59 Teams in 59 Days Dartmouth

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues in Hanover, New Hampshire where another Ivy league school is featured, the Dartmouth Big Green.

Head Coach Bob Gaudet and his team have been so close to the NCAA's the previous two years. This years team will look to get to the NCAA's for the first time in Gaudet's coaching career in Dartmouth. Gaudet will look to make his first NCAA apperance since the 1992-1993 season where he made his only NCAA tournament apperance when he was coaching at Brown.

This year's team might be able to get Dartmouth back to the NCAA tournament. As previously said the last two years the Big Green have gotten so close to the tournament. Last year Dartmouth won the ECACHL regular season title, but got smoked in the ECACHL tournament semi-finals to Harvard 10-1. The Big Green won the consolation game, but it was too little too late as the Big Green missed out on the NCAA's.

There is some talent coming back for the Big Green. While leading scorer and all ECACHL player Mike Ouellette is gone, the Big Green will still have some fire power on offense. Leading goal scorer David Jones will return for a Junior season as well as two other 10+ goal scorers in Senior Tanner Glass, and Junior Nick Johnson.

Defensively the Big Green lose three players, but will return Grant Lewis, Mike Hartwick, and John Gibson. Expect Chris Johnson and Will Boardman to fight for a defensive spot, as well as incoming Freshmen Peter Boldt, Kevin McCarthy, Harry Taylor, and Colin Young, for the final three roster spots on Defense.

Goaltending wise there is no question who will be the number one goaltender. Junior Mike Devine solved the goaltending situation after two year starter Dan Yacey graduated. Devine had great numbers going 18-8-2 with two shutouts, a 2.32 goals against average, and a .915 save percentage.

Overall this could be one of the best Dartmouth clubs for a while. This might be their year to shine and be able to make that NCAA apperance for the first time since 1980.

The predicted ceiling for Dartmouth is first in the ECACHL, while their gutter is fifth.

Tommorrow we will make a trip to the Rocky Mountains as the Denver Pioneers will be featured as the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues.

59 Teams in 59 Days Cornell

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to Ithaca, New York where the Cornell Big Red are featured.

Cornell is coming off two consecutive appearances in the regional finals of the NCAA touranment, only to lose both of those games in overtime to Minnesota in 2005, and Wisconsin in 2006.

If they want to get back to the NCAA's this year head coach Mike Schafer and the Big Red will have a lot of work ahead of them to do so.

Gone is their leading scorer and all ECACHL player Matt Moulson. Also gone is a first round pick from 2005 with the Washington Capitals, Sasha Pokulok, and all ECACHL goaltender David McKee.

So who will replace these huge losses? Senior forward Byron Bitz will be the main offensive threat for the Big Red. That is not the big issue for the Big Red however. The big issue is who will replace David McKee in net. The battle will be between Sophomore Dan DiLeo, and incoming Freshmen Troy Davenport, and Ben Scrivens. Cornell has had a history of good goaltenders, will one of these three become the next great goaltender in Big Red history?

Another piece of good news for the Big Red is that former UMASS-Lowell forward Chris Fontas will be ready this year. Their recruting class is solid and a few years from now they can be a threat to win it all. But for right now the Big Red will just have to sit and wait.

The predicted ceiling for Cornell is third in the ECACHL, the gutter is seventh.

Tommorrow we will make a trip to Hanover, New Hampshire as Dartmouth will be the next team to be featured in the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour. Can the Big Green step in and become an elite team in the ECACHL? Find out tommorrow as the tour continues.

59 Teams in 59 Days UCONN

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with our next trip to Storrs, Connecticut where the UCONN Huskies are featured.

UCONN might be this years surprise team in Atlantic Hockey as they return some key players including the teams leading scorer from last year Cole Koidahl, Sophomore forward Chris Myhro, and Junior goaltender Brad Smith.

With an upset over Sacred Heart in the Atlantic Hockey tournament, UCONN made a trip to the Semi-Finals in the Atlantic Hockey touranemnt, only to lose to eventual conference champion Holy Cross. This year the momentum could carry forward.

