The College Hockey Blog has moved! The lovely folks at FanSided have invited me aboard, so you can check out The College Hockey Blog at its new location:

http://thecollegehockeyblog.com

UND recruit Matt White might quit hockey altogether. (Lincoln Stars Blog)

Greatest banner to a blog you’ll ever see. I promise. (Runnin With The Dogs)

If you like women’s hockey, read this site. Of course, only if you like Wisconsin. (60 minutes. No alibis. No regrets)

Did the Wings have the best draft ever in 1989? (From the Rink)

Marty Turco has tons of goalie coaches. (Puck Update)

2. There are 3 teams (by my count) that didn’t get ranked that I honestly could have ranked as high as 12th, and I’ll briefly go over those 3 before #1 is revealed (or perhaps after, it’s not like there will be suspense at that point) so save your bitchin’

Although Yale is the defending league champs, and is expected to be ranked 1st in the ECAC Preseason polls, I like Princeton a bit better. Returning is the backbone of the 7th best defense in college hockey last year, goalie Zane Kalemba, who had the 3rd best save percentage (.932) and 4th in goals against (1.82)

Princeton didn’t get a ton of scoring last year, as they were 30th nationally, behind teams like Union, Dartmouth and Bentley. The graduation of Lee Jubinville, 2008′s ECAC Hockey Player of the Year, will also hurt. But Dan Bartlett (16-12–28) took a big step forward last year and should continue – or increase – his production. But Bartlett tied for 32nd in the conference in points and was tied for 32nd in goals within conference play. The Tigers might not improve much in the way of scoring, but with Kalemba they might not need to.

Along with Kalemba and Bartlett, two more Seniors in Mark Magnowski and Jody Pederson will be back. These four have played in back to back NCAA Tournaments, and established a Princeton record for victories in a season each of the last two years, and add some statistical value to boot. Magnowski (11-8–19) and Pederson (5-14–19) add some value in addition to the value already discussed with Kalemba and Bartlett.

The player I will be watching this year is Cam McIntyre. He only had 6 points last year, but remember that he only played in 14 games last season due to a disc problem in his back. He had 13 goals and 31 points as a Sophomore, and his healthy return is a huge X Factor in giving Princeton yet another trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Complaining that Justin Schultz isn’t getting enough love. I love him. (60 mins. No alibis. No regrets.)

Are there hotties on the DU volleyball team? Find out. (Let’s go DU)

Something I missed: Troy Jutting and Scott Sandelin have signed extensions at their respective schools. (This is the WCHA)

Some Canada stuff, including whether or not the best player in the world will be their captain next year. (Illegal Curve)

Some BC Women’s Hockey talk. (Beyond the Dashers)

Yes this is about football, but it’s a great blog so go read it. (BC Interruption)

That’s all for today as I’m going to be late for class. Have a good weekend everyone.

The other news is that the US Women’s Olympic hockey roster will be named at 1 PM central time. Jocelyn and Monique Lamoureux have been confirmed to be on the team, not that that’s any surprise. The US women should be co-favorites with Canada to take the gold.

Last year the Fighting Sioux won the MacNaughton Cup for the first time since 2004, but was bounced in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by New Hampshire in a crazy game. A failure by Joe Finley to clear the puck out of the zone led to a faceoff and a goal for New Hampshire with less than a second left. With many of their top players back, the Sioux look to advance farther than the first round this year.

Let’s start with what the Sioux will miss: Ryan Duncan will be playing pro hockey in Austria this year. While I don’t think Duncan will have a great professional career, there is no doubt that he was a phenomenal college hockey player. Duncan led the team last year both in goals (20) and points (39). North Dakota will also be missing the 13 goals by Matt Frattin, as the Junior was kicked off the team last week stemming from a drunken driving arrest. Two alcohol related incidents in one summer is bad news. Granted he is a college kid and college kids like to drink (especially in Grand Forks) but the hockey players have to be smart enough to realize that the spotlight is always on them. Filling his spot will be Corbin Knight. Knight was the AJHL rookie of the year and had 72 points in 61 games for the Okotoks Oilers. The 5th round pick by the Panthers this year wasn’t slated to come to Grand Forks until next year, but he seems prepped to play college hockey.

The play in net will certainly be something to watch. Last year, Brad Eidsness had an up and down year – not unusual for  a Freshman – but he will have to step up this year in order for UND to make the leap. He was 47th nationally in save percentage (.906) and 29th in GAA (2.56). Given the offensive talent in the WCHA the numbers seem more acceptable, but they still need to improve. He seemed to have taken a step forward towards the end of the regular season last year, but poor rebound control was a big problem as the Sioux ended the year on a 3 game losing streak, including the final game when Eidsness gave up 6 goals to UNH. I’m sure Sioux fans will be watching Freshman Aaron Dell. Dell had a 2.53 GAA and .924 save percentage last year for the Calgary Canucks of the AJHL. He also led the league in minutes played in goal.

Offensively I’m not quite sure where the goals will come from. Duncan and Frattin are gone, as is Ryan Martens. I love Sophomore Jason Gregoire. Even though he disappeared at times last year, he flashed tremendous potential, with soft hands and an absolute rocket for a shot. He had 12 goals last year and I wouldn’t be surprised if he doubled those totals this year, although he will need to get someone to pass him the puck. Sophomore Brett Hextall had 12 goals last year, but he strikes me more as a role player than a star goal scorer. Junior Evan Trupp has loads of talent, but thus far it hasn’t translated into production.

Defensively, Jake Marto looks to be the team’s 2nd best defenseman this year. The former North Dakota Mr. Hockey had a very good season last year, looking comfortable no matter whom he was playing with, and handling the puck well. He has a good one to learn from, as Senior Chay Genoway is one of the best defensemen in college hockey, and I wouldn’t be shocked if he is a Hobey finalist at the end of the year. Hopefully Derrick LaPoint will be healthy to start the year, if no other reason than to give the Sioux another capable body back there.

