Season previews for teams
There will be different voices calling the shots on the bench for St. Lawrence, though Joe Marsh’s influence will be felt on each line change, goal and win for the Saints. Due to a medical leave, this is the first time since 1985 that the Saints will start a regular season without Marsh on the … Read more
What’s to be said about the 2011-12 Colgate Raiders? How about that there’s nowhere to go but up? That backhanded compliment is all but literal, as the last iteration of Raiders hockey set program records for futility with eight- and 14-game winless slides, no league wins until the first week of February, and no wins … Read more
No one has to tell coach Bob Prier how much is riding on the Princeton name every hockey season. After all, the name on the university’s home ice says everything about the history, honor and privilege involved in pulling on the Tigers colors: Hobey Baker Rink. Prier, who was an assistant coach and associate head … Read more
Past predictors At the start of the 2009-10 season, Notre Dame was picked second in both the CCHA coaches and media preseason polls. After all, the Fighting Irish had gone to the Frozen Four the previous April. Expectations should have been high, right? Well, that season ended unceremoniously with a sweep at the hands of … Read more
Past predictors To say that Michigan State had a disappointing season in 2010-11 would not capture fully the sentiments of those in and around East Lansing. The Spartans, picked third by the media last season and fourth by the coaches, never seemed to get off the ground in any meaningful way. It took them until … Read more
Past predictors Ferris State tends to run in the middle of the pack, and last season was no exception. In spite of first-team All-American goaltender Pat Nagle, the Bulldogs finished in fifth place — just one step above where the media picked them and two steps ahead of what the CCHA coaches predicted. It is … Read more
Past predictors After back-to-back Frozen Four appearances in 2009 and 2010, Miami was eliminated in the first game of the 2011 NCAA Northeast Regional after looking unstoppable in the second half of the season. The RedHawks had captured their first CCHA tournament title a week earlier by demolishing Western Michigan, another team that was rolling. … Read more
Past predictors “In all my years at Michigan,” said coach Red Berenson, “I’ve never proclaimed to be an expert on goalies.” At the start of the season, in his usual fashion, the CCHA’s master of understatement hit upon what few people dared question openly. For the first half of the 2008-09 season, the Wolverines were … Read more
Past predictors Things did not go as planned for Chris Bergeron last season in his first year as Bowling Green’s coach. “I think I made too many assumptions last year, personally,” said Bergeron. “I need to do a better job of developing relationships with these young guys where you can develop them through recruiting and … Read more
Past predictors Alaska finished the 2010-11 season with a weak second-half record that contained as many lopsided games as close ones. Goal-scoring inconsistency was certainly the issue with an otherwise strong team. The Nanooks were outscored 91-89 on the season with the 50th-best offense (2.34 goals per game) and the 48th-best power play in the … Read more
Past predictors When Mark Osiecki took over as head coach at Ohio State last season, he was brutally honest about what he had inherited from the John Markell era. “I think on the big picture of our program, we’re able to move out 11 seniors and bring in new culture and bring these kids in … Read more
Past predictors Lake Superior State limped into the CCHA playoffs last season with a three-game run of lopsided contests in which it was outscored 17-4. That capped a second half during which the Lakers registered five ties — one more than their total of second-half wins. Yet they went on to sweep Ohio State at … Read more
Past predictors The 2010-11 season ended in an uncharacteristic way for Northern Michigan — in Marquette, after losing two of three to Bowling Green in the first round of the CCHA playoffs. It was just the second time in nine years under coach Walt Kyle that NMU had failed to advance to the CCHA championship … Read more
Past predictors In one year, Jeff Blashill — the kid who grew up in Sault Ste. Marie, played in Big Rapids and coached in Oxford — pulled Western Michigan from last place to fourth, and none of it seemed like smoke and mirrors. Somehow, Blashill managed to transform the program’s culture in just one little … Read more
The last two seasons have been a roller coaster ride for coach C.J. Marottolo and his Sacred Heart Pioneers. Picked to finish eighth out of 10 teams in 2009-10, the Pioneers came in second, earning Marottolo coach of the year honors. But last season Sacred Heart plummeted to 11th place. “I hope the opposite ends … Read more
Five years ago, Canisius coach Dave Smith brought in a large, talented rookie class that included the dynamic duo of Cory Conacher and Vincent Scarcella. Each of the past four seasons, the Golden Griffins improved, culminating in their first trip to the Atlantic Hockey semifinals under Smith. Now that the class of 2011 has moved … Read more
Decimated by graduation and transfers, Mercyhurst must replace 60 percent of its offense as well as longtime starting goaltender Ryan Zapolski. “This is one of the youngest teams we’ve had,” said coach Rick Gotkin, who is entering his 24th season behind the bench, coaching every year of varsity hockey at Mercyhurst. “You can look at … Read more
Robert Morris made an impressive splash in Atlantic Hockey last season, its first in the league. The Colonials spent the early part of the season in first place, and were near the top of the standings the entire way, finishing fifth but just three points out of second place. But the most successful class in … Read more
The Connecticut Huskies are coming off a breakthrough season that saw them advance to the Atlantic Hockey semifinals for the first time in five years. Coach Bruce Marshall said now that his team, which returns a strong nucleus from last season, including eight of its top 10 scorers, has gotten a taste of winning, it’s … Read more
Last season, Air Force entered the post-Andrew Volkening era and things turned out just fine. Led by Jacques Lamoureux (44 points), and getting steady and later hot goaltending from rookie Jason Torf, the Falcons captured their fourth Atlantic Hockey playoff title in five seasons. But now Lamoureux is gone, as well as stalwarts Derrick Burnett, … Read more