Boston College
Coach: Jerry York (413-212-59, 18th season).
Credentials: The Eagles have won two of the last four national championships and have been to the Frozen Four nine times in the last 14 years.
Last season: Boston College went 30-8-1, winning Hockey East's regular season and postseason titles. The Eagles were a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, but lost to Colorado College in the first round.
Player to watch: Junior defenseman Brian Dumoulin. The Maine native decided to return to college for another year and should be one of the top defensemen in the country. He tallied 33 points in 37 games as a sophomore for the Eagles.
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Rookie making debut: Forward John Gaudreau. After starring for Dubuque in the USHL, the small, dynamic forward switch his commitment from Northeastern to Boston College.
Season storyline: The Eagles have to replace four of their top five scorers, including Hobey Baker finalist Cam Atkinson and Jimmy Hayes, both of whom signed NHL deals early. They also will look to a goalie other than John Muse for the first time in four years. But with players like Dumoulin and first-round pick Chris Kreider, the Eagles have the ability to reload.
Top returners
2 Brian Dumoulin, Jr, D 3-30--33
11 Pat Mullane, Jr, F 8-21--29
22 Paul Carey, Sr, F 13-13--26
19 Chris Kreider, Jr, F 11-13--24
9 Barry Almeida, Sr, F 8-31--21
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24 Bill Arnold, So, F 10-10--20
4 Tommy Cross, Sr, D 7-11--18
21 Steven Whitney, Jr, F 6-10--16
12 Kevin Hayes, So, F 4-10--14
3 Patch Alber, Jr, D 2-7--9
Goaltender
35 Parker Milner, Jr 3-2-0 .899 2.68
Michigan State
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Coach: Tom Anastos (0-0-0, first season).
Credentials: The Spartans have three national championships with the most recent one coming in 2007. Boston College and UND also were in that Frozen Four.
Last season: Michigan State finished 15-19-4, struggling to an 11th-place finish in the CCHA. The Spartans did not make the NCAA tournament and coach Rick Comley resigned.
Player to watch: Junior defenseman Torey Krug. The 5-foot-9, 175-pound junior will captain the Spartans and lead them from the back end. Krug was second on the team with 11 goals last season, while racking up 28 points in 38 games.
Rookie making debut: Forward Matt Berry. The 5-foot-9, 165-pounder is coming off of a big year in the USHL: 25 goals, 51 points and 126 penalty minutes.
Season storyline: After finishing 10th and 11th in the CCHA two of the last three years, the Spartans have a new coach -- former CCHA commish Tom Anastos, who hasn't coached in 19 years. Anastos has one of the most veteran rosters in the league, though. Goalie Drew Palmisano and forward Brett Perlini, both seniors, will counted on to help Anastos' first season be a success.
Top returners
11 Brett Perlini, Sr, F 18-12--30
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44 Torey Krug, Jr, D 11-17--28
9 Daultan Leveille, Sr, F 8-10--18
16 Dean Chelios, Jr, F 8-6--14
42 Jake Chelios, So, D 8-6--14
19 Zach Golembiewski, Jr, F 2-10--12
86 Greg Wolfe, So, F 3-8--11
23 Matt Grassi, Jr, D 1-10--11
13 Mike Merrifield, Sr, F 4-4--8
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18 Kevin Walrod, Jr, F 3-5--8
Goaltenders
29 Drew Palmisano, Sr 9-14-3 .905 2.87
37 Will Yanakeff, So 6-5-1 .927 2.11
Air Force
Coach: Frank Serratore (234-239-43, 14th season).
Credentials: The Falcons have won the Atlantic Hockey conference tournament in four of the last five years, earning NCAA berths in the process. They have never been to the Frozen Four.
Last season: Air Force finished 20-12-6, winning Atlantic Hockey's postseason title to grab a berth in the NCAA tournament. The Falcons lost to Yale in overtime in the first round.
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Player to watch: Sophomore forward Jason Fabian. The Roseau native was Air Force's top freshman scorer last year with 10 goals and 21 points in 37 games. He could progress into the Falcons' leading scorer by his sophomore season.
Rookie making debut: Forward Chad Demers. The former Grafton star had three points in his rookie year in the USHL, 12 points in his second year and 50 points in his third.
Season storyline: The Falcons said goodbye to Grand Forks native Jacques Lamoureux, who has led the team in scoring in each of the last three seasons. But last year they found a capable goalie to replace Andrew Volkening in Jason Torf, who will look to build on a freshman season that included 16 wins, a .909 save percentage and a 2.87 goals-against average.
Top returners
9 Kyle De Laurell, Jr, F 10-23--33
27 John Kruse, Jr, F 11-18--29
23 Scott Mathis, Sr, D 8-19--27
10 Paul Weisgarber, Sr, F 13-12--25
25 Tim Kirby, Sr, D 7-16--23
16 Jason Fabian, So, F 10-11--21
6 Adam McKenzie, So, D 5-14--19
20 Tony Thomas, So, F 7-10--17
7 Casey Kleisinger, So, F 5-8--13
18 George Michalke, So, F 4-6--10
Goaltenders
29 Jason Torf, So 16-9-3 .909 2.87
37 Stephen Caple, Sr 4-2-3 .896 2.57
UND
Coach: Dave Hakstol (187-92-27, eighth season).
Credentials: The Sioux have seven national titles and have been to the Frozen Four in five of Hakstol's seven years. UND has won more games than any WCHA team in the last decade.
Last season: UND finished 32-9-3, winning the WCHA's regular season and playoff titles. The Sioux made their fifth Frozen Four in seven years, but lost to Michigan in the semifinals.
Player to watch: Junior forward Danny Kristo. Not many teams can match up with Kristo's speed. The dynamic winger tallied 28 points in 34 games last season. He averaged 1.35 points per game after a slow start.
Rookie making debut: Forward Mark MacMillan. There hasn't been much hype, but the fourth-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens is a great skater with great hands.
Season storyline: The Sioux lost 294 points off of last year's team, including Hobey Baker finalist Matt Frattin and early NHL signings Jason Gregoire and Brett Hextall. So, the Sioux are expected to rely on a defensive corps that features NHL draft picks Ben Blood, Derek Forbort, Andrew MacWilliam, Dillon Simpson, Joe Gleason and freshman Nick Mattson.
Top returners
10 Corban Knight, Jr, F 14-30--44
7 Danny Kristo, Jr, F 8-20--28
29 Brock Nelson, So, F 8-13--21
9 Mario Lamoureux, Sr, F 3-14--17
4 Derek Forbort, So, D 0-15--15
24 Ben Blood, Sr, D 2-10--12
18 Dillon Simpson, So, D 2-8--10
11 Derek Rodwell, So, F 5-4--9
2 Andrew MacWilliam, Jr, D 0-8--8
27 Carter Rowney, Jr, F 3-2--5
Goaltenders
32 Aaron Dell, Jr 30-7-2 .924 1.79
31 Brad Eidsness, Sr 2-2-1 .812 4.09
