College Hockey Preseason Top 10

By Nate Wells

1. Miami University - The RedHawks, who came within a minute of a national title last season before collapsing, are in prime position to take the next step and win their first national championship. Although only two teams in the last fifteen years have won the Frozen Four after finishing second the year before, Miami returns almost everyone from last year's squad; including both goalies and five of their top-six defensemen. There are a couple questions for the RedHawks, namely whether or not they can recover from such a devastating loss, but a well-balanced team returning most of their scoring and defense makes Miami the best team on paper.

2. University of Denver - Another well-balanced team which keeps most of their scoring [losing only Tyler Bozak's PPG average over the past two seasons to the Toronto Maple Leafs] and goaltending, the Pioneers can be considered a 1A to the team that ended their season last year. With forwards Joe Colborne, Rhett Rakhshani Tyler Regsegger and defenseman Patrick Wiercoch looking to replicate their scoring touch from last season, the pre-season WCHA favorites' biggest test will be on the blue line. While Freshmen William Wrenn and Matt Donovan come in to replace seniors and long-time staples J.P Testwuide and Patrick Mullen, goalie Marc Cheverle has shown that he is capable of stealing a game or two on his own if needed.

3. Boston University - The 2008-2009 champs are still a talented-laden squad despite heavy losses. With Hobey Baker winner Matt Gilroy, Colin Wilson, Brandon Yip and Chris Higgins now in the pro ranks, the Terriers will be depending on their blue line more than last year. Fortunately for Boston University, they return four of their top six defensemen from last season, including Kevin Shattenkirk, David Warsofsky and Colby Cohen, plus sophomore goaltender Kieran Millan. Even without the offensive explosiveness that Wison, Yip and Higgins brought (forty-plus points a piece), this is a dangerous Terrier team.

4. University of Michigan - After losing to Air Force in one of the greatest upsets in tournament history [tied with Minnesota losing to Holy Cross in 2006 and only outdone by CCHA rival Notre Dame losing to Bemidji State the same night], the Wolverines look to bounce back and challenge Miami and Notre Dame for the CCHA crown. Although Michigan lost sophomore Aaron Palushaj's fifty points to the pro ranks, the Wolverines return all other key components from a 29-12-0 team and are ready to reload behind junior Louis Caporusso and sophomore David Wohlberg up front and junior Bryan Hogan between the pipes.

5. University of North Dakota - Although last season was Dave Hakstol's first season not reaching the Frozen Four in his tenure as the Fighting Sioux's head coach, North Dakota continues to be one of the more consistent teams in college hockey. With a large senior class, including former Hobey Baker winner Ryan Duncan and Brad Miller graduating, the Sioux look ready to reload with new leadership from seniors Chris VandeVelde, Chay Genoway, Darcy Zajac and sophomore Jason Gregoire. North Dakota also adds a large and talented freshman class, with heralded forwards Danny Kristo, Michael Cichy and Corbin Knight; their play will dictate how brief the Sioux's Frozen Four hiatus will be.

6. Notre Dame - In what has become a recurring theme for the top CCHA teams, all eyes will be on the Fighting Irish as they bounce back from being the first team to lose to the #16 seed. Coach Jeff Jackson has some holes to fill with the loss of seniors Erik Condra, Christian Hanson and 2010 top-five draft pick Cam Fowler before he ever suited up in South Bend, but Notre Dame has enough talent to make a Frozen Four run. The Irish return their top four defensemen, led by junior Ian Cole and have plenty of depth up front with Calle Ridderwall, Kevin Deeth and Billy Maday each scoring thirty points last season. The biggest question mark is between the pipes, as goaltender Jordan Pearce graduated and Notre Dame will be depending on an untested Brad Phillips.

7. University of Massachusetts Lowell - The stakes are high this year for the River Hawks. With eleven seniors this season and a 12-5-2 second-half finish that brought them within a game of the NCAA tournament [losing to Boston University in the Hockey East championship], U-Mass Lowell is a trendy pick to win Hockey East and make their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1996. While pegging the River Hawks, who finished fifth in Hockey East last season, to win a conference with two of the final four teams is a stretch, they will be a good team with junior Scott Campbell up front and goalies Nevin Hamilton and Carter Hutton stopping pucks.

8. University of Minnesota - After struggling down the stretch and losing to Minnesota-Duluth in the WCHA Final Five play-in game, the Golden Gophers found themselves in an unusual spot of watching the NCAA tournament instead of participating. Instead of wallowing in their sorrows, the Yankees of college hockey have reloaded by bringing in a stellar recruiting class and expect to finish near the top of the WCHA and take advantage of a hometown regional; however there are still too many questions about the Gophers to anoint them to that status. While Minnesota needs to have a player step up to replace Ryan Stoa's forty-six points last season, the two big question marks for them are defense and goaltending. If the Gophers can toughen up their offensively-talented blue line (a problem over the second half) and have goaltender Alex Kangas play closer to his freshman form, than Minnesota will be a dangerous team.

9. Cornell University - The Big Red return most of their core from last year's squad, including outstanding goaltender Ben Scrivens and Riley Nash, and look to be on top of a competitive ECAC come March. Cornell is known for their defense as they gave up on seventy-four goals in thirty six games last season; this year should be no different. The key for the Big Red this year will be offense, while they do return their top three scorers from 2008-2009, Cornell is going to need a boost from their upperclassmen and seconday scoring if they want to win an ECAC title and return to the NCAA Tournament.

10. University of Vermont - The Catamounts return from their trip to the Frozen Four last year with some major holes to fill, but still should be able to battle for the Hockey East crown. While Vermont lost their top two scorers in Viktor Stalberg and Peter Lenes to the NHL and graduation, respectively, they do have the players to step up in Brian Roloff and Justin Milo. It also helps that they return their bread and butter in goalie Rob Madore, and the entire blue line, but until it is seen if the offense can step up, it's hard to place the Catamounts any higher.

Honorable Mention: University of Wisconsin, University of New Hampshire, Yale University, Princeton University, Boston College and St. Cloud State University