NEHC season preview: Norwich again the favorite
Defending national champion Norwich is the early favorite in the NEHC, but look for UMass-Boston to put pressure on the Cadets.
Conference Season Preview
Season previews for leagues
CHC season preview: Morrisville looks to three-peat
In the CHC, Morrisville State will look to three-peat. The Mustangs will need to hold off a strong Endicott team to do so.
UCHC season preview: Elmira the early favorite
The new UCHC will get an autobid starting next season, but for now, this conference is Elmira and everyone else, though a couple of teams could push the Soaring Eagles on occasion, especially William Smith.
WIAC season preview: Wisconsin-Eau Claire will look to fend off Wisconsin-River Falls in the WIAC
Wisconsin-River Falls is the preseason favorite in a conference that has three teams that could come out on top.
Middlebury looks to four-peat, and again win the NESCAC
Middlebury has been the dominant team in the NESCAC, and looks to be again this season, while Connecticut College and Amherst will be hot on the heels of the Panthers.
Adrian looks to defend the crown and win women’s NCHA, again.
Adrian looks to again be at the top of the heap in the women’s NCHA, but they could be pushed hard by St. Scholastica and Lake Forest.
Utica looks to win the UCHC in tight playoff race
In a conference where only six teams advance to the postseason tournament, every game will be a battle, but Utica will likely end up on top in the UCHC and gain the new autobid for the league.
Geneseo the preseason favorite in SUNYAC
The SUNYAC is one of the more competitive conferences, and Geneseo and Oswego look to battle it out this season.
Hobart the early favorite in very competitive NEHC
Hobart will look to hold off UMass-Boston and Babson in the very competitive NEHC.
St. Michael’s to battle St. Anselm in the NE-10
Teams in the NE-10 are playing each other more regularly, and the conference will be even more competitive, but expect St. Michael’s to battle familiar foe St. Anselm for the league crown.
Salve Regina looks to back up NCAA run with CCC crown
After making a run to the national championship last year and falling just short to St. Norbert, Salve Regina is looking to capture the CCC this season.
Fitchburg State looks to repeat in MASCAC
Fitchburg State broke the hegemony of the MASCAC last year and won the league title, and looks poised to repeat.
St. Norbert looks to repeat in NCHA and NCAA
St. Norbert was back on top last year, winning the NCHA and then winning the NCAA tournament. They will have a huge fight from Adrian, as well as several other teams in the conference.
St. Thomas looks to win the MIAC again
St. Thomas has won six of the last seven MIAC titles, but Augsburg beat St. Thomas in the conference tournament, won the title, and advanced to the NCAA tournament. St. Thomas returns as the favorite again in a conference where parity is the norm, not the exception.
Hamline returns as the favorite to capture MIAC women’s crown
With forward Bre Simon and coach Natalie Darwitz, Hamline enters the year as the preseason favorite to win the women’s MIAC crown. New columnist Olivia Spellmire previews the season.
WCHA labeled ‘rat race’ this season as league continues to roll out competitive teams
If anybody needed the perfect explanation for what happens in the WCHA year after year, just ask Mike Hastings (photo: Bradley K. Olson).
NCHC looks as talent-rich as ever, will be ‘an extremely hard conference this season’
Some things don’t change year after year with the NCHC (photo: Melissa Wade).
Hockey East teams looking for nonconference improvement, NCAA tournament success in ’18-19
At times, it’s difficult to believe that it’s been 35 years since a group of athletic directors, led by Providence’s Lou Lamoriello, came together to form what three and a half decades later would be considered one of the game’s strongest sports conferences (photo: Melissa Wade).
Princeton, Cornell look to be favorites in ECAC Hockey, but plenty of contenders on the doorstep
Both kings of the mountain are returning major firepower for the 2018-19 ECAC Hockey season (photo: Shelley M. Szwast).
After sending four teams to 2018 NCAA tournament, Big Ten ‘is only going to continue to get better’
With three conference teams in attendance, the Frozen Four was set to be a Big Ten party last season (photo: Melissa Wade).