Mark asked about the WCHA this year, and from what I can tell, the race
will be similar to last year with one exception.  This year, I think that
the top three spots (instead of the top two) will be very competitive
while 4 teams will be clumped between 4th and 7th and then 3 will be at
the bottom.  Specifically:
 
1-3:  CC, UM, DU
4-7:  St. Cl., Wisc, MN Duluth, UND
8-10:  NMU, MT, UAA
 
For anyone wanting any more information about the WCHA, Ryan Bowman has
an excellent piece at:
 
http://www.aero.und.nodak.edu/~cbell/bowman.htm
 
Just select the article about the WCHA.
 
Finally, my informal WCHA poll on my webpage so far agrees with my
prediction.
                                                        charles
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