Well, at the risk of doing a 1996-97 preview, I'm going to cruch some numbers for each team in the WCHA and see what they lose. Under senior points, I have listed total points, in conference, scored by the seniors (goals plus assists). Total points are the goals and assists scored by ALL players on the team. Percentage is just the first number divided by the second number times one hundred, or the percentage of a team's points scored by that team's seniors. In order of finish in 1995-96: 1) Colorado College* Senior points: 190 Total points: 469 Percentage: 41 Departing seniors: 5 2) Minnesota Senior points: 153 Total points: 384 Percentage: 40 Departing seniors: 10 3) Denver Senior points: 80 Total points: 374 Percentage: 21 Departing seniors: 4 4) Minnesota-Duluth Senior points: 100 Total points: 329 Percentage: 30 Departing seniors: 6 5) North Dakota Senior points: 176 Total points: 398 Percentage: 44 Departing seniors: 7 6) Wisconsin Senior points: 179 Total points: 312 Percentage: 57 Departing seniors: 6 7) Michigan Tech Senior points: 81 Total points: 312 Percentage: 26 Departing seniors: 4 8) St. Cloud Senior points: 74 Total points: 282 Percentage: 26 Departing seniors: 5 9) Alaska Anchorage Senior points: 75 Total points: 217 Percentage: 35 Departing seniors: 6 10) Northern Michigan** Senior points: 25 Total points: 194 Percentage: 13 Departing seniors: 4 * I did not take into account Ryan Bach, who has one year of eligibility left, but was supposed to graduate from the school this year. ** These numbers are for the *graduating* seniors, and not the players who were removed from the team mid-season. I have not taken into account any players leaving for reasons other than graduation. From this information, I have to respectfully disagree with any of the prognosticators picking Wisconsin to finish in the top five. With nearly everyone who could put the puck into the net leaving, and an unimpressive recruiting class, they are in for a tough time this year. These numbers justify what I told J. Michael Jackson in Cincinnati about Denver. They lost almost nothing, and if Mullin has another impressive year, they should do very well. They are my preseason pick for first in the conference. -Lee-nerd [log in to unmask] "It is not written in the stars that I will always understand what is going on - a truism that I often find damnably annoying." -Robert Heinlein HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.