Assuming Eidsness takes a step forward this year, and they get someone to fill Duncan’s skates, I think the Sioux will be right in the mix in the WCHA, and a Frozen Four contender.

Huntsville had tradition at the Division 2 level, and has had success in its infancy at Division 1. They won the CHA championship in 2007 and gave Notre Dame a run for its money in the first round of that NCAA Tournament.

CCHA bylaws required 9 of 11 members to vote yes (Omaha wasn’t allowed a vote) and it appears enough of the “little guys” said no. On the surface, I don’t have a huge problem with the big boys saying no. After all, they’re in the cat bird’s seat. Still, the little guys should have stepped up. Fairbanks, a place no one wants to go to, said no, citing a “lack of commitment.” Really? Huntsville has had to survive playing DII hockey, in Alabama. Not in Alaska, where it may be far flung but at least it’s cold and a traditional hockey market. Alabama. Huntsville was also a founding member of College Hockey America. Bowling Green, which just got funding for their arena, looks like they are a decent bet to still be in the league. So the CCHA will be an 11 team league, and Huntsville will be out in the cold.

Alaska AD Forrest Karr said “I hope this is not a death sentence for them, and I hope it’s not the end of their program. The last thing anyone wants to see is the loss of any Division I college hockey program.” That’s like President Truman voting not to send troops to liberate Europe, but saying he hopes the Holocaust ends.

Well, here we go. I have my e-mail open and my Google translator on in preparation for all of the e-mails from Sioux fans that say some form of “U kant hav the goofers number 8 u loser.” Should be a fun week or two in my household.

Last year the Gophers came roaring out of the blocks and were the number 1 ranked team in the country in this and many other polls. But starting with a January 9th and 10th sweep by North Dakota, the Gophers went through a stretch where they lost 9 of their final 16 regular season games. They jumped back on track in the first round of the WCHA playoffs, sweeping St. Cloud State, but then lost to Minnesota-Duluth in the opening round of the Final Five and missed the NCAA Tournament.

The Gophers will be without their leading scorer and captain last year, Ryan Stoa, as he left school early to sign with the Colorado Avalanche. Of course this ranking is dependent on Jordan Schroeder staying in school. The 22nd overall pick has hinted that he might sign with Vancouver, and it remains to be seen whether Vancouver will seriously push to sign him. They let BC goalie Corey Schneider develop in college so they may do the same with Schroeder. Last year the Freshman was tied for 2nd nationally in points per game (1.29) and was one of the best players in the World Junior Championships in Ottawa.

Also back for the Gophers are four Senior forwards: Jay Barriball, Tony Lucia, Mike Carman and Ryan Flynn. Barriball led this group with 11 goals and 34 points last year. Carman has shown flashes in the past but he, Lucia and Flynn are more glue guys than anything else. Still Minnesota will be one of the most experienced teams up front in the conference and they have a group of good college players that should put up some better numbers than they did last year.

Speaking of  better numbers, goalie Alex Kangas had his numbers absolutely collapse. He had a 2.79 GAA and a .901 save percentage. I thought he was going to be one of the best goaltenders in the country last year but he was probably the most disappointing player in the country. I really have no idea what happened to him, although the play by some of the defensemen in front of him certainly didn’t help. Any Gopher fans who know what happened though should leave their thoughts in the comments.

Defensively, the Gophers should be better than last year with the maturation of Aaron Ness. Ness had a good year last year, but you could tell he was physically overmatched at times. The star of the Gopher defense is Cade Fairchild, who has been very good for the Gophers the past couple years. I know fans of other WCHA teams get on INCH for overhyping Fairchild a bit, and they do to some extent, but the kid is a very good defenseman. I also really liked the play of Sam Lofquist last year, and think he has a shot of making the US World Junior team this year.

I like the Gophers to improve from where they were last year, finish in the top 3 or 4 in the WCHA, and win a game in the NCAA Tournament.

Last year Michigan made the CCHA championship game, losing to Notre Dame. For their efforts they were rewarded with the #1 seed in the Bridgeport regional. But they became the first of three #1 seeds to lose to a #4, when they lost to admittedly underseeded Air Force. The Wolverines lose their best player from last year, but return a good core of players and appear once again ready to contend for the CCHA crown.

The heart of the team, captain Mike Mitera, is gone, as is Aaron Palushaj, who at 1.28 ppg (13-37–50 in 39 games) was 4th nationally. But there is reason for optimism in Ann Arbor. Leading goal scorer Louie Caporusso (24 G) is back, as is Sophomore David Wohlberg, who had a very impressive debut with 15 goals and 30 points. Matt Rust, who contributed to the US World Junior team, is back and so is leading blueline scorer Chad Langlais (6-18–24).

But perhaps Wolverine fans’ biggest reason for hope is in net. Goalie Billy Sauer, who had his good games but will be more remembered for his blowups, has graduated, and will be replaced by Bryan Hogan. Michigan was the 4th best defensive team in college hockey last year, partly a byproduct of being in the low scoring CCHA, but partly because of Bryan Hogan, who was 7th nationally in GAA. He was way down there in save percentage but watching a few Wolverines games last year you could tell the defensemen played more confidently ahead of Hogan than they did ahead of Sauer.

Michigan has a very intriguing non-conference schedule, including a game with defending champion Boston University, Minnesota and Wisconsin in the college hockey showcase, and then at Wisconsin again in the Camp Randall Classic. Those games could help boost Michigan’s RPI come tournament time and might make the difference between a #1 and #2 seed.