UConn should be focusing on HE standings, not PWR, and most certainly not the irrelevant polls. UConn has a very strong shot at getting home ice in the octofinals, and maybe a very, very outside shot at a bye. Passing BU, UVM, Lowell, ND, and BC will be difficult but not impossible especially with having the tiebreaker with UML and still two with UVM and another with ND. Finishing in the 5 or 6 slot though would be a huge step up from the 7 spot though as it would appear the bottom two teams in the league will be Maine and UMass, both of whom are very bad teams. UConn would be strong favorites to advance into the quarterfinals from there. Finishing in the 7 or 8 hold could easily end up with a first round matchup with someone like a Northeastern or UNH who, while not great teams, have some very skilled players and can win games. Not to mention in the 5-6 slot, you'd advance and play the lower seeded home ice team.
That's a roundabout way of saying polls are dumb and irrelevant, UConn likely won't have the profile to get an at-large bid due to early losses and ties hurting RPI and common opponent numbers and thus should be focused on positioning themselves well for a Hockey East tournament run. It would not surprise me in the least to see UConn playing at the Garden in February, they have enough skill to knock off any of the top 4 teams in a three game series. But they've also proven they can play poorly enough to lose to the bottom feeders as well.
