WCHA 2007-08

Last update: October 18, 2007 - 8:55 PM

A look at the WCHA men's teams, listed in the order conference coaches predicted they would finish before the season began:

1 North Dakota: The Fighting Sioux routed defending NCAA champion Michigan State 6-0 last week in their opener. They might be that good. Junior forward Ryan Duncan (31-26--57) won the Hobey Baker Award last season. Also back is T.J. Oshie (17-35--52), another junior and the team's second-leading scorer, five defensemen and senior goalie Jean-Philippe Lamoureux.

2 Minnesota: The Gophers' strength is offense. Even with the loss of Ryan Stoa (knee injury) for the season, four returning forwards had at least 31 points, and three others were in the 17- to 19-point range. Sophomores Jay Barriball (20-23--43) and Kyle Okposo (19-21--40) are the top returning scorers.

3 Colorado College: The Tigers have to replace goalie Matt Zaba, whose .913 save percentage was the best in CC history. Junior Drew O'Connell is his likely successor. Five of seven defensemen are either freshmen or sophomores. But the top four scorers are back and the power play was fourth best in the nation last season, scoring at a 22.2 percent clip.

4 Denver: The Pioneers are a young team, with seven sophomores and 13 freshmen. Three top scorers, all sophomore forwards, return. They are Brock Trotter (16-24--40), Rhett Rakhshani (10-26--36) and Tyler Ruegsegger (15-19--34). Junior Chris Butler is one of league's top defensemen.

5 Wisconsin: Three of the nine incoming freshmen were first-round picks in the 2007 NHL draft. Forward Kyle Turris was the third pick, defenseman Ryan McDonagh of Cretin-Derham Hall the 12th pick and defenseman Brendan Smith the 27th. "We'll see where all this youth and energy takes us," coach Mike Eaves said.

6 St. Cloud State: Bob Motzko was named the co-WCHA Coach of the Year after the Huskies finished second in the conference. The roster includes 17 freshmen and sophomores. Forward Andreas Nodl (18-28--46) set team record for points by a freshman last season and was conference's Rookie of the Year.

7 Michigan Tech: The Huskies had their first winning record last season since 1992-93 and lost only four players. Tech's penalty kill (86.5 percent) was the best in the conference last season, its power play (9.8) the worst. The defense is solid with goalies Rob Nolan and Michael-Lee Teslak back.

8 Minnesota Duluth: The Bulldogs return Alex Stalock in goal and five defensemen, including junior Josh Meyers. But UMD lost a ton of scoring. "Up front, we might not have that one big line or that one dynamic player," coach Scott Sandelin said, "but I like our team."

9 Minnesota State Mankato: The Mavericks start the season with nine of their first 10 games on the road. Top forwards are Joel Hanson (15-13--28), Jon Kalinski (17-10--27) and Mick Berge (12-7--19). Three freshmen could play a lot on defense.

10 Alaska Anchorage: The Seawolves had a winning record (9-8-1) at home last season, but the team's power play and penalty kill units have to improve. "We want to get out of the basement," coach Dave Shyiak said. Top returning players, all sophomores, are forwards Paul Crowder and Josh Lunden and goalie Jon Olthuis.

ROMAN AUGUSTOVIZ

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