Head Coach Bruce Marshall is entering his 19th season at UCONN. They have not made the NCAA's while he's been there, but has won a conference tournament in 2000 where they beat Iona (who's hockey team is now deceased) in the then MAAC conference. However they did not get the automatic bid to make the NCAA tournament.

This year moemntum is carried forward from their Atlantic Hockey Tournament experience, they have some talent, and with some teams in Atlantic Hockey on the way down, UCONN might be able to sneak up on some teams this year including Mercyhurst, Sacred Heart, and Holy Cross.

The predicted ceiling for UCONN is fifth in Atlantic Hockey, their gutter is eighth.

Tommorrow the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour will continue where the Cornell Big Red will be featured. How will they be with a couple of underclassmen going pro early? Find out tommorrow as we make a stop to Ithaca, New York.

59 Teams in 59 Days Colorado College

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to Colorado Springs, where the Colorado College Tigers are featured.

Head Coach Scott Owens is entering his eighth season at Colorado College where he has made five NCAA Tournaments (including a Frozen Four apperance during the 2004-2005 season), and has won two WCHA regular season titles (2002-2003, 2004-2005).

This years team might be the hardest team to predict this year. No one knows where the potential, or the talent will be. They lose two former Hobey Baker Finalist in Marty Sertich (who won the Hobey in 2005) and Brett Sterling, the team's leading goal scorer last year. Also gone from last years squad is Joey Crabb, Aaron Slattengren, Trevor Frischmon, and Jesse Stokke, all of them were key players during their Frozen Four run in 2004-2005.

Chad Rau is back. After having a solid rookie season, Rau will be the focal point of the offense during the 2006-2007 season. Senior Defensmen Brian Salcido is also back and could also be a key in the offense this year. Salcido scored 8 goals and tallied 32 assists for a total of 40 points. Expect those numbers to go up as he has done so the previous two seasons at Colorado College.

Their is no question to who the starting goaltender will be. Senior goaltender Matt Zaba will take over the starting job for the second straight season. Expect him to have a big impact on this team this year.

This team is so unpredictable right now, but before the season begins it should be clear to Scott Owens what type of team he will have. Will they be up their in the elite of the WCHA? Will this be a rebuilding year for the Tigers?

Right now the predicted ceiling for Colorado College is third in the WCHA, while the gutter is sixth.

Tommorrow we will take a trip to Storrs, Connecticut where the UCONN Huskies will be featured as the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues.

59 Teams in 59 Days Colgate

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to Hamilton, New York where the Colgate Raiders are featured.

This years squad will only lose four Seniors from last years squad that shared the ECACHL regular season title with Dartmouth. The Raiders however did not make the NCAA's last year as they lost the Semi-Final game and the consolation game of the ECACHL tournament.

Head coach Don Vaughan enters his 14th season at Colgate, taking Colgate from once one of the laughing stocks in the ECACHL, to making two NCAA apperances during his tenure (1999-2000, and 2004-2005).

This years squad looks like another talented bunch of players this year. Goaltender Mark Dekanich has a year under his belt. Dekanich posted four shutouts last year and went 18-11-6 with a 2.29 goals against average, and a save percentage of .924. Expect another big year from Dekanich.

Colgate also returns a premier scorer in Junior Tyler Burton. In two seasons, Burton has recorded 41 goals (19 his Freshman year in 2004-2005, and 22 last season), and has 33 assists for 74 career points. He has also registered 14 power play goals during his two years at Colgate.

Also returning are Seniors Mark Fulton, and Junior Jesse Winchester, both recording 30+ points last season.

Overall this seams like a solid squad. Look for Colgate to make another run for the NCAA's.

The predicted ceiling for Colgate is second in the ECACHL, while their gutter is sixth.

Tommorrow we will make a stop in Colorado Springs, where the Colorado College Tigers are featured. How will they fare with losing two former Hobey Finalist in Marty Seritch (2005 Hobey Winner) and Brett Sterling? Find out as the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues tommorrow.

59 Teams in 59 Days Clarkson

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to Potsdam, New York where the Clarkson Golden Knights are featured.

