The RedHawks received 40 of the 50 first-place votes in the USCHO.com poll and 28 of 36 first-place votes in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll.
Miami is followed in both polls by Wisconsin, Minnesota, Notre Dame and Michigan.
The RedHawks opened the season with a home-and-home series sweep of Ohio State — 6-2 in Columbus on Friday night and 6-3 the following night in Oxford.
“It was a good weekend,” Miami coach Enrico Blasi said Monday during his weekly press conference, which came before the national polls were released. “Hopefully we can continue to get better.”
Sophomore forward Riley Barber totaled seven points (four goals, three assists) against the Buckeyes en route to National Collegiate Hockey Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors. Barber had a five-point game, including four goals, on Saturday night.
“That’s nothing new for us,” Blasi said. “We see him do stuff like that every week in practice. When it’s going, it’s going. Obviously he felt pretty good on Saturday night.”
Freshman defenseman Trevor Hamilton was named NCHC Rookie of the Week after notching three assists and a plus-four rating in the two games against OSU.
Miami opens NCHC play at home Friday and Saturday against North Dakota (1-0-1). Miami and North Dakota were picked to finish 1-2 in the new conference. UND, which has won seven national titles, is ranked sixth in the USCHO poll and seventh in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll.
“It’s going to be a crazy week with North Dakota coming in here,” Blasi said. “Everyone’s excited, but we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
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