WHEA Editor’s poll
1. Boston University
The insertion of the Olympic gold medalist Marie-Philip Poulin and ex-UNH hot hand Jenn Wakefield ought to enrich an already-wholesome pack of scorers highlighted by the likes of Jenelle Kohanchuk, Holly Lorms, Jill Cardella, Lauren Cherewyk, and Jillian Kirchner. A maturing Tara Watchorn, together with graduate student Catherine Ward, should be the basis for a reliable two-way defensive corps. The lone question mark for the defending conference champions lies in Melissa Haber’s vacated crease, but freshman Kerrin Sperry has the right resume from Lawrence Academy and Assabet Valley to plug that void. If she delivers, or one of her colleagues surprises everybody, the Terriers will have nothing to nitpick.
2. Boston College
After two off years sandwiched by a respectable 2008-09 season, the worst should be behind the elastic Eagles as head coach Katie King enters her fourth year on the job. The returns of Molly Schaus and Kelli Stack figure to give back everything their absence took away last year and the mass young-ins who toiled in their absence will be back that much stronger. Most merciful of all, King will have a full bench and a few spares this year. The Eagles may not boast the deepest strike force in the league, they barely have a quorum of six defenders, and some personnel may still prove a tad unripe. But a peerless troika of battle-tested goalies (Schaus, Corinne Boyles, Kiera Kingston) could help cancel that out in crunch time.
3. Providence
The Friars have each of the league’s top two returning point-getters from last season in Ashley Cottrell and Jean O’Neill. Throw in Alyse Ruff and PC has three of the top six producers coming back for more in Hockey East. Beneath that, there is a little work to be done on the offensive front. Some members of the junior and sophomore class will need to spread their wings a little broader, but that should hardly be a daunting chore. The real trick will be for the Friars to come together early and not get off track, especially since their entire nonconference slate will be completed before the end of November.
4. Connecticut
Head coach Heather Linstad will return enough quantity and quality at every position as well as a whopping seven hungry forwards as part of her nine-member freshman class. UConn’s potential is not to be questioned. Whether or not that potential is fulfilled will mainly be a question of the rising freshmen following through on their rookie year and the plethora of current rookies supplementing the depth chart. Regardless, there will be little time for acclimating and gelling if the Huskies are to set the tone early. The first month of their season includes bouts with UNH, Clarkson, St. Lawrence, Syracuse, and a two-night odyssey to Minnesota-Duluth.
T-5. New Hampshire
Everybody up front is going to have to rally around young gun Kristina Lavoie and step up their productivity rate to keep UNH from sinking into even less familiar territory. A healthy, true-to-form Courtney Birchard along with two other seniors in Raylen Dziengelewski and Courtney Sheary should help keep the blue line stable. And the third-year goaltending duo of Kayley Herman and Lindsey Minton, respectively a rising senior and junior, figures to at least stay within the range of competency. Even by their high standards, there is no cause to believe that the Wildcats are going to fall into shards. But compared to many of their revamped peers in the New England Eight, they are likely heading in a less favorable direction.
T-5. Northeastern
The Schelling-Sulyma tag team speaks for itself, and assuming it drops to no lower than A-minus quality, that will offer comfort to a relatively young defensive corps (one senior, one junior, five underclassmen). Up front, the Huskies are returning seniors Kristi Kehoe and Alyssa Wohlfeiler, first and third on last year’s team scoring chart, plus four sophomores who charged up double-digit points as rookies. So logically, if everyone stays on her developmental pace, Northeastern should be as competitive as anybody in the New England Eight. That being said, the time has come to purge the training blades and declare that the Huskies will not face real judgment until the postseason.
7. Vermont
The Catamounts can certainly be better, especially the handful of seasoned returnees whose 2009-10 seasons saw a noticeable letdown in productivity (Erin Barley-Maloney, Teddy Fortin, Saleah Morrison, Peggy Wakeham). Three undergraduate defenders did withdraw from the program prematurely over the summer –including would-be sophomore Maggie Walsh- which will place an additional burden on Morrison, Wakeham, and Hannah Westbrook. If she acclimates quickly enough, freshman stopper Roxanne Douville –a seasoned international competitor with the Canadian U18ers- can replace Olychuck smoothly enough. But even if that happens, what Vermont can build around her right away is in question. Even a great stride forward from last year probably won’t be enough to land a playoff spot in this cutthroat league.
