| No. |
Team |
Reason
for Optimism |
| 1. |
 Denver |
How deep are the Pioneers? Sophomore forward
Luke Salazar, who scored 15 goals as a rookie, could conceivably
be a third-liner. Yikes. |
| 2. |
 Notre
Dame |
Now that Jordan Pearce is gone, the goaltending
is a question mark. But the defensemen, led by Ian Cole
and Kyle Lawson, rates an exclamation point. |
| 3. |
 Miami |
Forget about April. The Redhawks' top six
forwards are as good as any half dozen in the country,
and they've got a formidable one-two punch in goal with
Connor Knapp and Cody Reichard. |
| 4. |
 Boston
University |
Don’t think of the players lost, think
of the players returning—Bonino, MIllan, Shattenkirk,
Cohen, etc. |
| 5. |
 Michigan |
The S.S. Wolverine will sail to another
top-three showing in the CCHA standings thanks to a balanced
attack led by 24-goal scorer Louie Caporusso and an underappreciated
group of defensemen. |
| 6. |
 North
Dakota |
With just three seniors (Chay Genoway, Chris
VandeVelde, and Darcy Zajac) on the roster, the Fighting
Sioux might be a year away ... but still have a pretty
good shot at making a run to the Frozen Four this year. |
| 7. |
 Cornell |
Most of the team’s key players return
from a team that was one bad period away from the Frozen
Four. |
| 8. |
 Princeton |
ECAC Hockey is a goalie’s league and
the Tigers might have the circuit’s best in Zane
Kalemba. |
| 9. |
 UMass
Lowell |
Having one legitimate first team all-league
defenseman is a good start, but even better for the River
Hawks is that they have two in Nick Schaus and Maury Edwards. |
| 10. |
 Minnesota |
The incoming freshmen are highly touted,
and forward Jordan Schroeder and all but three contributors
from last year are back. Now, if the guys who are a year
older are also a year better ... |
| 11. |
 Yale |
The Bulldogs took some people by surprise
last year. The surprise this year would be if they’re
not back in the NCAA Tournament. |
| 12. |
 St.
Cloud State |
All indications are that freshman goaltender
Michael Lee is the real deal. The Huskies' nucleus of
forwards Ryan Lasch and Garrett Roe and defenseman Garrett
Raboin is solid. |
| 13. |
 Wisconsin |
The star-studded Badger blue line gets yet
another marquee name in British Columbia Hockey League
standout.Justin Schultz. Don't overlook a productive group
of senior forwards led by Blake Geoffrion. |
| 14. |
 Air
Force |
Goaltender Andrew Volkening will be the
key for the Falcons if they are able to back up last year’s
impressive run through Atlantic Hockey and into the NCAA
Tournament’s second round. |
| 15. |
 Vermont |
Rob Madore took over the starting goaltending
job in the second half last year and led the Catamounts
to the Frozen Four with a .912 save percentage and 2.35
goals-against average. |
| 16. |
 Boston
College |
After three straight trips to the championship
game, BC didn’t even make the tournament. The optimism?
Absences aren’t common for the Eagles. They’ll
be back. |
| 17. |
 Ohio
State |
The Buckeyes, a surprise NCAA Tournament
entrant in 2009, had nine players score 20-plus points
last season. Eight of them return—and none are seniors. |
| 18. |
 New
Hampshire |
Mike Sislo went from three goals as a freshman
to 19 as a sophomore. He’s got the talent and ability
to improve on that mark this year as a junior. |
| 19. |
 Northern
Michigan |
Seven of the team's top eight scorers from
a year ago are back, led by terrific junior forward Mark
Olver, who's scored 73 points in 79 career games, and
classmate Erik Gustafsson, a defenseman with 61 career
points. |
| 20. |
 Bemidji
State |
The Beavers can look forward to a new arena
and a new conference in the near future, but also to the
opportunity in front of them now to build on last year’s
success. |
| 21. |
 Harvard |
Louis Leblanc is the new name that everyone’s
talking about, but goalie Kyle Richter returns after a
one-year hiatus and that’s even more important for
the Crimson. |
| 22. |
 Minnesota
Duluth |
If a promising group of freshmen can emulate
the success the young Connollys (Jack and Mike, who combined
for 71 points) had last season, the 'Dogs could be in
line for a return trip to the NCAA Tournament. |
| 23. |
 Mercyhurst |
Ryan Zapolski emerged as one of the league’s
top goalies and the Lakers will always score lots of goals.
