October 15, 2008
INCH Power Rankings: The Great 58

Another season is upon us and we won't limit our attention to those teams that some have anointed as the top 15 or top 20 teams in the nation. Whether it is near the top or near the bottom, each program faces unique circumstances.

There are plenty of challenges that lie ahead as we enter the 2008-09 season. As the Inside College Hockey editors and staff ranked the nation's top teams, we looked at a few pivotal players who will be vital to their team's success (or lack thereof) this season.

No.	Team	Pivotal Players
1.	Boston College	Everyone knows that Boston College will score goals. John Muse dissuaded skeptics with steady play down the stretch last season. It'll be up to him to be consistent and solid as a sophomore for BC to chase another national title.
2.	Michigan	Billy Sauer had a terrific junior season … except for the last 20 minutes. Until he avoids the untimely meltdown, doubts will linger.
3.	Notre Dame	Senior forward Garrett Regan is a pesky forward who scored 14 goals and 26 points as a sophomore, but recorded just seven goals and 13 points last season.
4.	Colorado College	A year ago, we raised questions about the Tigers’ young goalie. Richard Bachman’s answers included a 25 wins, four shutouts, a MacNaughton Cup and the league’s MVP award. With another shutout in his first sophomore start, he looks to have more answers ready.
5.	Denver	When Brock Trotter bolted Denver in the midst of last season, then-rookie Tyler Bozak stepped up nicely, and led the Pioneers in scoring as a freshman (as Trotter had done the year before). A similar second season from Bozak and the Pios will be scary good at scoring goals.
6.	Boston University	Colin Wilson's freshman year was a success. BU's top two scorers last season - Pete MacArthur and Bryan Ewing - graduated. It's Wilson's time to shine, and to validate his first-round NHL Draft pick status.
7.	New Hampshire	You've always known the name of UNH sophomore James van Riemsdyk, but one of his classmates wasn't too shabby last year either. Danny Dries had 11-17—28 in 37 games, including six power-play goals.
8.	St. Cloud State	Top-line wing John Swanson, a St. Cloud townie, looks to be the “other guy” (alongside Lasch and Roe) on the Huskies’ lethally-efficient power play, which clicked at a nasty 44% in their first two wins.
9.	Princeton	Championship teams get great goaltending, and when Zane Kalemba provided that last year, the Tigers won their second-ever ECAC Hockey crown. His performance will go a long way toward bringing another title to Old Nassau.
10.	Minnesota	Junior forward Jay Barriball made a huge splash as a rookie, going directly from high school to the WCHA and notching 20 first-year goals. The sophomore jinx was unkind, as he scored just six last season. A return to form will mean smiles in Mariucci.
11.	Michigan State	With a gaggle of freshmen in the lineup and a lack of veteran scorers up front, senior goalie Jeff Lerg may have to turn in the best performance of his Spartan career to keep MSU in the NCAA tournament picture. If he does, expect to see him listed again among Hobey Baker finalists.
12.	Northern Michigan	In his six seasons at NMU, head coach Walt Kyle has led the Wildcats to 20 or more wins five times. And his teams have lost 16 or more games five times. The talent is there for bigger, better results.
13.	Wisconsin	On the Badger blue line there’s an ocean of talent that’s going to make a lot of NHL money one day. Junior Jamie McBain is the best, and most proven, of that bunch, which needs to carry an offensive load for Wisconsin to be an NCAA factor.
14.	Miami	Standout defensemen Mitch Ganzak and Alec Martinez are gone. Kevin Roeder and fellow senior Ray Eichenlaub provide leadership for a callow blue line corps.
15.	Clarkson	Individually, senior defensemen Ty Mason and Phil Paquette won't realistically be expected to replace what Grant Clitsome provided on the blue line last year, but as a tandem they're both talented and capable enough to make their own impact on Clarkson's fortunes.
16.	Minnesota State	Apparently they only teach scoring to players in the Oklahoma City youth hockey program, which explains Mick Berge’s 20 goals and just six assists last season. If your skills are limited to just lighting the red lamp, that’s a good problem to have.
17.	Cornell	Two consecutive years outside of the NCAA Tournament feels like a long drought for the Big Red, after their consistent success in the early part of the decade. With Colin Greening, Riley and Brendon Nash, and Ben Scrivens in the fold, a return to the national tournament could be in order.
18.	North Dakota	Forget all of those “emerging” or “might be” potential sources of offense and focus on the one guy in the world still playing college hockey that has a Hobey to his credit. As Ryan Duncan goes, so go the Fighting Sioux.
