GORHAM, Maine – The University of Southern Maine Huskies men's ice hockey team was picked to finish fifth in the annual Little East Conference preseason coaches' poll. The Huskies finished with 49 points. Norwich University was chosen as the conference favorite with 79 points and eight first-place votes. Babson College placed second with 70 points and two first-place votes.
 
Southern Maine returns their three leading scorers from last season in sophomore forward Ben Aucoin (Moncton, New Brunswick), senior forward Kayde Kinaschuk (Calgary, Alberta) and junior forward Gavin Simopoulos (Cape Elizabeth, Maine). Aucoin led the team in goals with 17 and points with 25 last season on his way to be named to the LEC All-Rookie Team. In his first home game as a Husky, Aucoin scored six goals in a 7-1 win over Saint Anselm to set a new program record on November 1, 2025. Kinaschuk finished second to Aucoin in both goals with 11 and points with 20. Simopoulos, an assistant captain, tallied nine goals and 10 assists to rank third on the team in points. Linemates for the majority of last season, Simopoulos and Kinaschuk recorded hat tricks in back-to-back games against Keene State and WestConn.
 
Senior Ethan MacDuff (Lloydminster, Alberta) is another key forward for the Huskies. The team captain tied for the most assists on the squad last year with 12 and has been a consistent scorer for the Huskies throughout his career. Additional key returners include sophomore goaltender Loic Morin (Drummondville, Quebec), senior defenseman Adrian Jubran (Knoxville, Tenn./James Madison) and junior defenseman Hunter Svicki (Toronto, Ontario).
 
Morin went 10-10-1 between the pipes for the Huskies with a .901 save percentage and two shutouts in his rookie season. Jubran recorded four assists over 19 games last year. He also finished fifth on the team in blocked shots with 19. Svicki logged a goal and five assists while playing in 25 games. His 20 blocked shots ranked fourth on the team last season.
 
The Huskies host the University of New England in an exhibition game on Friday, October 23 at 7:00 pm and will play another exhibition game at Curry College on Saturday, October 24 at 3:00 pm. The team officially opens the season with a home game against Endicott College on Friday, October 30 at 7:00 pm in the USM Ice Arena.
 

2026-27 Little East Conference Men's Ice Hockey Preseason Coaches' Poll
1.	Norwich	79 points	8 FPV
2.	Babson	70 points	2 FPV
3.	Plymouth State	68 points
4.	UMass Boston	56 points
5.	Southern Maine	49 points
6.	VTSU Castleton	41 points
7.	New England College	29 points
8.	UMass Dartmouth	25 points
9.	Keene State	24 points
10.	WestConn	9 points