Steve Cameron and Scott Pitt are back after combining
for 95 points last year. |
| 24. |
 Nebraska-Omaha |
Dean Blais can coach up hockey players a
little bit. You won't find another program in the country
with more optimism heading into the season. |
| 25. |
 Minnesota
State |
Not only does forward Kael Mouillierat boast
one of college hockey's great names, he's also a pretty
good player. He and defenseman Kurt Davis are a dangerous
one-two punch. |
| 26. |
 Northeastern |
The Huskies will need to find a goalie,
but the likes of Wade MacLeod, Steve Quailer, and Alex
Tuckerman should provide enough offense to carry NU in
the early going. |
| 27. |
 Union |
We think Union will learn from last year’s
close losses and turn them into wins, and a strong corps
of veteran forwards matches up favorably with every other
group in the league. |
| 28. |
 Massachusetts |
James Marcou has averaged more than a point
per game through his first two seasons and had 47 points
last year. Look for big things in his junior campaign. |
| 29. |
 Colorado
College |
Lots of question marks in Tiger country;
the team's strength is its defensive corps, led by Gabe Guentzel, and Nate Prosser. |
| 30. |
 Alaska |
The Nanooks found a formula last season
that led them to the CCHA semifinals. Departed goalie
Chad Johnson was a big part of said formula, but returnee
Scott Greenham showed promise in limited duty. |
| 31. |
 RIT |
The Tigers pushed Air Force to the bitter
end last year but came up just short. Still, the 23-win
season was its best as a Division I team and something to
build on. |
| 32. |
 Dartmouth |
Where the Big Green had questions at this
time last year – goaltending – they have an
answer now in Jody O’Neill. |
| 33. |
 Niagara |
Seniors Chris Moran and Egor Mironov will
lead the offense and both will likely surpass the 100-career
point mark to cap their excellent Purple Eagles careers. |
| 34. |
 Maine |
Super sophomores Gustav Nyquist, Scott Darling,
and Brian Flynn will lead the way for an improving Maine
team. |
| 35. |
 Colgate |
A player like David McIntyre gives Colgate
something to hang its hat on every night. Hat, as in hat
tricks, which he might accomplish regularly. |
| 36. |
 Ferris
State |
The Bulldogs struggled to score goals a
year ago. Good thing their top returnees are a defenseman
(junior Zach Redmond) and a goalie (sophomore Taylor Nelson). |
| 37. |
 Rensselaer |
We’ve touted Rensselaer’s recruiting
classes for three years in a row. Talent is no longer
the problem in Troy. |
| 38. |
 Alaska
Anchorage |
The forward trio of Kevin Clark, Tommy Grant,
and Josh Lunden return. The three combined to score 42
goals last season. |
| 39. |
 Michigan
State |
Everything can't go wrong for the Spartans
like it did last season, can it? Speedy forward Daultan
Leveille is a year older and, more importantly, a year
stronger. He could be poised for a breakout this year. |
| 40. |
 Clarkson |
A disappointing campaign caused some positive
changes in attitude at Clarkson and the Golden Knights
are poised for a bounce-back year. |
| 41. |
 Canisius |
The Griffs return 12 of their 13 leading
scorers from last year and finished in the top half of
the Atlantic Hockey standings. Look for a repeat of that
this year. |
| 42. |
 Michigan
Tech |
Tthe Huskies were 1-6-7 in WCHA games decided
by a goal or less. Forwards Jordan Baker and Brett Olson
and defensemen Deron Cousens and Drew Dobson provide a
solid foundation. |
| 43. |
 St.
Lawrence |
Despite all of the losses to graduation
on the blueline, leading scorer Mike McKenzie is back,
along with starting goalie Alex Petizian. |
| 44. |
 Quinnipiac |
The Bobcats’ top two scorers are gone,
but they still return three players that scored 11 goals
or more in Jean-Marc Beaudoin, Eric Lampe and Scott Zurevinski. |
| 45. |
 Providence |
Both of the team’s 10-goal scorers
last year – Matt Berglund and John Cavanagh –
are back with the Friars this year. |
| 46. |
 Lake
Superior State |
The Lakers were two games under .500 on
Feb. 1 of last season before running out of gas and losing
nine of their last 11. Senior forwards Zac MacVoy and
Nathan Perkovich won't let that happen this time around. |
| 47. |
 Merrimack |
The Warriors graduated two seniors who played
a combined total of 16 games last year. Returning players
have a better understanding of what it takes to compete
in one of the nation’s most difficult conferences. |
| 48. |
 Western
Michigan |
Riley Gill gave Western Michigan its best goaltending
in years last season. Forwards Max Campbell and Greg Squires
should approach the 35-point mark this year, and rookie
defenseman Luke Witkowski is highly touted. |
| 49. |
 Holy
Cross |
Just one senior played regularly in the
Crusaders’ lineup last year. Another year of experience
and four returning players that scored at least 11 goals
give fans something to look forward to. |
| 50. |
 Robert
Morris |
Chris Margott graduated but the next three
leading scorers on the team are returning juniors, led
by standout forward Nathan Longpre. |
| 51. |
 Brown |
New coach Brendan Whittet was a former player
at Brown and had success there and as an assistant at
Dartmouth. They won’t be pushovers anymore. |
| 52. |
 Army |
Senior Owen Meyer had 19 goals last year
and junior Cody Omilusik scored 13. That’s a decent
support system for returning goalie Jay Clark (.914 sv
pct, 2.98 GAA). |
| 53. |
 Bowling
Green |
There's still a team at Bowling Green—based
on the chatter during the off-season, that wasn't always
a foregone conclusion. A plan to revive the program and
a new coach in Dennis Williams should spark optimism. |
| 54. |
 Bentley |
The Falcons went 13-7-1 down the stretch
last year and finished fourth in the league, ending the
year with a winning record. It was the best season in
program history. |
| 55. |
 Sacred
Heart |
Senior Erik Boisvert had a breakout year
with 15 goals and 14 assists. He and classmate Dave Jarman
(11-18–29) will be a key to the Pioneers’
offense. |
| 56. |
 Connecticut |
A very young UConn team lost just four seniors
to graduation and returning experience could help the
Huskies increase their win total this year. |
| 57. |
American International |
Senior captain Chris Campanale led the team
in points last year and the Yellow Jackets return four
of their top five scorers. |
| 58. |
 Alabama-Huntsville |
It seems like nothing’s going right
for the Chargers, but junior goalie Cameron Talbot is
arguably the league’s best and that’s a good
foundation to start building from. |