Head Coach George Roll is entering his fourth season at Clarkson and this team might be the best Clarkson team he has.

After a dissapointing 13-23-3 season in 2004-2005, the Golden Knights made a five win improvement last year winning 18 games. Even though they got swept by Cornell in the second round of the ECACHL tournament last year (both games in double overtime) it was still a successful season for Clarkson.

This year Clarkson looks better than they have been in awhile. Clarkson only lost two Seniors from last years team. The experience is there this year and that can pay off in the long run.

The key returnees include leading scorers Nick Dodge, and David Cayer, both Juniors this year. Junior David Leggio looks like he will be the number one goaltender this year after a solid Sophomore season where he went 11-9-3 with a 2.57 goals against average, and a .913 save percentage, and posted the only Clarkson shutout of the season last year.

Defensively the Knights look strong. They only lose one defensmen in Chris Brekelmans. Although he is a huge loss, the Knights have a bunch of good defensmen that can center around Leggio and help him out. The last defensive spot will be fought out by two incoming Freshman, Jeremiah Crowe and Brian Rufenach.

Overall Clarkson looks very solid. This is a team come March that might not fight for a spot in the NCAA tournament, but a team who might have a spot come selection Sunday. This team will be very dangerous in what is a tougher ECACHL conference this year.

The ceiling for the Golden Knights is second in the ECACHL, while the gutter is sixth.

Tommorrow we will stay in the ECACHL and New York state as the Colgate Raiders will be featured in the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour.

59 Teams in 59 Days Canisius

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues to Buffalo, New York, where the Canisius Golden Griffs are featured.

There was not too much excitement about the team last year and it will probably continue into this season.

Head coach Dave Smith is in his second season at Canisius, and he will look to improve on last year as the Golden Griffs went 10-23-2 last season which ended in the Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals, where the got smacked around by Mercyhurst as they suffered a 7-2 defeat.

Michael Cohen, the teams leading scorer is back, the three goaltenders (Ryan Hatch, Dan Giffin, and Max Buetow) are also back. However, the Griffs lose a lot of experience as eight seniors from last years team are gone.

Which way will the season go? Can Canisius keep up with the rest of the teams in Atlantic Hockey?

The ceiling for Canisius is seventh in Atlantic Hockey, the gutter is 10th.

Tommorrow we will stay in New York state, as the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour makes a stop in Potsdam, New York where the Clarkson Golden Knights of the ECACHL will be featured.

59 Teams in 59 Days Brown

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to Providence, Rhode Island, as our first Ivy league and ECACHL team is featured in the Brown Bears.

If people thought last year couldn't get any worse for Brown, this year looks like a disaster already. Head Coach Roger Grillo and the club were shocked when goaltender Adam D'Alba decided to hang his skates up.

The good news out of all of this, the Bears leading scorer Jeff Prough returns. The bad news, he was the only scorer who had double digits in goals. In fact he scored 17 of the Bears 69 goals that the Bears scored all year.

Brown will have a lot of obstacles ahead of them this year. Eight Seniors are gone from last years team, and their is a question mark about the goaltending situation. How will Brown react to this?

The ceiling for Brown is 10th in the ECACHL, the gutter is 12th.

Tommorrow the Canisius Golden Griffins of the Atlantic Hockey League will be featured in the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour.

59 Teams in 59 Days Bowling Green

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to Bowling Green, Ohio, where the Bowling Green Falcons are featured.

The Falcons are coming off a last place finish in the CCHA last year, and it doesn't seem like they have improved all that much. With the loss of leading scorer Alex Foster, who went pro, the scoring might be a little bit down from last year. However there is hope with Junior Forward Jonathan Matsumoto, the teams leading goal scorer from last year. If Bowling Green wants to improve from its last place finish from last year, than Matsumoto must step up and replace leading scorer from last year Foster.

Bowling Green does return four 10 plus goal scorers. Thats the good news. The bad news is, they lose eight seniors from last years squad. So someone from this years squad has to step up and become the leader.

