Are rankings based on last year's play?

I have seen a few comments where some college fans think that last years play doesn't have a hand in this season's early rankings. Respectfully, I believe that train of thought is flawed.

The argument: I do believe that last season's NCAA regional’s game between the Princeton Tigers and the Fighting Sioux is having an affect on Princeton’s ranking so far this season. During the NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinal game the Tigers out shot the Fighting Sioux 39-18, yet still lost the game 5-1. Also, the Princeton Tigers did not lose that many impact players during the off season. Combining these two known facts in my opinion is affecting the early season rankings. If this isn't the case why is Princeton ranked as the #8 team in the country? The Tigers haven't played and beat anyone of significance. To say the Tigers are one of the best teams in the country is ridiculous. The Tigers might not even be the best team in their league. One could make the argument for the Clarkson based on actual play against a top opponent.

To further my argument I will use UAA as an example. UAA has been picked to finish 10th in most early season WCHA polls/rankings and now is sitting at 5-2-1 (2-1-1 WCHA) and not one hockey pundit picked them to finish higher than 9th. To say that this ranking isn't based on last years play is silly. We sure as hell didn't roll the dice or spine the wheel to predict their finish in the WCHA standings.

Princeton

How they finished: Princeton had a strong run to the finish, capped by its second ECAC tournament championship. That meant, obviously, its second NCAA tournament appearance as well. The Tigers ran into some bad luck early, hung with North Dakota for a while, but ultimately fell. That did nothing, however, to take away from Princeton's accomplishment, finally coming back from the depths and returning to the type of competitive level it enjoyed in the latter half of Don Cahoon's run as coach in the late '90s.

Changes: The Tigers only lost 25 points from the forwards that graduated, 13 of those from Rhodes Scholar winner Landis Stankievech.

Strengths: The Tigers return most everyone, including the entire top line intact, of Hobey finalist Lee Jubinville, Brett Wilson and Cam MacIntyre. The latter made the big leap last year from 13 to 31 points. The defense is experienced with Tyler Fedun, Cam Ritchie and Jody Pederson. And goalie Zane Kalemba, who emerged last season as a true No. 1, is back and is only a junior.