19.	Northeastern	It starts with junior goalie Brad Thiessen. It will continue with junior goalie Brad Thiessen until Northeastern can pop in a few more goals. Senior forward Joe Vitale leads the offense, but support is required.
20.	Air Force	Senior defenseman Greg Flynn had a breakout season last year, with 31 points after recording 17 in his first two years combined. The high-scoring Falcons return their top six scorers from a year ago.
21.	Massachusetts	Sophomore James Marcou had 24 assists as a rookie and earned a spot on the Hockey East All-Freshman Team with these forwards: BC's Joe Whitney, BU's Colin Wilson, and UNH's James van Riemsdyk. If you're judged by the company you keep, Marcou is awfully good.
22.	Ferris State	Zach Redmond and Scott Wietecha were impressive as rookie defensemen last season, especially on offense. Their continued growth is vital to the evolution of last year’s surprise fifth-place CCHA finishers.
23.	Niagara	On paper, the talented Purps are the prohibitive favorite to win the College Hockey America title. Managing expectations is the challenge, and it's up to the six-member senior class including goalie Juliano Pagliero and forwards Ted Cook and Vince Rocco.
24.	Quinnipiac	Forward Bryan Leitch enters his senior year with 110 career points in 118 career games. He hasn't received the recognition that has been granted to the likes of Brandon Wong, Reid Cashman, and Jamie Bates over the last three years, but a big senior season would cap a very nice career.
25.	UMass Lowell	The River Hawks graduated just one senior last spring, and three players comprise this year's entire senior class. Forwards Mark Roebothan, Nick Monroe, and Mike Potacco will provide leadership for a young and talented team.
26.	Ohio State	A highly regarded goaltender from the U.S. National Team Development Program, junior Joe Palmer has been a disappointment for the Buckeyes thus far, as evidenced by his .889 career save percentage.
27.	Yale	Goalies Billy Blase and Alec Richards have been spectacular at times in their collegiate careers, and forgettable at other times. The Bulldogs don't need spectacular, they just need consistent as an improving offense is ready to challenge for a spot in the upper third of the ECAC Hockey standings.
28.	Vermont	Junior goalie Mike Spillane was a reliable option in back of standout Joe Fallon for the last two years. He'll have a chance to claim the starting job this season.
29.	Harvard	Junior forward Doug Rogers and junior defenseman Alex Biega have shown the ability to dominate games during their first two years. They'll be counted on to do a lot more of that with depth and goaltending concerns for Harvard.
30.	Minnesota Duluth	The Bulldogs’ top scorer had just eight goals last season. So when MacGregor Sharp notched three in the opening weekend of 2008-09, it was a welcome sight in the Twin Ports. That trend needs to continue for UMD to get home ice in March.
31.	Union	Union coach Nate Leaman was looking for some grit and tenacity on his defense corps, and found it with Lane Caffaro. The senior and his blue line mates helped Union reduce its team goals-against average from 3.31 to 2.60 last year.
32.	Rensselaer	Senior goalie Mathias Lange split time in the nets with Jordan Alford over the last three years. Now there's a highly-touted recruit named Allen York vying for the starting spot in goal.
33.	Nebraska-Omaha	A goalie … any goalie. The Mavs somehow finished in the middle of the CCHA pack even though their netminders posted a combined 3.45 GAA and a .869 save percentage while giving up 142 goals – the most in Division I.
34.	Bowling Green	Any goal scorer not named Jacob Cepis – Cepis posted 15-16—31 as a freshman last season. Only one player on the Falcons’ roster – senior Brandon Svendsen – has scored more than 15 goals in his career.
35.	Michigan Tech	With serious questions about the Huskies’ goaltending and similarly serious questions about which of the young forwards will score, there’s a double dose of expectations on the shoulders of talented senior defenseman Geoff Kinrade.
36.	Bemidji State	The Senior goaltender Orlando Alamando was sharp last season in limited minutes behind Matt Climie. Can he keep up that level of play now that he’s (at worst) the Beavers’ co-No. 1 goalie?
37.	Mercyhurst	Senior goalie Matt Lundin has 21 wins and a .911 save percentage over his career. The Lakers should be able to put the puck in the net this year. Keeping it out would lead to them contending for Atlantic Hockey hardware.
38.	Colgate	Junior forward David McIntyre nearly doubled his production as a sophomore (32 points) following a 17-point freshman campaign. Tyler Burton and Jesse Winchester are gone. McIntyre is the top dog for the Raiders and he showed in last spring's ECAC Hockey playoffs that he's ready to shine.