Defensively the Falcons struggled all last year. In 38 games last year, the Falcons gave up 147 goals an average of 3.8 goals per game. Sophmore Goaltender Jimmy Spratt looks like the number one goaltender. If he struggles look for Freshmen Phil Greer or Ed Neville to take over the starting job.

There are alot of question marks on this team. Head coach Scott Paluch needs to get out of the gutter of the CCHA to save his job this year.

The predicted ceiling for Bowling Green is eighth in the CCHA, the predicted gutter is 12th.

Tommorrow the Brown Bears will be featured in the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour.

59 Teams in 59 Days Boston University

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to the other side of Commonwealth Avenue, where the Boston University Terriers are featured.

BU is coming off one of its most successful season in years capturing the Beanpot for the 27th time, and they also captured their first Hockey East Regular Season title since 2000, and won the Hockey East tournament for the first time since 1997.

Part of their success was due in large part by the play of goaltender John Curry. While posting a 24-8-4 record, Curry had three shutouts, a 2.24 goals against average, and a .918 save precentage. Even though the Terriers did not make the Frozen Four, Curry is coming back for his Senior season and will look to bring the Terriers back to the Frozen Four for the first time since 1997.

But Curry will need help this year. While losing six seniors, BU will return its leading scorer in Junior Peter McArthur, last seasons Hockey East Rookie of the Year Brandon Yip, their leading goal scorer in Senior Kenny Roche, and this years captain in Senior Sean Sullivan.

Head Coach Jack Parker has a lot of talent coming in this year. One of the players is Defensmen Brian Strait, who was picked in the third round of this years NHL draft. Strait is one of four recruits who played for the U.S. National Development under 18 team last year. The Terriers will bring size on both sides of the ice in this years class with Forward Zach Cohen, and Defensmen Eric Gryba.

Over the years BU has had a lot of depth on its team. This year is no exception as the Terriers will look to make history by winning their 28th beanpot, while also trying to stay as one of the elite teams in the country. Its been awhile since BU last made the Frozen Four, but their best chance might be this year since it will be likely that if both BC and BU make the NCAA tournament, then they would go to seperate regions.

The ceiling for BU is first in Hockey East, while the gutter is fourth.

Tommorrow the Bowling Green Falcons will be featured in the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour.

59 Teams in 59 Days Boston College

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, where the first of two Commonwealth Avenue Rivals are featured, the Boston College Eagles.

For the past nine seasons Jerry York and the Eagles have been the class of Hockey East winning four Hockey East Tournament Titles (1998, 1999, 2001, 2005) four Hockey East Regular Season Titles (2000-2001, 2002-2003, 2003-2004, 2004-2005), six Frozen Fours (1998-2001, 2004, 2006), and one National Championship in 2001. The Eagles have not had a losing season once in that span as York's teams have gone 240-99-32.

Seems like this years club will have another great season. Two important players Brian Boyle and Cory Schneider who both were important in their surprise run through the NCAA's are expected to return this year. Boyle, this years captain of the Eagles, is about a 90% certainty that he will return. He even mentioned in an article in April that he would return for his Senior season.

Schneider on the other hand is almost a definate that he will return since the team who owns his rights, the Vancouver Cannucks, solved their goaltending situation by trading for Roberto Luongo.

If BC wants to make a National Championship run again, they might need someone to have a Chris Collins like season. Collins last year surprised the College Hockey World where he joined the 30-30 club, and was a finalist for the Hobey Baker. While replacing him will be tough, they won't need a Hobey Baker Canidate from a surprise player like Collins was last year, but they will need people to score more goals.

Expect important roles to be played by some key people such as Junior Forward Dan Bertram, anb Senior Forward Joe Rooney.

Defensively, the Eagles look strong again. Peter Harrold is a big loss, but incoming Freshman Carl Sneep is ready to fill in that Defensive spot. Junior Mike Brennan looks like he will hold his own this year.

All around BC looks like they can make another National Championship run this year. If Boyle and Schneider both stay than they will most likely be the preseason #1 team in the country.

The predicted ceiling for the Eagles is first in Hockey East, the gutter is third.