8. Maine
Each of the Black Bears’ top three point-getters have graduated, although a few returnees had a bit of a dropoff year in 2009-10 (Myriam Crousette, Jordan Colliton) and we have yet to see Swiss scorer Darcia Leimgruber garner substantial NCAA game experience. If those players can help senior Jennie Gallo pick up that slack, it would be a start. Even so, this is a young team that just got younger with so much personnel lost to graduation over the summer. And especially given that they are welcoming a brand new coaching administration led by Maria Lewis, patience is a necessity.
Pre-season awards
All-Star Team
Marie-Philip Poulin, F, Boston University
Kelli Stack, F, Boston College
Jenn Wakefield, F, Boston University
Courtney Birchard, D, New Hampshire
Catherine Ward, D, Boston University
Molly Schaus, G, Boston College
Second All-Star Team
Ashley Cottrell, F, Providence
Kristina Lavoie, F, New Hampshire
Monique Weber, F, Connecticut
Tara Watchorn, D, Boston University
Amber Yung, D, Providence
Genevieve Lacasse, G, Providence
Florence Schelling, G, Northeastern
All-Rookie Team
Melissa Bizarri, F, Boston College
Stephanie Demars, F, Providence
Marie-Philip Poulin, F, Boston University
Caroline Campbell, D, Boston University
Megan Mangene, D, Boston College
Roxanne Douville, G, Vermont
Pre-season Player of the Year
D- Catherine Ward, Boston University
There is no reason to believe that Catherine Ward cannot be an inspirational nucleus to the Terriers in their drive to repeat and build on their 2010 conference championship.
Fellow medalist-turned-Terrier Marie-Philip Poulin may be the stronger magnet for attention, especially since she figures to be in the Hub for four seasons. But Ward, officially rostered as a graduate student, should draw more drool with her repute as a seasoned two-way defensive player. Her ornate background, complete with an Olympic gold medal and umpteen hunks of individual and team hardware through the CIS powerhouse McGill, is without equal in the league. In three years with the Marlets, she garnered a CIS top rookie prize, a national tournament MVP laurel, and thrice led her conference among defensive point-getters.
All she has to do is apply the same formula in her quick tenure at BU and Ward will underline the “wonder” in “one-year wonder.”
Preseason Goalie of the Year
Molly Schaus, Boston College
Beyond the peerlessly sharp seasoning she attained in her year away from Chestnut Hill, Molly Schaus enters the 2010-11 season as the league’s top goalie for her value to the Eagles. As Corinne Boyles and Kiera Kingston fought to fill her pads, a game in the BC net quickly went from another shutout waiting to happen to a valiant, but often shortcoming struggle. Nowhere was the difference more conspicuous than the drop in BC’s overall transcript (from 22-9-5 to 8-7-10) and position in the national rankings.
With Schaus (college career data: 56-31-14, 1.93 GAA, .931 save percentage, 17 shutouts) back in the equation, the most important pillar in a winning foundation will be sturdy again for the Eagles.
Preseason Rookie of the Year
F- Marie-Philip Poulin, Boston University
Sometimes hype has its causes, and Marie-Philip Poulin’s background has made enough of a case.
There is little evidence beyond the obvious that Poulin should be anointed the preseason pick for this year’s top freshman. Then again, when the obvious points are assessed, what more can a challenger argue?
Occasionally dubbed the Sidney Crosby of the women’s game, the 19-year-old Poulin has already seen winning action in both the Olympics and Canadian national tournaments. If all goes according to plan, she will adjust to the environs of the American college game with general facility. In turn, she will only embolden the New England Eight’s top offense and help to instill comfort in the more intense, critical games.
Al Daniel is the Hockey East correspondent for Beyond the Dashers
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