Chris from Western College hockey gave UND the kiss of death. While I think UND is going to be very good hockey team this season I don't know if they are going to finish in the top spot. It's not outside the realm of possibility. I think DU is going to finish there based on who didn't leave for the NHL and who they have coming in this season. Funny no mention of the law mower throwing incident.
1. North Dakota
The Sioux are the defending MacNaughton Cup champs, and had it not been for a couple terrible starts to their season, they would probably have two or three more in recent years.
Last year North Dakota was a bit different from previous Sioux teams in that they didn’t have much in the way of superstar NHL prospects—it’s probably telling that nobody left school early for the pros last summer—but they were a much deeper team, and that seemed to serve them better over the long haul of the season(though it also produced their shortest postseason run in years).
This year’s North Dakota team looks similar, though they’ll probably have less scoring at the top, and more scoring throughout the rest of the lineup. Chris VandeVelde is one of the strongest players in the WCHA, but probably isn’t going to score at much than a point per game pace. Jason Gregoire could be due for a breakout season as a sophomore.
On defense, they return Chay Genoway, who some thought was the WCHA’s player of the year last season, and they have a solid goalie in Brad Eidsness.
They’re going to be a tough, physical team from top to bottom, and hopefully more consistent than in year’s past. It might take more points to win the league than it did last season, but with their goaltending situation settled, and a more experienced lineup, I don’t see North Dakota having the struggles they did early last season.
The Pre-Season Preview went like this...
1. North Dakota
2. Denver
3. Wisconsin
4. Minnesota
5. Minnesota-Duluth
6. St. Cloud
7. Colorado College
8. Minnesota State
9. Alaska-Anchorage
10. Michigan Tech