Tommorrow the team on the other side of Commonwealth Avenue, the Boston University Terriers will be featured. How do they compare to BC this year? Find out tommorrow as the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues.

59 Teams in 59 Days Bentley

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to Waltham, Massachusetts where the Bentley Falcons of Atlantic Hockey are featured.

Last year the Falcons shocked many people by making it to the Atlantic Hockey Conference Tournament finals losing to Holy Cross in the final.

After being winless in 8 games, Bentley won six out of their last nine games of the year. What seemed like a team on the way down quickly became a team on the rise in the conference.

Bentley's top three leading scorers were all Freshman. Anthony Canzoneri led the team in scoring with 31 points (8 goals, 23 assists), Jeff Gumaer, the teams leading goal scorer with 16 last year, and Dian Prewitt each tallied 24 points. Marc Zwicky also had 20 points giving the Falcons four players with 20 or more points.

And guess what all of those 20-plus scorers are coming back next year.

Senior goaltender Ray Jean played really well last year on Bentley's run to the conference tournament championship game. Expect him to have another season like last year as he has proved in the past that he is an all-conference goaltender.

The downside of this years team might be Senior leadership. The Falcons lost nine Seniors from last years team. But with the youth of last years team, the Falcons could make another run this year at the Atlantic Hockey title.

The predicted ceiling for Bentley is third in Atlantic Hockey, the gutter is sixth.

Tommorrow one of the top teams in the country will be featured in the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour, the Boston College Eagles, coming off a year where the Eagles made the National Championship game. How will they fare this year? Find out tommorrow on the first half of the Commonwealth Avenue Report.

59 Teams in 59 Days Bemidji State

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to Bemidji, Minnesota where the Bemidji State Beavers are featured.

Coming off two consecutive CHA tournament championships, the Beavers look stronger than the previous two years. Of course having three of your leading scorers returning, and only losing three seniors from last years team helps.

As mentioned the top three leading scorers on the team return and all of them will be Seniors. Last year Luke Jackson, Ryan Miller, and Rob Sirianni combined scored 49 of the teams 125 goals last year, nearly 60% of the scoring.

Out of the 13 players who tallied double digit point totals, 11 of them return. Another plus for the Beavers.

Both goaltenders also return after splitting time last season. Senior goaltender Larry Sedevie should make more starts again this year, but Junior netminder Matt Climie will also get time in net.

Head Coach Tom Serratore is in his sixth season as head coach of his Alma Mater. Serratore has led the Beavers to three consecutive 20 win seasons. Don't be surprised if this years team (in what some might consider the most talented team in their history) get another 20 win season.

The predicted ceiling for Bemidji State is first in the CHA, the predicted gutter is third.

Tommorrow the Bentley Falcons will be featured in the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour.

59 Teams in 59 Days Army

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues in West Point where the Army Black Knights are featured.

Lately it seems like Army is unpredictable. A five win improvement last year for head coach Brian Riley and the Black Knights. A good improvement from a seven win season two years ago, and it appears that Army could be on the way up in Atlantic Hockey.

Riley is entering his third season and he has some talent coming back including three of their four leading scorers in Junior Forward Luke Flicek (the teams leading scorer), Sophmore Defensmen Tim Manthey, and Junior Defensmen Chase Podisad.

The goaltending situation is a question mark for the Black Knights. For now two sophmores (Josh Kassel, and A.J. Drago) will battle it out to fill the shoes of Brad Roberts. Neither Kassel, nor Drago started a game last season.

The predicted ceiling for Army is fifth in Atlantic Hockey, the predicted gutter is ninth.

Tommorrow the two time defending CHA conference tournament champions, the Bemidji State Beavers will be featured.

59 Teams in 59 Days American International

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues in Springfield, Massachusetts where the American International Yellow Jackets are featured.

The last three years for the Yellow Jackets have been horrific for head coach Gary Wright as he and the team have only won a total of 15 games in the previous three seasons.

This year might be another one of those years for American International.

Last season the Yellow Jackets gave up a total of 129 goals in 32 games giving up more than four goals a game. The defense was young and there is always room for improvement.

