University
6. University of Denver
7. Providence College
8. University of Minnesota
9. Minnesota State University-Mankato
10. Miami University
11. University of Nebraska-Omaha
12. Yale University
13. University of Michigan
14. UMass Lowell
15. Michigan Tech University