Okay, so somebody has already broken in their regular season schedule, but those games (Maine 7-11, Sacred Heart 0-0) didn’t exactly answer any sleep-killing questions around this coast.
Accordingly, as the calendar Zamboni takes its laps and razes September in favor of October, the time has come to highlight the blurriest asset of each Hockey East program as they venture into 2010-11.
Boston College
The big question: Is/will there be enough depth to complement Kelli Stack?
The implications: It starts with Stack’s former mentees, Mary Restuccia and Danielle Welch, rekindling the nascent torches they carried as freshmen in 2008-09. “I’m looking forward to seeing Mary Restuccia this year,” said head coach Katie King in last week’s leaguewide coaches’ teleconference. “Last year, she knows, wasn’t the best year for her but…I’m really excited to see how she takes some of the reins and starts to mature a little bit more this year as a junior.” More generally, BC’s ascension continues with the ripening of countless other young guns, particularly Ashley Motherwell, Blake Bolden, Caitlin Walsh, and Kristina Brown.
Boston University
The big question: Can somebody fill Haber’s pads fast enough?
The implications: As peerlessly potent as the Terriers’ strike force might be, there is no reason to think they are going to insert seven goals every single night. And no lead is safe anyway, even when you have a seasoned, stalwart defensive corps. With that in mind, at least one out of three quite unripe goalies will have to be ready to do her part to prevent a repeat of last October, when BU habitually settled for high-scoring ties. If the Terriers are to contend for an at-large bid and subsequently perform in the NCAA tournament, they’ll need someone to get comfy in the crease early.
Connecticut
The big question: Can the sophomores follow through on their pleasing rookie starts?
The implications: The league bears more than its share of recent cautionary examples here. There are the aforementioned Restuccia and Welch from BC, and then Laura Veharanta of Providence, and then Vermont’s Erin Barley-Maloney (who has since left). All of them saw their productivity drop down by at least nine points between the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons and the repercussions for their respective teams were more than conspicuous. This year, it’s on Elisabeth Stathopolous (9-14-23 transcript as a frosh) and Kelly Horan (6-12-18) to dodge the same mystery plague and help maintain the Huskies’ depth.
Maine
The big question: How fast will new coach Maria Lewis’ system catch on?
The implications: In accordance with an unwritten, five-year-old custom, the Black Bears were again the only team on the coast to delve right into their regular season slate in September. And as per unwritten custom, it was a facile two-night throttling of Sacred Heart. But now, the Mainers need to make sure they are ready for rigor. It might not hurt to know that their next intercollegiate engagement won’t fall until they visit almighty Mercyhurst (one of Lewis’ former employers) on October 10. This two-week block of pure practice time should be used eagerly and wisely if Lewis is to make a legitimate first impression.
New Hampshire
The big question: Are Lavoie and Horn ready to anchor the offense?
The implications: New Hampshire’s only reliable returning forwards, Kristina Lavoie and Kristine Horn, are merely sophomores with only three upperclassmen (Julie Allen, Emma Clark, Molly Morrison) to look up to. And of those three, only Allen has made any real ripples on the scoresheet. Beyond that, and of course point-based puckslinger Courtney Birchard, the Wildcat offense doesn’t have much to begin the 2010-11 season with. Therefore, Lavoie and Horn will both need to work on at least cracking the 30-point plateau and spreading the wealth. (Their classmate, Brittany Skudder, can also help by building on her 5-8-13 rookie transcript.)
Northeastern
The big question: Can the Hounds stay hot through February?
The implications: In 2008-09, Northeastern held a 10-8-2 overall record on January 11 only to see it devolve to a 10-20-3 final. Last season, the Huskies were flirting with first place as late as February 6, but closed out their Hockey East slate at 1-2-2, settling for fourth place and spilling their shot at an at-large bid. Last year’s fizzle certainly could not be blamed on the peerless goaltending tandem of Florence Schelling and Leah Sulyma, who in that stretch never allowed more than two goals in a game. Translation: a little cushion for them can go a long way in the climax of the 2010-11 pennant race.
Providence
The big question: Is the class of 2012 all grown up?
The implications: The Friars are stocked with seasoning on both sides of the puck, now sporting five seniors and eight juniors on their roster. “When you have the bulk of your team battle-tested and that much experience, it gives you an opportunity to do some very successful things,” head coach Bob Deraney said recently. How PC utilizes that opportunity will depend heavily on how much those eight juniors –who include four forwards, two defenders, one two-way connoisseur, and one celestial goaltender- are ready to lead and perform consistently.
Vermont
The big question: Can Vermont regroup and reload?
The implications: Erin Barley-Maloney, who suffered a 21-point sophomore downturn last year, and Maggie Walsh, a nascent point-based puckslinger, both made their tracks on the Gutterson Fieldhouse prematurely. Ditto would-be juniors Channing Ahbe and Shannon Bellefeuille. Accordingly, the progress-minded Catamounts will have much less to build on as they vie to rebound from a frustrating 2009-10 pothole. It will be on the seven-member senior class –especially forwards Celeste Doucet and Teddy Fortin- to step its collective game back up, bear with some initial growing pains for their younger teammates, and make sure no heart is lost in the early phases.
Al Daniel is the Hockey East correspondent for Beyond the Dashers
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