The only bright spot on American International's offense was leading scorer Jereme Tendler. He scored 15 of the 69 goals which was 21% of the teams goals.

If American International wants to get double digits in the win column this year than they will have to get a better season from Tendler, the defense will need to improve and not let up four goals a game, and Sophmore goaltender Tom Fenton will have to have a big season. Otherwise expect the Yellow Jackets to be in the bottom of Atlantic Hockey.

The predicted ceiling for American International is seventh in Atlantic Hockey, the predicted gutter is 10th in the conference.

Tommorrow another Atlantic Hockey team will be featured. The Army Black Knights.

59 Teams in 59 Days Alaska-Fairbanks

The next stop on the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour is in Fairbanks, where the Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks are featured.

Head Coach Tavis MacMillan is entering his third season. In two years he took Alaska-Fairbanks from never winning a playoff series in the CCHA to winning two playoff series in two years with the Nanooks. In his first year MacMillan and the Nanooks went to the Joe Louis Arena. Last year the Nanooks won a first round series against Notre Dame before losing to Michigan State in a wild three game series.

MacMillan can expect a lot from his team this year as the Nanooks will look to continue the tradition of winning in the CCHA post season.

Though Fairbanks only scored 92 goals last year, the defense helped out. Even though the Nanooks only gave up more goals than they scored, the defense was the strong point of the team. Only one defensemen is graduating from last year so look out this defense can be one of the strongest defense's in the CCHA.

The goaltending situation from last year is solved as Junior Wylie Rogers, who recorded four shutouts last year, will most likely be the starting goaltender.

The top three scorers from last year will return as Junior Left Winger Kyle Greentree (the teams leading scorer), Senior Center Curtis Fraser (the teams leading goal scorer), and Junior Forward Aaron Lee will be the focal point of the Nanooks offense.

This Alaska Fairbanks team wont lay down for anyone this year, they are for real. Their predicted ceiling is fourth in the CCHA while the gutter is eighth. The CCHA will be a very tough conference so anything can change.

Tommorrow the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues, with a stop in Springfield, Massachusetts as the American International Yellow Jackets will be featured.

59 Teams in 59 Days Alaska-Anchorage

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to Alaska where the Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves are featured.

The Seawolves finished with just six wins last year, four in the WCHA, and were the last place team in the conference. Not much will change this year.

Defensemen Derek Smith and forward Eric Walsky are the two leading returning scorers and both only registered 15 points. In fact last year the Seawolves were one of the lowest scoring teams in the country with an average of 1.8 goals per game. There was no one on the team who scored 10 or more goals and only one (Walsky) who had double digit assist totals.

Thought the offense was challenged enough? Well the defense was not very good either. Nathan Lawson and John DeCaro split time in net last year with Lawson having slightly better numbers than DeCaro. Lawson played in more games and was probably the lone bright spot on the team last year. Though only getting four wins all of last year, Lawson's save percentage was decent stoping 90.8% of the shots he faced.

If Lawson wants better numbers than his defensemen will have to help him out. Five defensmen return for the Seawolves including the co-leader in scoring last year on the team in Smith.

Recruiting has been a little bit of a problem in the past for the Seawolves, but with some size this year Anchorage will be better in the years to come.

But for right now the ceiling for the Seawolves is eighth in the WCHA, the gutter is 10th.

Second year head coach Dave Shyiak will need a lot of help. With a young team however the future looks better for Alaska Anchorage. How much better you ask? Only time will tell.

Tommorrow the second team in Alaska will be featured as it will be Alaska-Fairbainks turn in the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour.

59 Teams in 59 Days Alabama-Huntsville

Our second stop on the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour is in Huntsville, Alabama, where the Alabama-Huntsville Chargers the southernmost team in NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey.

Doug Ross enters his 21st season in Huntsville and the eighth season for the Chargers in Division I.

The Chargers will look to improve on its semi-final apperance in the CHA tournament last year where they lost to Bemidji State. However, the Chargers lose some key players including team leading goal scorer Brucer Mulherin and Goaltender Scott Munroe.

