1. Hockey! The Hockey East regular season kicked off with UConn, New Hampshire, and Maine all in action. UConn earned a big tie against Minnesota Duluth in its first game before falling to the Bulldogs on Saturday. New Hampshire and Maine squared off in the first conference tilt of the season, and the Black Bears came away with the 2-1 win. Boston College and Boston University also earned exhibition wins, while Vermont, Providence, and Northeastern dropped their exhibition contests.

2. The preseason coaches’ poll was released: And Boston University was tabbed first with 53 points, just edging out Boston College’s 51. Both earned four first-place votes each. Northeastern was third, with Vermont behind in fourth, while Providence, Connecticut, Maine, and New Hampshire rounded out the rankings. The full poll can be found here.

3. Vermont announced its 2014-15 promotional schedule: The Catamounts will again have a “Pack the Gut” game as they try to break the Hockey East attendance record, which they set at last year’s Pack the Gut event against Boston College. This year’s game will be held on Friday, Oct. 24 against Union College. Vermont’s full promotional schedule release is here.

4. Merrimack makes a coaching staff addition: Merrimack has added two-time U.S. Olympian and former New Hampshire defenseman Kacey Bellamy to its coaching staff as an assistant. Bellamy will join head coach Erin Hamlen and fellow assistant Brent Hill. Merrimack is set to join Division I hockey as a member of Hockey East in 2015-16.

5. New Hampshire participated in a 5K and raised $2,500 for My Breast Cancer Support: The sixth-annual CelebratePink 5K Road Race, which took place in Portsmouth, N.H., was run in support of My Breast Cancer Support, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping Seacoast-area patients. The team has participated in the event all six years it’s been held so far. Full release from UNHWildcats.com here.