Season previews for teams
Anyone can win. A statement most readily associated with the suddenly pop-culture World Series of Poker, why can’t it apply to the WCHA, too? Why couldn’t anyone win the MacNaughton Cup this season? Minnesota-Duluth looks strong, but since when does the team that looks the best at the start of the regular season lift the … Read more
Let’s get this straight: North Dakota’s question mark early in the season is offense? Maybe that tells exactly how thin the questions surrounding the Sioux are. The early departures of Brandon Bochenski took a bite out of the offense, but UND returns seven players who scored 10 or more goals last season. Only Minnesota-Duluth matches … Read more
John Hill is no stranger to adversity with his Alaska-Anchorage team. Two years ago, an NCAA violation in the usage of textbook scholarship money leading to the suspension of a number of players was only one rough patch in a 1-28-7 season. But the Anchorage native and former Seawolves captain is also familiar with what … Read more
At this time last year, Alabama-Huntsville took its standard preseason excitement on the road — to Wisconsin. Then Denver. And then Minnesota. Six losses later, by the time the Chargers had returned home to face Air Force, an already veteran team had aged a generation. UAH would lose just one of its next 16 games, … Read more
From the moment that the CHA met the requirements for an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament the whining began. This upstart, diminutive division with barely six teams to its name, could now keep one team from a major conference out of the postseason, while providing nothing more than cannon fodder for a team on … Read more
It is a sure sign that a team is a longshot when its coach cannot name the team’s best player. Air Force managed just two conference wins last year despite featuring second-team All-CHA Andy Berg (22g, 18a). With three of its four top scorers graduated, the Falcons will need all the mettle a service academy … Read more
At the end of last season, Iona and Fairfield dropped hockey as a varsity program. When the only coach Findlay had ever had, Craig Barnett, left for a position at a prep school this summer, some wondered if a similar fate was in the offing for the Oilers. It seems like the Findlay rumors were … Read more
Tops among the preseason priorities for Wayne State coach Bill Wilkinson was finding a replacement for goaltender David Guerrera, who backstopped the Warriors for his entire four years at the college. Fortunately, WSU is located in Hockeytown, USA, and Wilkinson thought he could give a fellow Detroit club a hand with its roster problems. “We … Read more
With a trip to the NCAA tournament on the line, Bemidji defenseman John Haider, killing a five-on-three disadvantage, stole the puck and raced in on Wayne State goaltender David Guerrera for a critical insurance goal in last year’s CHA finals. Veteran teams seize such moments. Unfortunately for the Beavers, Haider was only a sophomore and … Read more
In Joe, Niagara trusts. The Purple Eagles have a high-flying attack that is poised to challenge for the CHA crown. The reason for the optimism reads like this: 26 goals, 29 assists, 55 points. The returning CHA Player of the Year makes Niagara the most explosive team in the conference. “We will be an even … Read more
After losing 11 players a year ago, Massachusetts-Lowell said good-bye to another 10 heading into this season. With a roster of only three juniors and just one senior, the wild cards of freshmen and sophomores will dictate whether the River Hawks sink or swim. “Reality TV seems to be the big fad,” coach Blaise MacDonald … Read more
Beginning in 1996-97, Providence has earned home ice every other season. Flip the calendar and if the playoffs are in an odd-numbered year, then we’ll see you at Schneider Arena in March. Unfortunately for Friar fans, however, this is the 2003-04 season. Which means, for the non-math majors in the crowd, that PC is due … Read more
In recent years Boston University hasn’t possessed the dominating offense of its early- and mid-nineties predecessors. There’s been no updated version of a Chris Drury on the fourth line as a freshman nor a trio as imposing as Tony Amonte, Shawn MacEachern and Keith Tkachuk. The Terriers have instead won with stellar defense and goaltending. … Read more
It won’t be a shock if the Black Bears finish second in the league. It also won’t be a shock if they fall out of home ice. At the same time that there are major strengths there are also significant questions. The strength begins in goal where Jimmy Howard and Frank Doyle rank as the … Read more
New Hampshire lost some big-time players from the squad that advanced to the national championship game last year — All-Americans Lanny Gare and Colin Hemingway are Exhibits A and B — but still returns plenty of talent for another serious run at it. The motherlode crouches between the pipes. Michael Ayers recorded seven shutouts last … Read more
Last year Merrimack was picked in the preseason coaches’ poll to finish in the cellar for the umpteenth time, but defied those expectations with a seventh-place performance that fell only two points short of sixth. The lion’s share of the credit, however, went to All-Hockey East goaltender Joe Exter, whose graduation leaves a significant hole … Read more
“BC is clearly the team to beat in our league.” — New Hampshire coach Dick Umile “BC, on paper, is far and above everyone else in the league.” — Boston University coach Jack Parker “BC is BC. They have everything coming back.” — Merrimack coach Chris Serino “There’s no question BC is the number one … Read more
There’s a temptation to look at this loaded Boston College roster and start thinking ahead to the Frozen Four in Boston. Are all the pieces in place to make it two national championships in four years? Will the clanged crossbars and extra-skater goals go the Eagles’ way this time? Will they even need those breaks … Read more
After just missing playoff home ice the previous year, Northeastern fell to the Hockey East cellar last season. Coach Bruce Crowder minces no words in pointing to the solution. “What we really need is great years out of our juniors and seniors,” he says. “Our junior class as freshmen had okay years and I think … Read more
There’s a reason coach Don “Toot” Cahoon earned Hockey East Coach of the Year honors last season. The Minutemen roster included only five juniors and seniors combined, yet he led the team to a midseason national ranking, its highest finish in the league standings, a Hockey East quarterfinal sweep of Maine at Alfond Arena, and … Read more