The Western Collegiate Hockey Association continues to be the premiere conference in NCAA hockey. It has produced four of the past five national champions, including each of the last three, with Denver winning it all last year and Minnesota taking the title each of the two years prior. Now those two teams are predicted to finish in the middle of the standings in the nation's best conference.
Colorado College (0-0-0, 2-0-0)
The Tigers are coming off a distraction-filled season in which they finished seventh in the league. Assistant coach Norm Bazin was involved in a life-threatening car accident which left the team reeling. Junior goalie Curtis McElhinney suffered from mononucleosis.
A year later, the team is ready to make a run at the top of the WCHA standings. Bazin is doing well but taking a year off from the program, and McElhinney is back at full strength. The players have one more year of experience under their belt and the team's depth chart features many of the same names as last year.
When it comes down to it, Colorado College has to win games at home, where they went 12-8 last season. It also has to win in close games down the stretch. The Tigers went just 4-5 in their final nine games last season.
Colorado College, with two goalies with plenty of experience and with seven of eight defensemen returning, are a legitimate top-five team in the WCHA.
Denver (0-0-0, 1-2-0)
The Pioneers, after finishing fourth in the WCHA last year, later went on to win the NCAA National Championship. While it was great to win the title, it only means one thing when this season starts: Every team will be gunning for them.
First on the list of questions for the defending national champions is what the team will get from its goaltenders? Adam Berkhoel, who backboned the team to the championship last year, graduated. This season, Denver will depend on sophomore Glenn Fisher and freshman Pete Mannino.
Denver will also have to be careful not to get complacent. Winning a championship was an accomplishment, but another season is under way.
If the Pioneers hope to return to the top five of the WCHA this season, they will need young players to step up early and often.
Minnesota (0-0-0, 2-1-0)
The Golden Gophers find themselves in much of the same situation as Denver. Similar to Wisconsin, Minnesota lost one of the nation's top prospects, Thomas Vanek, during the offseason. Unfortunately for the Gophers, Vanek was not their only big loss and they will have to depend on their young talent early in the season.
Minnesota has 10 freshmen this season and will rely on at least half a dozen of them to take the ice.
Between the pipes, sophomore Kellen Briggs could be the biggest factor for a successful season. He was thrown into the lineup right away as a freshman and gained valuable experience as the No. 1 goalie. He had a good season last year, but will need to have a great season this year if the Gophers hope to climb into the WCHA's top three.
St. Cloud State (0-0-0, 2-1-0)
The Huskies played their way toward the top of the league last season, but fell during the final stretch, losing their final seven games. They enter what seems to be another rebuilding year where a top-five finish, while not out of the question entirely, is going to take a lot to happen.
Their biggest loss comes in the goaltending department, as Adam Coole graduated after last season. The Huskies will rely on sophomore Tim Boron and junior Jason Montgomery, both average at best.
The veterans will also need to take charge and get the team motivated. Senior Dave Iannazzo, last years leading scorer with 16 goals and 27 points-not outstanding numbers for a leading scorer-will need to step up and provide larger numbers for the team this year.
It is going to be a year of question marks in St. Cloud. A fifth place finish would be considered a great season.
