James Mello named to Preseason All -Conference Teams

ALBANY, N.Y. – The 2011-12 ECAC Hockey Preseason Coaches’ and Media Polls were announced Wednesday morning prior to the league’s annual teleconference. Dartmouth was selected fourth in the media poll and fifth in the coaches’ poll, while senior goaltender James Mello (Rehoboth, Mass.) was named to both preseason all-conference teams.

“I really feel like we have a great year ahead of us,” head coach Bob Gaudet said. “This is a great league and I feel good about where this group is right now. We have nine new guys coming in that need to assimilate, but there is also a good mix of veteran leadership that will make this team a tough one to play every night.”

In a vote of the conference’s 12 head coaches, the Big Green earned the No. 5 position. Yale garnered nine first-place votes to earn the top spot, while Union received two first-place votes and finished second. Cornell and RPI were third and fourth, respectively, as the other two teams selected ahead of Dartmouth.

The Big Green were followed by Quinnipiac, who also earned one first-place vote in the process. Harvard, Princeton, St. Lawrence, Colgate, Clarkson and Brown round out the coaches’ poll.

The media poll was slightly different as Dartmouth moved up one spot to fourth with one first-place vote. The top three spots of Yale, Union and Cornell remain the same from the coaches’ poll before Dartmouth and RPI switched places. Quinnipiac follows the Engineers in sixth place with Princeton earning the seventh spot. St. Lawrence, Clarkson, Colgate, Brown and Harvard occupy the eighth through 12th places in the bottom half of the media’s poll.
Mello, who was one of the top goaltenders in ECAC Hockey last season was recognized by both the coaches and the media with a spot on both preseason all-conference teams. Last season, Mello posted a goals-against average of 2.21 and a .926 save percentage with a record of 17-9-3.
With a league-record 38 members of the media participating in the poll this year, Mello received 28 votes as the league’s top goaltender.

Media Poll (first-place votes; total points)
1) Yale (23) – 432
2) Union (11) – 397
3) Cornell (5) – 356
4) Dartmouth (1) – 308
5) Rensselaer – 281
6) Quinnipiac – 239
7) Princeton – 205
8) St. Lawrence – 173
9) Clarkson – 164
10) Colgate – 152
11) Brown – 134
12) Harvard – 129
Media All-conference Team
James Mello – Dartmouth (G)
Brian O’Neill – Yale (F)
Andrew Miller – Yale (F)
Greg Carey – St. Lawrence (F)
Danny Biega – Harvard (D)
Nick Bailen – Rensselaer (D)
Coaches’ Poll (first-place votes; total points)
1) Yale (9) – 117
2) Union (2) – 107
3) Cornell – 97
4) Rensselaer – 85
5) Dartmouth – 76
6) Quinnipiac (1) – 70
7) Harvard – 65
8) Princeton – 51
9) St. Lawrence – 43
10) Colgate – 31
11) Clarkson – 28
12) Brown – 22

Coaches; All-conference Team
James Mello – Dartmouth (G)
Brian O’Neill – Yale (F)
Andrew Miller – Yale (F)
Jack MacClellan – Brown (F)
Danny Biega – Harvard (D)
Nick Bailen – Rensselaer (D)