Re: Northeastern Huskies 2014 Offseason: Resurrection's Over....Now What?
With media day right around the corner (Monday) and polls being released across the board, I decided to take a stab at preseason predictions myself. Polls may be dumb, but they are fun to put together
1- Providence: The most complete team. Arguably the best goalie in the country. I expect Jankowski to develop further, plus top scorer Mauermann is back.
2- Boston College: Questions persist about who will put the puck in the net, but they will score their share. They have the best defensive corps in the country, IMHO, may not give up more than 2 goals a game. Demko is a top 3 goalie in the conference.
3- Northeastern: the Huskies return 9 of their top 10 scorers, in addition to Clay Witt, who completes the trifecta of top HEA goalies. The NU powerplay will improve (I believe). I expect Roy to explode this season, and Szmatula will be right behind him. Secondary scoring will be plentiful for the Hounds.
4- boston university: Quick rebound for the Terriers. The top American since Mike Modano will certainly help. Uber talented group coming in, increasing skill throughout the lineup. O'Connor is solid in net, and new recruit LaCouvee can push him if he falters. Over-reliance on mostly freshmen would have me worried, but the overall talent level puts them above the next few teams.
5- Vermont: my surprise team this season. Hoffmann proved he can be a legit D1 goalie, though Santaguida will likely get some time rotating in. Reynolds back from injury will cushion the blow of losing McCarthy, plus Puskarich is the real deal as a scorer. Offensively talented blue line as well will help pick up some scoring slack from the forwards.
6- Maine: Most underrated player in Hockey East in Devin Shore. He and Hutton will carry the load offensively, but after that, secondary scoring questions exist. Losing Lomberg will hurt them. Biggest question exists in net, after losing Ouelette- can Morris step up and be "the guy?"
7- Notre Dame: Similar to UNH below, the lost a ton of scoring from last season, in addition to their 4 year starter in net. Ranked above the next two teams because I expect Petersen to be a stud, plus they retain talent in Tynan, Lucia, Hinostroza, and Russo
8- UMass-Lowell: Lost the best goalie in the nation, their top defenceman, and one of their top offensive weapons. LOTS of new faces coming to the River Hawks this season, plus no clear successor to Hellebuyck in net. I trust Norm's system, but wonder if the talent drop off will be too much.
9- New Hampshire: Lost the most scoring in Hockey East from last season (61.1%), two of their top 3 goalies, plus lost their goalie in the offseason due to an off-the-field altercation. They seem to have a plan in place for goal, accelerating recruit Tirone for the 2nd semester, but that might be too late to save the season.
10- Merrimack: Lost top scorer and leader in Mike Collins, and lost their top recruit before the academic year even began. They get the nod over UMass due to the difference in goalie- I trust Tirronen over Mastalerz.
11- UMass: Lost their top 3 scorers. Getting Montour for the second semester will be a needed boost. I expect Yevenko to develop nicely as a defender. Mastalerz returns in net, but I just don't see the Minutemen scoring much.
12- UConn: The new guy. Lost their top 3 scorers in addition to their top goalie. Cav will get them up the ranks soon enough, but they will toil at the bottom for a couple of years.
And that's it. Open to criticism, anxious for puck drop. Go NU.
). The one change I would suggest is dropping UVM from one to three places, because the "surprise" with UVM is almost always their under-performance. Who knows, maybe this will be the year they show up where they ought to. 