{"id":29979,"date":"2008-10-06T13:01:26","date_gmt":"2008-10-06T18:01:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2008\/10\/06\/200809-hockey-east-season-preview\/"},"modified":"2010-08-17T19:57:16","modified_gmt":"2010-08-18T00:57:16","slug":"200809-hockey-east-season-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2008\/10\/06\/200809-hockey-east-season-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"2008-09 Hockey East Season Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

Three Favorites, Then Anything Goes<\/h4>\n

On paper, Boston College, Boston University, and New Hampshire rank as the clear favorites in Hockey East this season. The three programs contend for the title almost every year — perennial powerhouse Maine usually joins them but has fallen on hard times — and while each has questions that remain to be answered, talent abounds and expectations are high. <\/p>\n

\"Last<\/p>\n
Last season was a lost one for Boston College’s Brock Bradford, but the Eagles are looking to him again this year (photo: Melissa Wade).<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Almost any other team could claim the final home ice berth. Vermont brings back most of the squad that finished third last year. Northeastern and Massachusetts-Lowell return almost their entire rosters. And Maine can’t really miss the playoffs two years in a row, can it?<\/p>\n

If you ask BU coach Jack Parker, however, there’s only one team for the rest of the field to beat.<\/p>\n

“The favorite is BC, and then there’s a gap,” he says. “BC lost the best player in the league [Nathan Gerbe, who turned pro], but they’ve got Brock Bradford, who didn’t play for them much last year. They have everything on paper to be a repeat national champion, not only a repeat Hockey East champion.”<\/p>\n

It’s hard to argue with that point of view, though many will. That’s what’s great about this time of year. Every team is undefeated and almost everyone can say, “If we just catch a couple breaks …”<\/p>\n

Here, then, are thumbnail views of each team’s outlook. Click on the links for more details.<\/p>\n

1. Boston College<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

Coaches — 1st; Dave — 1st; Jim — 1st<\/p>\n

The defending national champion is the odds-on favorite.<\/p>\n

2. Boston University<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

If the Terriers get good goaltending, the sky is the limit.<\/p>\n

Coaches — 2nd; Dave — 2nd; Jim — 3rd<\/p>\n

3. New Hampshire<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

Lots of holes; can the Wildcats fill them all?<\/p>\n

Coaches — 3rd; Dave — 3rd; Jim — 2nd<\/p>\n

4. Vermont<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

Coaches — 5th; Dave — 4th; Jim — 4th<\/p>\n

The Catamounts fell just short of a title last season.<\/p>\n

5. Northeastern<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

Almost everyone returns. Can the Huskies take their game to the next level?<\/p>\n

Coaches — 4th; Dave — 5th; Jim — 5th<\/p>\n

6. Massachusetts-Lowell<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

The River Hawks also bring back virtually their entire roster from last year. They should contend for home ice.<\/p>\n

Coaches — 7th; Dave — 6th; Jim — 6th<\/p>\n

7. Massachusetts<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

Add the Minutemen to the growing list of teams that would look quite comfortable in that final home ice berth.<\/p>\n

Coaches — 6th; Dave — 7th; Jim — 8th<\/p>\n

8. Providence<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

Coaches — 8th; Dave — 8th; Jim — 9th<\/p>\n

The Friars will try to put a disappointing finish behind them.<\/p>\n

9. Maine<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

Coaches — 9th; Dave — 10th; Jim — 7th<\/p>\n

The Black Bears are rebuilding; will lowered expectations help or hurt?<\/p>\n

10. Merrimack<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

Coaches — 10th; Dave — 9th; Jim — 10th<\/p>\n

A playoff spot would be the next step for Mark Dennehy’s squad.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three Favorites, Then Anything Goes On paper, Boston College, Boston University, and New Hampshire rank as the clear favorites in Hockey East this season. The three programs contend for the title almost every year — perennial powerhouse Maine usually joins them but has fallen on hard times — and while each has questions that remain […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":140328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[322],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n2008-09 Hockey East Season Preview - College Hockey | USCHO.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Three Favorites, Then Anything Goes On paper, Boston College, Boston University, and New Hampshire rank as the clear favorites in Hockey East this season.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29979\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2008-09 Hockey East Season Preview - 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