Here are the comments that go with TSN's Top 20. Notice the lack of
reasoning. [My comments in brackets.]
1. Michigan. Wolverines are hungry for the NC$$ title after tasting the
final four last year.
2. Maine. The Bears are buoyed by several top returnees and solid recruits.
3. Minnesota. Great depth will propel the Gophers, who must find a way to
succeed in the playoffs.
4. Boston University. Paced by 23 returning letter-winners, including David
Sacco, Terriers will have bite.
5. Clarkson. Expectations are high, but an experienced crew should help
Golden Knights succeed.
6. Lake Superior St. Brian Rolston leads the Lakers in defense of the
NC$$ championship.
7. Colorado College. Brash, young Tigers have set their sights on winning
the WCHA.
8. Michigan State. Not even the loss of several top scorers will derail
the Spartans.
9. Minnesota-Duluth. If Derek Plante gets some support, the Bulldogs will
be a force.
10. Boston College. Len Ceglarski has left, but the Eagles will still be
one of the nation's best teams. [Still? They weren't last year...]
11. Harvard. If a goalie is found, the Crimson will enjoy a strong season.
12. Wisconsin. Replacing goalie Duane Derksen will be difficult, but the
Badgers are up to the task.
13. Illinois-Chicago. After years of smoldering, this will be the year the
Flames reach new heights.
14. Providence. Rob Gaudreau and Mike Boback are gone, but the Friars won't
fall far from view.
15. Northern Michigan. The Wildcats have lost lots of scoring punch, but
return of 15 lettermen will help.
16. Lowell. The Chiefs will rank among the best teams in Hockey East this
year. [It's 'UMass-Lowell'...and what does this say for HE?]
17. North Dakota. If someone other than Greg Johnson emerges, the Sioux
will have a fighting chance. [But didn't he turn pro?]
18. New Hampshire. The Wildcats look to build on last year's surprising
success. [Not 'surprising', and it's tough to build on losing All-World
goalie Levy and 5 All-American caliber forwards. Mark this down as a
rebuilding year for UNH.]
19. Rensselaer. This could be the year Rensselaer regains its 1985 title form.
[Then why are they #19?]
20. Michigan Tech. Goalie Jamie Ram back-stops the Huskies' bid for the
WCHA title.
And here are TSN's preseason All-America candidates by position. I'm sure
everyone can pick out several players who are glaring omissions. But it's
a decent list nonetheless of who to watch. I've added their stats from last
season from the team listings in THN. Two players were not listed with their
teams as key returnees but were listed as All-America candidates. Figure
that one out.
FORWARD
Clayton Beddoes, Jr, Lake Superior. 16-28--44.
Hugo Belanger, Sr, Clarkson. 18-33--51.
Marc Beran, Sr, Boston College. 22-20--42.
Derek Chauvette, Sr, Brown. 12-30--42.
Bob Cowan, Sr, Providence. 13-18--31.
Andrew Dickson, Sr, Colgate. 15-31--46.
Steve Dubinsky, Sr, Clarkson. 21-34--55.
Steve Flomenhoft, Sr, Harvard. 14-17--31.
Joe Frederick, Sr, Northern Michigan. 26-8--34.
Dan Gravelle, Sr, Merrimack. 23-28--51.
Tony Gruba, Jr, St Cloud. 14-22--36.
Darby Hendrickson, So, Minnesota. 25-30--55.
Curtis Janicke, Sr, Notre Dame. 12-38--50.
Jody Jaraczewski, Jr, Colorado College. 21-20--41.
Craig Johnson, Jr, Minnesota. 19-39--58.
Greg Johnson, Sr, North Dakota. 20-54--74.
Mark Kaufmann, Sr, Yale. 25-20--45.
Brian Konowalchuk, Jr, Denver. 8-17--25.
Chris MacDonald, So, Illinois-Chicago. 11-27--38.
Steve Magnusson, So, Minnesota. 9-24--33.
Jim Montgomery, Sr, Maine. 21-44--65.
Blaine Moore, Jr, Wisconsin. 16-20--36.
Mike Murray, Jr, UMass-Lowell. 22-15--37.
David Oliver, Jr, Michigan. 31-27--58.
Mark Ouimet, Sr, Michigan. 10-19--29.
Derek Plante, Sr, Minnesota-Duluth. 27-36--63.
David Roberts, Sr, Michigan. 16-42--58.
Brian Rolston, So, Lake Superior. 18-28--46.
David Sacco, Sr, Boston University. 14-33--47.
Bryan Smolinski, Sr, Michigan State. 30-35--65.
Glenn Stewart, Jr, New Hampshire. 15-11--26.
Jim Storm, Jr, Michigan Tech. 25-33--58.
Ron White, Jr, Ohio State. 31-13--44.
Brian Wiseman, Jr, Michigan. 27-44--71.
John Young, Sr, Michigan Tech. 19-41--60.
Jason Zent, Jr, Wisconsin. 27-17--44.
DEFENSEMEN
Steven Barnes, Jr, Lake Superior. ?
Adam Bartell, So, Rensselaer. 5-13--18.
Etienne Belzile, Sr, Cornell. 1-1--2.
Brad Bombardir, Sr, North Dakota. 3-14--17.
Joe Cook, Jr, Miami. 15-26--41.
Martin d'Orsonnens, Sr, Clarkson. 2-10--12.
Jack Duffy, Sr, Yale. 3-24--27.
Kent Fearns, So, Colorado College. 10-27--37.
Shannon Finn, So, Illinois-Chicago. 6-14--20.
Jason Hehr, So, Northern Michigan. 8-17--25.
Chris Hynnes, Sr, Colorado College. 12-31--43.
Chris Imes, Jr, Maine. 4-19--23.
Chris McAlpine, Jr, Minnesota. 3-9--12.
Ian Moran, So, Boston College. 2-16--18.
Patrick Neaton, Sr, Michigan. 10-20--30.
Kevin O'Sullivan, Sr, Boston University. 3-18--21.
Travis Richards, Sr, Minnesota. 10-23--33.
Barry Richter, Sr, Wisconsin. 10-29--39.
Jon Rohloff, Sr, Minnesota-Duluth. 9-9--18.
Michael Smith, Sr, Lake Superior. 8-17--25.
Michael Stewart, Jr, Michigan State. ?
Chris Therien, Jr, Providence. 16-25--41.
GOALTENDERS
Scott Cashman, Sr, Boston University. 12-6-2, 3.82, .880.
Jason Currie, Jr, Clarkson. 11-7-1, 2.87, .912.
Mike Dunham, Jr, Maine. 6-0-0, 2.20, .897.
Jon Hillebrandt, So, Illinois-Chicago. 7-19-4, 4.14, .877.
Tom Newman, Sr, Minnesota. 5-1-0, 2.44, .891.
Jamie Ram, Jr, Michigan Tech. 8-9-1, 4.43, .874.
Chris Rogles, Sr, Clarkson. 11-3-0, 3.06, .904.
Corwin Saurdiff, So, Northern Michigan. 23-10-1, 3.55, .884.
Steve Shields, Jr, Michigan. 27-7-2, 2.84, .887.
Garth Snow, Sr, Maine. 25-4-2, 2.44, .883.
Christian Soucy, So, Vermont. 15-11-3, 2.83, .910.
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Mike Machnik [log in to unmask] mikem@{beanpot,bubba}.ma30.bull.com
(Any opinions expressed above are strictly those of the poster.)
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