39.	RIT	Junior defenseman Dan Ringwald emerged on the scene last year and was a first-team All-Atlantic Hockey selection. Entering this season, he's RIT's leading returning scorer following the graduation of Simon Lambert and Matt Smith.
40.	Maine	At this time we'd like to call Maine's top seven scorers from 2007-08 to the front of the room. Wait, nobody? Six graduated and freshman Andrew Sweetland signed a pro contract. Freshman forward Gustav Nyquist and freshman defenseman Will O'Neill are NHL draft picks and will need to make an immediate impact.
41.	Lake Superior State	The Lakers should score more than the 91 goals they managed a year ago. Cutting down on the 125 they gave up is the issue, and it's up to Pat Inglis and Brian Mahoney-Wilson between the pipes.
42.	St. Lawrence	Senior forwards Brock McBride and Kevin DeVergilio are both on pace to reach 100 points for their Saint careers. It's a senior-laden team, especially on the blueline and that experience might lift St. Lawrence back toward the top of the league after falling from first to ninth last year.
43.	Sacred Heart	Sacred Heart's senior class suffered its first losing season in their three-year careers last season. Led by forward Bear Trapp and defenseman David Grimson, they'll have a big impact on not letting it happen again.
44.	Army	Cody Omilusik opened eyes last year as a freshman and contributed a respectable nine goal, 16-point season. That'll need to increase for the Black Knights, whose second-, third- and fourth-leading scorers graduated.
45.	Providence	Defensemen Cody Wild and Matt Taormina tied for the lead in assists for the Friars last year. Each had 18 helpers. The senior blueliners will be counted on to meet or exceed that output this season.
46.	Dartmouth	The Big Green's goalie is a key player. Senior Dan Goulding has one career start and is joined on the roster by freshmen Jody O'Neill and James Mello.
47.	Merrimack	Second-line forwards can help the Warriors move up the standings in Hockey East. They got modest production from Rob Ricci and Matt Jones, and goalie Andrew Braithwaite had a .922 save percentage, a 2.38 goals-against average, and still managed just eight wins in 21 starts.
48.	Alaska	The perpetual rebuilding project that is Alaska hockey needs a foundation. Dion Knelsen, a junior forward who entered the season with 55 points in 70 career games, is the cornerstone.
49.	Alaska Anchorage	As a sophomore, Josh Lunden led the Seawolves with 14 goals. If he can use his size (6-2, 202) and skills to improve on those numbers, and draw opponents’ attention to free up his linemates, it may be a brighter winter in Anchorage.
50.	Holy Cross	You say tomato, I say to-mah-to. Sophomore Everett Sheen (15 goals) and junior Brodie Sheahan (13 goals) are the only returning players to have reached double-digits in goals last year.
51.	Robert Morris	The Colonials’ goaltending corps boasts a total of nine career starts. Star forward Chris Margott and Co. may have to put up big offensive totals in order to win until one of the netminders settles in.
52.	Canisius	The Griffs have a chance to move up in Atlantic Hockey behind sophomore forward Vincent Scarsella, a member last season's Atlantic Hockey All-Rookie Team. Canisius has upgraded its talent at the forward positions and could score a lot more goals this season.
53.	Western Michigan	In nine full seasons behind the bench for coach Jim Culhane, the Broncos have finished above .500 twice (none since 2001-02) and have failed to the Joe Louis Arena portion of the CCHA Tournament since 1994.
54.	Brown	Senior forward Ryan Garbutt had a team-high 12 goals last year, but the Bears struggled to score (67 goals in 31 games). If he can lead the team in that direction, more wins will certainly follow.
55.	Bentley	Sophomore goalie Joe Calvi saw a lot of shots against last year in his rookie campaign. He racked up an impressive .913 save percentage, but still allowed nearly three goals per game.
56.	Connecticut	The Huskies have been short on experience, but that's what senior defenseman Nick Schneider provides. He's played more than 100 games in his UConn career, the only current member of the team to have reached that total.
57.	Alabama-Huntsville	A shin pad, a skate blade, a backside – Danton Cole’s club could use a little intervention from the hockey gods. The goaltending’s not bad, but the Chargers scored a paltry 60 goals in 31 games last season.
58.	American International	Junior forward Mike McMillan led the team in scoring last year. He'll need to keep it up because the next three highest point-getters after him all graduated.