Season previews for teams
In his first season at Vermont, Jim Plumer lifted the Catamounts to a sixth-place finish and had his team contending for more. Is the team positioned for additional improvement in his second year? “I think last year was a very good learning experience for all of us,” Plumer said. “For me personally, there was … Read more
Northeastern coach Dave Flint can relate to the challenge that Durocher faces, because the Huskies are also minus their top three scorers from a season ago. Sparkplug Kendall Coyne is bound for the Olympics, while Casey Pickett and Rachel Llanes have graduated. “We have some big shoes to fill, losing [Coyne] with the national team … Read more
Boston University is coming off its most successful Hockey East season in program history, going 18-2-1 and earning its second regular-season title. Adding a third this year will be a major challenge. Top scorer Marie-Philip Poulin is off to her second Olympics. Jenelle Kohanchuk and Isabel Menard, second and third in points a year ago, … Read more
The fact that the Eagles have yet to hoist a Hockey East regular-season banner is all the more perplexing given they have reached the Frozen Four in each of the last three seasons. Boston College appears destined to advance to the Frozen Four hosted by Quinnipiac with the 2014 Hockey East crown already secured in … Read more
A lot has been made by the preseason prognosticators about how Wisconsin, 10th last season in the WCHA, returns 15 of its top 16 scorers. As a result, the Badgers were picked as arguably the most-improved team and tabbed to finish fifth by the league’s coaches. The two biggest concerns coming into the 2012-13 season … Read more
An offseason of tumult that included two assistant coaching changes, the departure of two of the top three returning scorers and a prized recruit’s decision to head to Canada prompted the coaches and WCHA media to pick Nebraska-Omaha to finish eighth in the 12-team league. UNO assistant Mike Hastings left to take charge of the … Read more
A strong group of underclassmen and seniors give North Dakota the puzzle pieces it needs to make a run at the MacNaughton Cup and Broadmoor Trophy during its final season in the WCHA. “We have an attractive group of seniors,” North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol said. “We have guys there who we have relied on. … Read more
Denver will rely on a strong defense, anchored by three good goalies, to build a possible league championship foundation this season. “We are a very different team this year,” Pioneers coach George Gwozdecky said. “We lost three big-time scorers in Beau Bennett, Drew Shore and Jason Zucker. Our strength this year is our depth in … Read more
Colorado College will look for some of its offensive players to step up while relying on a solid defensive base in its pursuit of home playoff ice in its final season in the WCHA. Standout Jaden Schwartz, now making AHL goalies’ lives difficult, will not be replaced but there is hope that his older brother … Read more
Alaska-Anchorage coach Dave Shyiak points to an influx of speed at forward and defense as good reason Seawolves fans should be hopeful their team can climb out of the WCHA basement. “Our team will have more speed than in years past,” he said. “This should help us in both our attack on the rush and … Read more
The surge St. Cloud State made at the end of the regular season and into the WCHA playoffs last season had people who follow the league wondering how good the Huskies could be if they had a full and healthy lineup. But the injury bug took just one hour into the first official day of … Read more
Welcome to year No. 2, Mel Pearson. Michigan Tech surprised everyone last season when it went from a 26-game winless streak and a 4-30-4 finish in 2010-11 to a spot in the WCHA Final Five last season under first-year coach Pearson. The vast improvement landed Pearson the WCHA coach of the year award but the … Read more
Bemidji State coach Tom Serratore said it best: “I don’t know who our goalie is going to be and we’re going to need secondary scoring.” Those are the issues the Beavers face heading into this season off an eighth-place finish in 2011-12. Jordan George, a senior with 101 career points who hasn’t notched fewer than … Read more
There were skeptics before the 2011-12 season started who doubted that Minnesota-Duluth could come close to the success it had a year earlier. The Bulldogs won the national title in 2011 but Jack Connolly lost the wings of his high-scoring top line. Still, Connolly won the Hobey Baker Award, UMD managed to take second in … Read more
A new coach and a crop of talented underclassmen have Minnesota State excited to take a big step in 2012-13. Mike Hastings was hired in April to replace long-time coach Troy Jutting, who was fired after the worst season (12-24-2) in his 12 years leading the Mavericks. “It’s a privilege to be back with a … Read more
Last season was one of resurgence and a return to relevance for Minnesota. Considering what the Gophers have coming back at forward and defense, Minnesota is built for another run to the Frozen Four. Minnesota’s win against Boston University in the regional semifinals was the first career NCAA tournament game for last season’s seniors. The … Read more
When asked what he would consider to be a successful season, first-year Alabama-Huntsville head coach Kurt Kleinendorst was succinct. “Progress,” said Kleinendorst, who takes over a program that, as the cliche goes, has nowhere to go but up. “To what degree [we make progress], I don’t know,” Kleinendorst said. “For me to sit here and … Read more
Last year, New Hampshire failed to secure playoff home ice for the first time since 1996, a span during which the Wildcats finished first six times. That sustained excellence went by the wayside when they got off to a bad start fueled by poor goaltending and continued with an uncharacteristic inability to finish scoring chances. … Read more
Providence coach Nate Leaman inherited a team last year that had missed the playoffs the previous two seasons. However, he turned things around much faster than anyone expected, guiding the Friars not only to the playoffs but to a semifinal appearance at the Garden. Whether the Friars take another step forward rides to a significant … Read more
Merrimack will be hard pressed to match its success of the last two years when it posted 16-8-3 and 13-9-5 league records. The Warriors flourished last season despite losing Stephane Da Costa, but the attrition strikes hard this time at all three positions. The loss of All-Hockey East goaltender Joe Cannata hurts most of all. … Read more