Looking for No. 1: Watch These Five in 2010 Title Hunt
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The following article appeared September 12 on the U.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO) Web site.
By Todd D. Milewski
Executive Editor
In one sense, the last 17 NCAA tournaments have produced nothing new, really.
It has been 17 years since a new name entered the champions’ club, the relatively exclusive collection of schools that have Division I NCAA championship hardware in their trophy case.
In 1993, Maine became the 17th school to join that group, and ever since, the national champion has been one of those 17 teams.
So, which 18 do we get in the 2010-11 season? An 18th member of the champions’ club, or an 18th straight year without an addition?
Forty-one teams have a chance to break the streak, and as the new season approaches, here are five teams that the USCHO staff considers to be at the top of the list of possibilities.
Yale
If there’s a way to sum up why the Bulldogs have a chance at big things, it goes back to last season’s NCAA regional semifinal against North Dakota. They were energetic and opportunistic, and it didn’t appear to matter to them that they were the underdog.
If there’s a reason to be skeptical, it goes back to what happened the next day. Yale saw a Frozen Four berth evaporate when its offense, productive as it was, couldn’t keep up with defensive shortcomings in a wild, 9-7 loss to Boston College. Up front, the Bulldogs had no match in college hockey last season; in goal, they were sub-par, using four goaltenders through the season with none able to solidify himself as the starter.
If Jeff Malcolm, Nick Maricic or Ryan Rondeau can give the Bulldogs a stable base in goal, they could make the step from being just one of the top 10 teams to being one of the college hockey elites behind 27-goal scorer Broc Little and 45-point scorer Brian O’Neill.
The Bulldogs list 20 letterwinners returning from a team that extended the program’s NCAA experience to two straight seasons. It’s not a big streak, but coach Keith Allain has put Yale on a rapid incline in his first four seasons that makes a Frozen Four trip the next item on the agenda.
Complete article can be accessed via the USCHO Web site by clicking here.
