Paul Gentile wrote:
 
> B.C. should be #1 in the nation.
 
Boy, this one is sure to get some comment.  A lot of people are going to say
that Michigan should be number one based on winning it all with such a young
team.  But losing Turco's netminding, Muckalt's scoring and, perhaps most
importantly, Matt Herr's leadership (he carried the Wolverines through the
quarter-final upset of North Dakota) leaves too many question marks.
 
But this still ignores the team that I think should be rated #1 in the
pre-season.  In fact, it looks to me like a no-brainer.  North Dakota.  These
guys STILL only lost three players off of the team that was ranked #1 for much
of the year, which makes for a grand total of five departures from the
title-winning squad of two years ago.  Curtis Murphy is a big loss, but no
bigger than Reasoner.  Matt Henderson was co-WCHA Defensive Player of the year
and will be missed, but they have several wings that can step up.  Mitch Vig was
a good, big, strong defenseman, but is the typr of player that a school like UND
can keep replacing.
 
What do they have left?  For all the talk about New Hampshire last year, the
Sioux were the top scoring team in the nation.  Aside from Murphy, all of the
big guns are back.  David Hoogsteen, Jason Blake, both Panzers, Jesse Bull and
Peter Armbrust can all put the puck in the net with ease.  Youngsters Lee Goren
and Jason Ulmer looked like they might add two more to that list.  Jeff Ulmer,
Adam Calder and Brad DeFauw are role players that aren't going to embarrass
themselves.
 
In Aaron Schweitzer and Karl Goehring, they have two of the best goalies in the
nation.  Schweitzer struggled some last year, but he may have been suffering
from injuries and he sure looked like he had it back at the end; it wasn't his
fault they lost to Michigan.
 
So the only real question mark they have is finding a first line defensive
pairing, and they have some candidates.  I'm guessing that Brad Williamson is
going to step up, but it could be someone else.
 
And I'm also betting that these guys are going to remember the early exit from
last year's tourney.  And unlike the other team in green-and-white that got
bounced in Ann Arbor last year, North Dakota has the tools to take advantage of
the motivation.  I am NOT looking forward to having to stay with them in the
WCHA.
 
J. Michael Neal
 
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