COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – After having two student-athletes named to the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Preseason All-Conference Team Tuesday, the North Dakota Fighting Hawks were chosen as the favorite to capture the 2016-17 Julie and Spencer Penrose Memorial Cup as NCHC regular-season champions in the NCHC Preseason Media Poll, the conference announced Wednesday on the eve of 2016 NCHC Media Day. North Dakota is the two-time defending Penrose Cup champion and was voted to win a third straight regular-season title in a poll of local and national NCHC media.
UND received 25 of the 30 first-place votes to total 235 points in the poll, while Denver was chosen second with 200 points and garnered three first-place votes.