That's a good question. I think that we'd all like to think that our team will be better. Here's my take after a few minutes of thinking about it:
Minnesota State (21-4-3 WCHA, 98-47 GF-GA WCHA): Losing Williams hurts, but Huggins was up to the task last year. The Mavs lose their leading scorer in Leitner, #2 defense scorer in Palmquist, and JP Lafontaine, who didn't light the lamp much his senior year but was definitely someone to keep your eye on defensively. Grant, Gaede, and Stern are losses, but not anything that can't be overcome with Hastings's pipeline.
Michigan Tech (21-5-2, 103-48): They lose a lot of talent to graduation: Kero, Pietila, D. Johnstone, Hietala, and Sweeney. It looks like Jamie Phillips will stay in Houghton, but if he goes pro, man, that really hurts. I know that Tech has a lot of talent coming in, but that's a lot to lose. I don't really see how they can match this year, but 18-20 league wins seems reasonable.
Bowling Green (17-8-3, 87-66):
2009-10: 5-25-6
2010-11: 10-27-4 (under new coach Chris Bergeron)
2011-12: 14-25-5
2012-13: 15-21-5
2013-14: 18-15-6
2014-15: 23-11-5
Bergeron knows what he's doing. BG's last year above .500 before last year was 1996-97. They lose a little bit — Berkle, DeSalvo, and Kucera stick out in my mind — but they still have the three-headed goalie monster and six of their eight 20+ point scorers, and the three 25+ guys are all underclassmen (including freshman Hawkins, the leading scorer at 16-14—30). I think that they have to rise again next year.
Alaska (14-12-2, 75-69): Losing Parayko was inevitable, but it really has to hurt. Jones looked to be up to being the #1 goalie until he got hurt. Perry and Campbell are losses, but they have the Morley brothers and Basara. The question will be whether the loss of Parayko is too much to the Nanooks' blue line. I think they'll tread water.
Bemidji State (12-11-5, 73-62): Losing their defensemen really, really hurts: Prap could score (and should at the next level), and Rendle and Windle could lock it down. Bitter was fantastic this year, and there's scoring in the underclassmen (Harms, Arentz, GFitz). I worry too much about losing 50% of their D corps to think that they'll improve.
Ferris State (13-14-1, 66-58): Loses Motte. Loses one of their three 20-point scorers. In the words of M. Ward, "I believe you're headed for a fall."
Northern Michigan (11-13-4, 59-71): They lose Seckel and Jones plus two senior D. The question is this: will Dahlström be healthy for his senior season? Their key contributors (less Seckel) return, but the only one to make more than modest gains was Nowick. They look a lot like Ferris State did this year when it comes to the box score. I think that they'll stay in the middle of the pack.
Alabama-Huntsville (7-20-1, 44-95): CARMINE GUERRIERO. Oh, and the seniors we lose are great guys and their mothers love them but they're not top WCHA talent and they know it. If the Chargers keep the work ethic that has been their calling card in this bare-cupboard seasons, they should be okay. There is room to move up, perhaps as high as #4 if Saulnier figures it out and some of the incoming players can score.
Lake Superior (7-20-1, 44-91): I come not to bury Damon Whitten, but to praise him. [Sorry, Perky, it was right there.] The Lakers lose their only double-digit goal scorer in Perfetto — 18% of their scoring! Alex Globke was a non-factor in his sophomore year (5-5—10 after 12-19—31), one in which he admitted that he wasn't conditioned enough to play in Whitten's system. That said, the Lakers only scored two fewer goals than UAH in the same number of games. It feels like they're a year behind UAH in all sorts of ways: year that the coaching staff changes, freshmen goalies making their move, etc. The Lakers didn't fall as far as UAH did, but their cupboard was pretty bare.
Alaska-Anchorage (5-21-2, 52-94): Umm, idk? Cameron, Allen, Coldwell, and Docken depart, but I think that a couple Seawolves fans are ready to help them pack. The Mantha kid looks nice in net. Does anyone know what's happening up there?
I don't follow recruiting very well (even for UAH), so I don't know if incoming talent has an effect. But I'd expect the following:
· Mankato and Tech to fall off
· BG to make that a three-team race
· A muddled middle that will be powered by which goalie is lights-out
· Teams that can't score at the bottom.
GFM
