INCH
Power Rankings
Each issue,
Inside College Hockey will examine the college hockey landscape
and offer up our sweet 16. The Power Rankings don't reflect automatic
qualifiers – so they don't necessarily convey what the new
16-team tournament would look like "if the season ended today."
Sorry, we hate
that phrase – making us even more thankful that things are
just getting started. Take a look at how we think the teams stack
up entering the season – and let
us know what you think. Send us your own Power Rankings, with
comments, and we just might publish them.
| 1. |
Denver |
Two
words describe the Pioneers’ attitude heading into the
season: unfinished business. |
| 2. |
New Hampshire |
Haydar's
gone – finally. But Colin Hemingway, Sean Collins and
Lanny Gare will pick up slack. |
| 3. |
Minnesota |
Who will
score? With Keith Ballard, Paul Martin and Matt DeMarchi patrolling
the blue line, who cares? |
| 4. |
Boston
University |
Speaking
of standout defensemen, Freddy Meyer and Ryan Whitney are an
imposing duo. |
| 5. |
Maine |
Tim Whitehead
is offically “the man” in Orono. We think freshman
goalie Jimmy Howard will be, too. |
| 6. |
Northern
Michigan |
New coach
Walt Kyle inherits a veteran crew led by forward Chris Gobert. |
| 7. |
Michigan |
They don’t
rebuild, they reload. Eric Nystrom should be the next in the
line of Wolverine offensive standouts. |
| 8. |
Boston
College |
Young team
will prove that last season’s .500 record was an aberration.
Ben Eaves may be Hockey East’s best forward, and he’s
joined at The Heights by brother Patrick. |
| 9. |
Michigan
State |
New coach,
new system, new goalie. Same result. Spartans will be in the
mix come tourney time. |
| 10. |
Cornell |
Home of
arguably the ECAC’s best skater (Doug Murray) and goaltender
(David LeNeveu). |
| 11. |
North Dakota |
Zach Parise,
son of former NHLer J.P., is the best of a talented group of
WCHA newcomers. |
| 12. |
Notre Dame |
With 19
of 22 letterwinners returning, Dave Poulin’s squad should
play more like Ty Willingham’s and less like Bob Davie’s. |
| 13. |
Providence |
Jon DiSalvatore,
Devin Rask and Peter Fregoe provide senior leadership for a
team ready to live up to last year's expectations. |
| 14. |
Ohio State |
R.J. Umberger,
Dave Steckel, Scott May and Mike Betz are a formidable quartet
of juniors. |
| 15. |
Clarkson |
Mike Walsh
just one of the ECAC’s many talented netminders. |
| 16. |
Wisconsin |
We’ll
round out the rankings by including the other Eaves, Mike, who’s
in his first year as Bucky’s head coach. |
| |
|
| Bubble-licious |
|
| Northeastern |
Mike Ryan,
Jason Guerriero and Keni Gibson are terrific, but Bruce Crowder
will miss Jim Fahey. Any coach would. |
| Colorado
College |
Peter Sejna
joined by young stars Mike Stuart and Brett Sterling. |
| Alaska
Fairbanks |
Last year
was no fluke, but they’ll miss warrior Bobby Andrews. |
| Harvard |
The surprise
NCAA Tournament qualifiers are paced by Dominic Moore. |
| Alaska
Anchorage |
Head coach
John Hill learned art of building programs from the master,
Don Lucia. |
| Nebraska-Omaha |
Mavs are
young, but Greg Zanon and Dan Ellis return. |
| Wayne State |
The class
of CHA. Can they win the league playoff title with an NCAA berth
on the line? |
| Mercyhurst |
Some lucky
school will lure coach Rick Gotkin away from Erie. He’ll
want to bring forward Adam Tackaberry with him. |
| Quinnipiac |
Braves,
Bobcats. Call them what you want. They’ll still be in
the hunt for the MAAC’s automatic bid. |
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