Season Preview

Season previews for teams

2001-02 Brown Season Preview

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Things may be looking up for Brown, but they almost have to be after a terrible year. Head coach Roger Grillo hopes to reverse the outcomes of several one-goal losses, and will ask captain Josh Barker to shore up the Bear offense.

2001-02 Colgate Season Preview

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Hit hard by graduation the last two years, Colgate missed the playoffs last season. Don Vaughan leads a young team with a strong recruiting class into 2001-02, hoping to show that last year was just a speed bump.

2001-02 Clarkson Season Preview

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Perennial contender and regular-season champion Clarkson got a nasty shock in the first round of the ECAC playoffs last year, and missed the NCAA tournament as a result. This year, the Golden Knights will relay on defensive strength and the netminding of all-ECAC pick Mike Walsh.

2001-02 Cornell Season Preview

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Coaches ordinarily say that polls don’t matter, but this season Mike Schafer is motivating Cornell with one. An apparent snub by the ECAC media gives the Big Red — who return their top ten scorers — something to shoot for.

2001-02 St. Cloud Season Preview

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St. Cloud may have won its first WCHA tournament title, but the Huskies still feel the sting of an NCAA quarterfinal loss — and the loss of four all-WCHA players. Still, a balanced roster is St. Cloud’s strength as it looks to repeat last year’s success.

2001-02 Colorado College Season Preview

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In Scott Owens’ third year at Colorado College, the Tigers may be ready to put the puzzle together. A strong finish, including a double-overtime win in the NCAA tournament, gives Mark Cullen and CC a boost coming into the new year.

2001-02 Minnesota Season Preview

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Minnesota might have the top returning talent in the WCHA, including the Defensive Player of the Year in Jordan Leopold, but the Gophers could be haunted by their finishes in big games. Can Don Lucia’s squad continue its return to prominence?

2001-02 Minnesota State-Mankato Season Preview

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Troy Jutting knows well that the college hockey season doesn’t open with the drop of the puck in October, and it doesn’t start with practice in September. It starts the day after the previous season ends because you can’t take summers off in the collegiate game anymore. Your opponents are going to come back stronger … Read more

Unfinished Business

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The WCHA put a record five teams into the 2001 national tournament, including two of the four bye teams, but only runner-up North Dakota made it through to the Frozen Four. The league which sports more NCAA champions than all others combined looks to better its already-impressive effort this season.

2001-02 Wisconsin Season Preview

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The question for Wisconsin this season is simple: who’s in goal? Scott Kabotoff and newcomer Bernd Bruckler vie to replace workhorse Graham Melanson, while seven seniors anchor the Badger offense — similarly missing a compatriot in Dany Heatley.

2001-02 North Dakota Season Preview

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Once again, North Dakota will have to rebound from the loss of key contributors to challenge for the WCHA championship. And that’s the point — Dean Blais and the Sioux have done this before, and may again thanks to the likes of Ryan Bayda, Andy Kollar and Chad Mazurak.

2001-02 Denver Season Preview

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With two capable goaltenders, including Wade Dubielewicz, and a solid defense, the Denver Pioneers are ready to move up in the WCHA. Standing between DU and a home playoff berth, however, may be a lack of scoring.