Fan Fanatic Sports Staff
The NHL has already started playing, but for a lot of hockey fans, that means that the hockey is only at half strength. That's right. Until the NCAA drops the puck, you can't quite call it hockey season yet.
But fear not.
This week marks the start of the college hockey season and for Hockey East, UMass kicking things off with a matchup with Rensselear tonight. The rest of the league starts on Friday, so it seems like the most appropriate time to take a look at the top teams that will be battling for the crown in the most competitive college hockey conference in the nation.
But before we get to the teams, let's put to rest any dispute over whether or not Hockey East is the best conference. Over the last two decades, Hockey East has won the national championship six times, including each of the last two years, and has sent at least one team to the finals 16 times.
If there's one thing that can be pointed to as a theme for Hockey East this year, it's youth. There is a great deal of turnover this season and the defending national champions are certainly one team that will have to deal with that. BU loses five of their top scorers from last year, including Hobey Baker winner Matt Gilroy and Hobey Baker finalist Colin Wilson, the team's leading scorer. But the Terriers return most of their defense and outstanding sophomore goaltender Keiran Millan as well as 50-point scorer Nick Bonino. BU may have been outplayed in three national tournament games against New Hampshire, Vermont and Miami, but they got the bank shots when they needed them and them's the breaks. Good teams are opportunistic and that's what the Terriers were last season. This season they don't have quite as much star power, but this is a team that just seems to reload instead of rebuild and with Millan in net, there's no reason to think they won't be at the top of Hockey East again this season.
UMass-Lowell is one of the few teams not dealing with a young team. In fact, they return 12 seniors and six juniors to their squad, including the goaltending tandem of Carter Hutton and Nevin Hamilton, who both were in the top-5 in the conference in goals against average and save percentage. The River Hawks have flirted with being a good team in the past and with youth all around them in the league, could this be the year for them?
Boston College is a real question mark this year. Last year, they fell from being tops in the nation to not even making the tournament. Talent-wise, they run with the best of them, but youth is abundant. The roster has 19 freshmen and sophomores on it, which leads to a ton of uncertainties. Not the least of those is the goaltender situation. John Muse underwent surgery on his hip to repair a torn labrum and the stopper who has started all 81 games since arriving at the Heights won't be leaned on as heavily, especially in the early-going. Muse already was suffering from a slump, seeing his GAA rise a half a goal and his save percentage drop nearly 20 points in his sophomore year after his outstanding freshman championship campaign. On the days Muse is out, the Eagles will rely on sophomore Chris Venti, who has only played 7:34 in his collegiate career.
Vermont lost one of the best players in the country in Viktor Stallberg, who was a Hobey Baker finalist as well as all three of its captains that led the team to the Frozen Four last year, so the offense probably won't be ranked quite has high as last year's second place in the conference in scoring offense this season. Still, the team has talent, starting with Brian Roloff. Most importantly, the Catamounts return all of their defensemen from last year's team that ranked fourth in the league in scoring defense, including enforcer Patrick Cullity.
New Hampshire is another team that is going very young this season. In fact, it's one of the youngest Dick Umile has had in his tenure. A lot of work will have to be done if UNH wants to play in its ninth-straight national tournament. The Wildcats lost their top offensive playmaker in James van Riemsdyk as well as four other top-8 scorers from last year's team. They do return top goal-scorer Mike Sislo. With such a young team all over the ice, players who normally wouldn't be called upon, like sophomore defenseman Blake Kessel (yes, brother of that other Kessel), will have to take on a larger leadership role. Senior Brian Foster returns to net for the Wildcats. He's a solid goaltender, though not outstanding.
Hockey East prediction:
1. Boston University
2. UMass-Lowell
3. Vermont
4. Boston College
5. New Hampshire
6. Northeastern
7. UMass
8. Maine
9. Providence
10. Merrimack
UMass-Lowell is one of the few teams not dealing with a young team. In fact, they return 12 seniors and six juniors to their squad, including the goaltending tandem of Carter Hutton and Nevin Hamilton, who both were in the top-5 in the conference in goals against average and save percentage. The River Hawks have flirted with being a good team in the past and with youth all around them in the league, could this be the year for them?
Boston College is a real question mark this year. Last year, they fell from being tops in the nation to not even making the tournament. Talent-wise, they run with the best of them, but youth is abundant. The roster has 19 freshmen and sophomores on it, which leads to a ton of uncertainties. Not the least of those is the goaltender situation. John Muse underwent surgery on his hip to repair a torn labrum and the stopper who has started all 81 games since arriving at the Heights won't be leaned on as heavily, especially in the early-going. Muse already was suffering from a slump, seeing his GAA rise a half a goal and his save percentage drop nearly 20 points in his sophomore year after his outstanding freshman championship campaign. On the days Muse is out, the Eagles will rely on sophomore Chris Venti, who has only played 7:34 in his collegiate career.
Vermont lost one of the best players in the country in Viktor Stallberg, who was a Hobey Baker finalist as well as all three of its captains that led the team to the Frozen Four last year, so the offense probably won't be ranked quite has high as last year's second place in the conference in scoring offense this season. Still, the team has talent, starting with Brian Roloff. Most importantly, the Catamounts return all of their defensemen from last year's team that ranked fourth in the league in scoring defense, including enforcer Patrick Cullity.
New Hampshire is another team that is going very young this season. In fact, it's one of the youngest Dick Umile has had in his tenure. A lot of work will have to be done if UNH wants to play in its ninth-straight national tournament. The Wildcats lost their top offensive playmaker in James van Riemsdyk as well as four other top-8 scorers from last year's team. They do return top goal-scorer Mike Sislo. With such a young team all over the ice, players who normally wouldn't be called upon, like sophomore defenseman Blake Kessel (yes, brother of that other Kessel), will have to take on a larger leadership role. Senior Brian Foster returns to net for the Wildcats. He's a solid goaltender, though not outstanding.
Hockey East prediction:
1. Boston University
2. UMass-Lowell
3. Vermont
4. Boston College
5. New Hampshire
6. Northeastern
7. UMass
8. Maine
9. Providence
10. Merrimack