Huntsville will welcome six incoming Freshman this year, including three defensemen. Speaking of Defensmen, the Charges do return all defensemen. Whoever the goaltender is will have a lot of experience to help back him up this year.

Since joining the CHA, Alabama-Huntsville has won two regular season titles, and have a record of 122-93-19, but have not made it to the NCAA tournament yet in their seven year history in Division I after winning two Division III titles in three years from 1995-96 to 1997-98. Will they make history this year?

The ceiling for this team is first in the CHA, while the cellar is third.

This weekend the two Alaska teams as Alaska-Anchorage and Alaska-Fairbainks will be featured.

59 Teams in 59 Days Air Force

The 59 teams in 59 days tour begins in Colorado Springs where the Air Force Falcons are the first team to be previewed. The Falcons will begin their inaugural year in Atlantic Hockey along with Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) which with those two included now have 10 teams in the conference.

Head Coach Frank Serratore will begin his 10th season as the head coach of the Falcons. This is the eighth year that Air Force has had varsity status. This year will be a year of new beginnings for the Falcons as they look to improve on their fourth place finish in the CHA from last year, but the competition will be tougher in Atlantic Hockey. Rather than go up against Bemidji State, Niagara, and Alabama-Huntsville, the Falcons will have to go up against much tougher competition in Atlantic Hockey with Mercyhurst, Holy Cross, Sacred Heart, and Bentley among the top 4 teams last year in the league.

Top scorer Eric Ehn returns for a Junior Season. After scoring 14 goals and 21 assists for 35 points last year, Ehn will look to add to that total from last year with help from second leading scorer, Junior John Schaffer.

The Falcons only lose three seniors from last years team. Look for this team to have a lot of Senior Leadership as nine Juniors from last year will be Seniors this year. But for Air Force to make a run, they will have to improve on the scoring from last year.

Senior Goaltender Peter Foster had a great Sophomore season two years ago, but could not improve on his numbers his Junior Year. Expect him to play an important role if the Falcons want to make a run in Atlantic Hockey.

The ceiling for the Falcons right now is a sixth place finish in Atlantic Hockey, their gutter is 10th.

Frank Serratore and his team will begin what will hopefully be a new era for Air Force Hockey. Their first year in Atlantic Hockey should be an interesting one.

Bracketology 2006-2007 July Edition

Some teams have moved up and some teams have moved down this month so lets get right to it.

First off lets rank the teams.

#1 Boston College=
#2 Wisconsin=
#3 Minnesota+
#4 Michigan+
#5 Boston University-
#6 Harvard+
#7 Maine-
#8 Michigan State-
#9 New Hampshire=
#10 Miami-
#11 Denver+
#12 St. Cloud State-
#13 Dartmouth-
#14 Northern Michigan=
#15 Sacred Heart=
#16 Niagara=

The rankings are set, now let's place them into their respective regionals.

The #1 overall seed in this months bracketology is Boston College and they will be placed in the Northeast Regional in Manchester, NH, with host New Hampshire, Michigan State, and Niagara

Northeast Regional:

#1 Boston College vs #4 Niagara
#2 Michigan State vs #3 New Hampshire

Wisconsin is the second overall seed in the tournament and they will be placed in the Midwest Regional in Grand Rapids, MI, and joining them will be Maine, Miami, and Sacred Heart.

Midwest Regional:

#1 Wisconsin vs #4 Sacred Heart
#2 Maine vs #3 Miami

The third overall seed is Minnesota and they will be in the West Regional in Denver, CO, with host Denver, Harvard, and Northern Michigan.

West Regional:

#1 Minnesota vs #4 Northern Michigan
#2 Harvard vs #3 Denver

And the final regional, the East Regional which will be held in Rochester, NY. The top seed in this region is Michigan and joining them will be Boston University, Dartmouth, and St. Cloud State.

East Regional:

#1 Michigan vs #4 Dartmouth
#2 Boston University vs #3 St. Cloud State

The Bracket would look like this:

Northeast vs East
Midwest vs West

Thats all for this months edition of Bracketology. Next month will be the second to last bracketology of the pre-season. How will your team shape out come the regular season? Stay tuned and find out.