September Arrives...

With just a little over a month until the hockey Huskies take the ice and begin another season, I feel it's now safe to start speculating about each WCHA team's chances this season. All of the major early departures are likely public by now, and the status of almost all recruiting classes is known. That said, I'll go ahead and post my first three predictions tonight.


Minnesota-Duluth

The Bulldogs claimed 9^th place in the WCHA last season.

With the loss of senior goalie Josh Johnson, Duluth is left with sophomore Alex Stalock in the net, who had some trouble adjusting to college play and posted 3.34 GAA and an .881 SV% in 23 games his freshman season. They are also bringing a freshman by the name of Kenny Rieter into the mix, who played his junior hockey in the NAHL. Between the inconsistent Stalock and a raw, untested freshman, it seems like Duluth’s goaltending situation could be unstable.

More woes abound in front of the net, where both of UMD’s top point-getters, forward Mason Raymond and defenseman Matt Niskanen, decided to forego their final two years of eligibility and turn pro. The Bulldogs also lost top goal-scorer Bryan McGregor and two experienced defensemen to graduation, leaving them with just two 20+ point players returning, and a lot of shoes to fill.

On the recruiting front, UMD seems to have found some potential goal-scorers in Justin Fontaine, Kyle Schmidt and Rob Bordson, but will they be able to contribute much as freshmen and if so, how much?

Between the goaltending questions and a big loss of scoring punch and leadership, I’m afraid the Bulldogs and their fans are in for a long season. Stalock needs to prove that he is a competent, everyday goaltender, upperclassmen need to fill leadership roles, and freshmen must start producing quickly if Duluth is to make any progress this season.

Prediction: Somewhere between 8^th and 10^th in the league.

Alaska-Anchorage

The Seawolves claimed 10^th place in the WCHA last season.

After an interesting first half which included a home sweep of North Dakota and splits with Wisconsin and Colorado College, everything seemed to go downhill for the Seawolves after Christmas.

Up front, Bourne graduated and Beagle moved on. Back on the blue line, Anderson graduated. In goal, Lawson moved on (probably a good thing for both him and UAA).

Incoming recruits include Chris Rengert, Tommy Grant, Winston Daychief, and Nick Haddad on offense, Jeff Carlson on defense, and Matt Gordon between the pipes.

Overall, it could be an interesting year for the Seawolves provided they can play some defense, and get decent goaltending out of either Olthuis or Gordon. Whether or not that can happen remains to be seen.

Prediction: Somewhere between 8^th and 10^th in the league.

Minnesota State-Mankato

The Mavericks claimed 8th place in the WCHA last season.

The story of 06-07 seemed to be goaltending and penalties. The Mavs were the most penalized team in the league, and both of their starting goalies suffered injuries. Both Tormey and Zacharias should be fully healed in time for the start of the 07-08 campaign, however it seems that they will have their work cut out for them.

On offense, losing Morin to graduation will be tough, but the Mavs retain Hanson, Kalinski and Berge, all of whom are important elements of MSUM’s power play. Kalinski is also particularly adept at scoring shorties.

On the blue line, MSUM suffers a bit from the early departure of Wagner and the graduation of two seniors, but they pick up a couple of decent-looking freshmen.

Similar to St. Cloud, it’s tough to predict exactly where this team will wind up, but I’d say that they have the potential to be a force in the bottom half of the league, and could surprise a higher seed in the WCHA playoffs come March. They need to work on reducing their penalty minutes though.

Prediction: Somewhere between 7th and 9th in the league.


I'll post two more predictions later this week.