Season previews for teams
Maine Black Bears USCHO prediction: Fourth Coaches’ prediction: Fourth Last season: Fourth (10-20-3, 9-11-1 Hockey East) The names Both the league coaches and I underestimated Maine last year. The Black Bears may fail to reach the fourth spot, but it won’t be for lack of effort. “I think for the coaching staff, it was a … Read more
Northeastern Huskies USCHO prediction: Third Coaches’ prediction: Third Last season: Third (14-17-5, 11-8-2 Hockey East) The names College hockey doesn’t have a disabled list, or it would be easier to track why the losses start to mount at Northeastern. “This year, I’m excited for the fact that we have, as of right now, a healthy … Read more
Boston University Terriers USCHO prediction: Second Coaches’ prediction: Second Last season: Second (25-9-3, 15-5-1 Hockey East) The names Marie-Philip Poulin is gone and is impossible to replace in the short term, so a team has to find other recipes for winning hockey games without her. Minus her firepower, one approach would be to find ways … Read more
Boston College Eagles USCHO prediction: First Coaches’ prediction: First Last season: First (34-3-2, 20-0-1 Hockey East) The names Not long ago, Boston College had never won the Hockey East season trophy. Now it has claimed two straight and is a huge favorite to make it three in a row. To some extent, the Eagles are … Read more
The Chargers were 0-14 last season when allowing more than 40 shots on goal.
The coaches’ choice as WCHA preseason player of the year scored 33 of his 37 points last season in conference play.
The Seawolves finished last in the WCHA last season after a promising start to Matt Thomas’ tenure.
The Falcons were the first team left out last season, finishing 16th in the PairWise Rankings.
Bitzer helped the Beavers earn a home-ice WCHA playoff series for the first time last season.
Charles Williams takes over as the goaltender after not seeing much work behind Motte.
He led the nation in saves and goals allowed last season, and the Lakers need to continue growth shown in the second half.
The Huskies finished second in the WCHA regular season and tournament, then lost a heartbreaker in the NCAA tournament.
The losses of a six-player senior class and the starting goaltender stand out for the team that went into last year’s NCAA tournament as the top overall seed.
The Wildcats lost 156 man games to injury last season.
The Eagles return leading scorer Alex Tuch and feature three highly touted freshmen forwards.
The Terriers lost Hobey Baker Award winner Jack Eichel and goaltender Matt O’Connor after coming oh-so-close to the national title.
The River Hawks lost only three players to graduation after last season.
The Black Bears lost Devin Shore and Ben Hutton to the pros after a 10th-place finish last season.
The Warriors have a good offensive corps but need to shore up a deficient defense.
But another Roy — Kevin’s brother Derick — could have a big say in how well the Huskies do this season.