Pat Cannone and Connor Knapp helped Miami to a 2-0 start

The first weekend of the regular season featured plenty of surprises and upsets. Of the 20 teams listed in the preseason USCHO/CBS College Sports rankings, 13 of them were in meaningful action over the weekend - and just two of those squads (No. 4 Miami and No. 6 North Dakota) would escape without tasting defeat. The teams in the lower portion of the rankings, in particular, struggled - as the bottom seven teams (ranked Nos. 14-20) combined for a 3-10-0 record, including 2-7-0 against unranked opponents.

Miami - which was the top-ranked team in the preseason USA Today/USA Hockey poll after barely falling short in last year's NCAA championship game - had one of the most-impressive weekends of any team, as the RedHawks earned a home sweep of 15th-ranked St. Cloud State. Junior All-America forward Carter Camper scored the game-winner in overtime in a 3-2 victory on Friday. The following night, it was sophomore Connor Knapp earning a shutout while junior forward Andy Miele had the primary assist on both of Miami's goals - scored 20 seconds apart early in the third in the 2-0 game.

The other marquee series of the weekend pitted No. 1 Denver against 14th-ranked Vermont, a Frozen Four participant last season. The offenses were in high gear, and the weekend ended in a split. UVM appeared to be on its way to spoiling the first game of DU's 60th anniversary season, holding a 4-2 lead after two periods on Friday. But the Pioneers got a quick power play goal and then saw sophomore forward Joe Colborne net two more - one on the power play and then the even-strength game-winner with just over two minutes remaining in regulation - to give DU a 5-4 triumph. Vermont would not make the same mistake on Saturday, as senior forward Brayden Irwin scored twice in leading the Catamounts to a 6-4 win.

No. 6 North Dakota dominated Merrimack en route to a home sweep (5-2 and 3-2). The Fighting Sioux outshot the Warriors by a 75-35 margin, and freshman Mike Cichy had an outstanding first collegiate weekend with a goal, two assists and a +4 rating. Both games drew more than 11,000 fans.

The CCHA saw two of its teams ranked among the top five suffer opening-night defeats before rebounding for decisive wins - while two other squads claimed tournament titles. On Friday, Alabama-Huntsville tied the game in the third period and sophomore forward Cody Campbell scored on a wraparound with just five seconds remaining in regulation to give the Chargers a 3-2 upset win at No. 5 Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish outshot UAH 51-14 the next night in a 3-1 win.

Sophomore goaltender Scott Greenham registered the first-ever shutout for Alaska in 45 all-time meetings with No. 3 Michigan on Friday in a 2-0 decision. The Nanooks then claimed the Kendall Hockey Classic title with a 5-1 win over Mercyhurst. Greenham - who stopped 43 of 44 shots and also had an assist - was tabbed the tournament MVP. Michigan posted a 6-1 win over Alaska Anchorage the next night.

Nebraska-Omaha claimed the title in its Icebreaker tournament. The Mavericks scored three third-period goals to beat Army 6-4 on opening night and then upset No. 11 UMass Lowell 4-3 in the championship game.

Quinnipiac finished off a road sweep of No. 17 Ohio State with a 3-1 victory on Friday despite getting outshot 25-6 in the opening period. Bemidji State also swept a ranked team, with 3-1 and 7-3 victories against 19th-ranked Air Force in the battle of the Serratore brothers.

Other noteworthy results included Rensselaer knocking off No. 16 New Hampshire 3-1, Northern Michigan topping 18th-ranked Minnesota Duluth by the same score and No. 20 Northeastern splitting (2-4 and 4-3) a series at Colorado College.

The first week of the regular season is finally here. The puck drops for two games that count - Rensselaer at UMass and Quinnipiac at Ohio State - on Thursday to kick off a pretty full weekend of regular-season action. Later in the week, we'll have a preview of the big matchups, as well as highlights of the exhibition play so far, plus a peak at this year's freshmen and which former collegians made NHL opening day rosters. But today, we take a look at the preseason polls in each conference. Here's a look at how each shook out:

Matt Fairchild and Air Force are picked to repeat as Atlantic Hockey champs

ATLANTIC HOCKEY ASSOCIATION
Air Force - last year's tournament champion and one of the regular-season co-champs - was chosen by the coaches as the favorite to take the crown in the Atlantic Hockey Association again this season. The Falcons received eight first-place votes, while Mercyhurst - last year's tournament runner-up - garnered the other two. The Falcons and Lakers play at Air Force on Dec. 11 and 12.

Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Air Force
2. Mercyhurst
3. Rochester Institute of Technology
4. Holy Cross
5. Canisius
6. Army
7. Bentley
8. Sacred Heart
9. Connecticut
10. American International

CCHA
Michigan - which finished second a season ago - was selected by both the coaches and media as the favorite to win the CCHA regular-season crown, marking the first time in four years that those groups agreed on the preseason favorite in the league. The Wolverines received five of 12 first-place votes from the coaches and 24 of 66 from the media. Forwards Louie Caporusso of Michigan and Carter Camper from Miami were unanimous picks on the preseason all-conference team. Last year's regular-season and tournament champion, Notre Dame, was picked to finish second. Michigan and the Fighting Irish - who met in the championship game of last year's conference tourney - will play in Ann Arbor on Dec. 11 and Feb. 25 and at Notre Dame on Dec. 13 and Feb. 27.

Preseason Polls (Coaches/Media)
1/1. Michigan
2/2. Notre Dame
3/3. Miami
4/4. Ohio State
5/5. Northern Michigan
6/7. Nebraska-Omaha
7/6. Alaska
8/9. Ferris State
9/8. Michigan State
10/11. Lake Superior State
11/10. Western Michigan
12/12. Bowling Green

COLLEGE HOCKEY AMERICA
After winning the CHA title last season and putting together a Cinderella run to the Frozen Four, Bemidji State is the coaches' favorite to repeat as champions in the conference's final year. Niagara was picked to finish second, while BSU forward Matt Read was tabbed as the CHA Preseason Player of the Year. Bemidji State and Niagara will meet six times during the regular season: Dec. 4 and 5 in Bemidji, Jan. 15 and 16 at Niagara and Feb. 19 and 20 in Bemidji.

Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Bemidji State
2. Niagara
3. Robert Morris
4. Alabama-Huntsville

ECAC
Yale was selected as the preseason favorite to claim the ECAC regular-season title for the second straight season by both the media and coaches. The Bulldogs received 15 of 25 first-place votes in the media poll, as well as seven of 12 from the coaches. Cornell was picked second in both, and four players - Princeton goaltender Zane Kalemba, Harvard defenseman Alex Biega and forwards David McIntyre of Colgate and Riley Nash from Cornell - were selected to the preseason all-conference team by both groups. Yale and Cornell will play in New Haven on Nov. 13 and in Ithaca on Feb. 13.

Preseason Polls (Coaches/Media)
1/1. Yale
2/2. Cornell
3/3. Princeton
4/4. Harvard
5/5. Dartmouth
6/6. Union
7/9. Colgate
T8/10. Rensselaer
T8/11. Quinnipiac
10/7. St. Lawrence
11/8. Clarkson
12/12. Brown

HOCKEY EAST
Defending NCAA champion Boston University earned six first-place votes en route to being chosen to take the Hockey East title for the second year in a row. UMass Lowell - which has not won a regular-season or tournament title in 25 years of Hockey East membership - was chosen as the runner-up and received two first-place votes. BU beat UMass Lowell 1-0 in the title game of the league tournament a year ago, and the Terriers and River Hawks will play in Lowell on Jan. 23 and Feb. 12 and at BU on Feb. 13.

Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Boston University
2. UMass Lowell
3. Boston College
T4. New Hampshire
T4. Vermont
6. Northeastern
7. Massachusetts
8. Maine
9. Providence
10. Merrimack

WCHA
Denver is the favorite of both the coaches and media to win the WCHA title this season, taking eight of 10 first-place votes from the coaches and 23 of 25 from the media. Minnesota forward Jordan Schroeder was picked as the preseason player of the year by the media, while the coaches tabbed both Schroeder and St. Cloud State forward Ryan Lasch for the honor. Both groups selected St. Cloud State goaltender Mike Lee as preseason rookie of the year and also agreed on North Dakota - the 2008-09 regular-season champ - as the runner-up choice. The Pioneers and Fighting Sioux will play in Denver on Nov. 20 and 21 and in Grand Forks on Jan. 29 and 30.

Preseason Polls (Coaches/Media)
1/1. Denver
2/2. North Dakota
3/3. Wisconsin
4/4. Minnesota
5/5. St. Cloud State
6/6. Minnesota Duluth
7/8. Minnesota State
8/7. Colorado College
9/9. Alaska Anchorage
10/10. Michigan Tech