Pre-Preseason top 10 2009-10
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read Tim Rosenthal's story on the Inside Hockey website.
One of the greatest National Championship games took place in Washington D.C. few weeks ago where Boston University defeated Miami University 4-3 in overtime. Boston University overcame a 3-1 deficit to force the game to an extra session where Colby Cohen played the role of the hero.
That time has come and gone and since Boston University has lost a key underclassman in Colin Wilson, whom many believed he was leaving after this year. However, they still have a great nucleus in place for next year (right now) and so do the National Runner-Up, Miami.
While it's way to early to pick a preseason top 10, it's never too early to do a pre-preseason top 10. Where do Miami and BU end up? And what other teams make up the top 10?
Here's an early look at what's in store for 2009-10
#1 Miami RedHawks, 2008-09 record: 23-13-5
Enrico Blasi's club was less than a minute away from a National Championship, but the dreams were cut short by a dramatic comeback from BU. Seven of the nine players who scored 20 or more points are scheduled to return including the teams leading scorer, Carter Camper. Five of the RedHawks six defensemen are also back as well as both goaltenders, Connor Knapp and Cody Reichard.
#2 Boston University Terriers, 2008-09 record: 35-6-4
True the Terriers lose a great senior class and Colin Wilson, but as of right now Jack Parker's squad is ready to reload. Nick Bonino, who scored the tying goal in the National Championship game, should return as well as defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk and Brian Strait, who will be co-captains in 2009-10. Kieran Millan should be back in net as well with a year behind his belt and a National Championship.
#3 Denver Pioneers, 2008-09 record: 23-12-5
This young Pioneer squad is only going to get better under the guidance of head coach George Gwozdecky. Goaltender Mark Cheverie has a year under his belt and should get better as next year progresses and so should talented freshmen from 2008-09 Patrick Wiercioch, Joe Colborne and Luke Salazaar.
#4 Cornell Big Red, 2008-09 record: 22-10-4
One of the best defensive teams in the nation from 2008-09 should return much of the nucleus, including goaltender Ben Scrivens and defenseman Brendon Nash. If Riley Nash, the teams leading scorer a year ago, leaves for Edmonton (2007 first round pick), then they might drop a little bit, but certainly not out of the top 10 as this club has a lot of balance usually from all four classes.
#5 Michigan Wolverines, 2008-09 record: 29-12-0
One of the great coaches in college hockey, Red Berenson, always has talent coming his way for the Maize and Blue. While the Wolverines lost Aaron Palushaj to the pro's, they have David Wohlberg to take his place (who had a solid freshman campaign) to get the puck to goal scorer Louie Caporusso. Bryan Hogan took the starting goaltender job as a sophomore and should be considered one of the CCHA's best returning goalies in his junior campaign.
#6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 2008-09 record: 31-6-3
Leaving South Bend are the likes of Erik Condra, Christian Hanson, Garrett Regan and Jordan Pearce. However, head coach Jeff Jackson has always been known to be in reload mode instead of rebuilding mode. Sophomore Brad Phillips will have the task of replacing Pearce in net, and Calle Riderwall, Ben Ryan and Billy Maday should all be key components in the offensive department.
#7 Princeton Tigers, 2008-09 record: 22-12-1
Guy Gadowksy's squad has made back-to-back appearances in the NCAA tournament, but they have both led to first round exits. All-ECAC goaltender Zane Kalemba should be back for his senior season as well as his defense surrounding him, but they will need to improve on offense as they ranked in the bottom half in the nation in goal scoring averaging 2.83 goals per game.
#8 Minnesota Golden Gophers, 2008-09 record: 17-13-7
When you have an underachieving team and lose your top goal scorer (Ryan Stoa) you usually don't make it to the top 10 this early. However, Don Lucia's squad is ready to put the past behind them and move on. This team has a lot of talent with the likes of Jordan Schoreder, Jay Barriball and Cade Fairchild. Alex Kangas, who struggled in the second half last year, is ready to put that behind him and move on in his junior campaign.
#9 Air Force Falcons, 2008-09 record: 28-11-2
Jacques Lamoureux should've been a Hobey Baker award finalist in 2008-09 and is one of the early favorites for the Hobey next year. Look for Matt Fairchild and Jeff Hajner to be the leaders next year and goaltender Andrew Volkening is back with his 11 career shutouts.
#10 UMass-Lowell RiverHawks, 2008-09 record: 20-16-2
Blaise MacDonald's squad will have plenty of senior leadership next year. Thirteen members of the class of 2010 are scheduled to return and will look to lead the RiverHawks to their first NCAA appearance since 1995-96 when Bruce Crowder was at the helm.
Five Others to Watch:
Northern Michigan
Yale
St. Cloud State
North Dakota
Vermont
