>Others:  I really didn't think about anyone else seriously,
>although I took a good look at St. Lawrence, UMD, Ferris
>State and Providence.  I gave a cursory look at everyone
>else, tossed them out of consideration, then went back
>thinking "how come I dumped Miami and Lake Superior?
>Oh yeah, that's why."  This is where we find out what
>their coaches are made of, I guess.
>
>OK, fire away....
>
>-Geoff
>
 
 
Ok, here goes ...
 
You've ranked Hockeyeast last, by placing their top 5 teams ( IYHO ) with an
average standing of 11.8. (ECAC 11.2, WCHA 10.6 and the CCHA a whopping
8.4). Now, I know its really difficult to do something like this and I was
going to extend you kudos for being so objective. Then I thought of
something ....according to your rankings, it looks like a cake walk for BC
in HockeyEast this season. Is that why HockeyEast faired so poorly? You have
B.C. way up top and your other 4 "obligatory" (you have 5 from each
conference) HockeyEast picks are all in the bottom half (for the most part).
 
Still, you have done a better job than I have. I just would have had
HockeyEast fare better as a league because (IMHO) they certainly warrant it.
 
I like B.C. in the number 1 slot, although I am torn by North Dakota's more
than deserving honor of that spot as well as my "obligatory" look at the
defending champ from last year being #1 until proven otherwise. UND
certainly deserved the preseason #1 at the beginning of last year because
they were the champs AND they lost very little to graduation, pros, etc.
Michigan did however lose quite a bit so I've relinquished them to #2 (but
no lower!). B.C. gets the nod over UND by comparing their finishes (B.C was
8-1-1 in last 10 whereas UND was 6-4-0). Any preseason prediction that has
UND in the #1 slot is fine with me though. I certainly would have them #2
(if not#1) if it wasn't for my obligation to any defending champ.
 
Ohio State at #4 is another difficult choice for me. To me, they look almost
as strong as UND and B.C.. They certainly finished strong last season after
a rocky start. I've been watching their recruiting classes. They've tapped
into a gold mine in Cornwall, Ontario and these Canadian kids were really
coming together in the second half of last year. This trend continues with
another Cornwall recruit (Yan Desgagne) coming in this year. They've got
some great momentum and should be extremely tough to slow down.
 
OSU, UND, BC and another HockeyEast squad (or perhaps Harvard) would make a
perfect final-four in Anaheim.
 
Your ECAC teams align perfectly with their rankings by ECAC coaches. I'd
love to see Harvard fare better than #3 in ECAC and I really think they
might take the league. However, Princeton looks tough to beat and Clarkson
is always up there.
 
My top ten ...
1. B.C.
2. Michigan
3. U.N.D.
4 Ohio State
5 Maine
6 Michigan State
7 Harvard
8 Princeton
9 Colorado
10 Boston University
Also receiving consideration - St. Cloud, UNH, Clarkson
 
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