Over the past two years, I have watched the college hockey landscape change enormously. Even before the Big 10 came into existence, a shift had begun to take place. Larger, more well known universities and colleges became the front and center of the national championship race. Little teams with low funding or small enrollment have suffered. Now that the Big 10 is around the corner, many of these smaller teams will find competition in the post season that much tougher.
The 5:
1. Alaska-Anchorage: Now that the Big 10 and NCHC are a season away from realization, one small factor has been forgotten: since neither of these conferences are obligated to travel to Alaska, will they? My prediction is no. Anchorage, along with it's sister campus Fairbanks will only go as far as the WCHA will take them. Thankfully many good WCHA teams will be leaving for either the Big 10 or the NCHC. This should give Alaska a better chance. The unfortunate part is that when playoff time comes around, the new WCHA might be as just as easy as the current Atlantic Hockey Conference.
2. Alabama-Huntsville: There is not another D-1 program within 150 miles of AL-H. The nearest school within range is Bowling Green which is 178 miles away. Next is Miami of Ohio (418 Miles) followed by Ohio State University (498 miles). With the WCHA already tackling two Alaska teams, there seems to be absolutely no way that UAH can get into that conference. The Big 10 is all about big universities, which UAH is not. The NCHC is all about hockey prestige, which UAH is not. Even hockey east, which now has Notre Dame within 700 miles of UAH would be a long shot. In state recruiting is horrible, not to mention this team will likely never see a championship of any kind of they cannot win games, much less the 4 a year they get at home.
3. Colorado College: Out of all of my picks, this one is the most subjective. Colorado College has been around longer than the University of North Dakota, and the University of Denver. Yet they have five less championship trophies to account for. The real problem is not the team or the fans. It's the school. Colorado College enrolls less than 2,000 students. This is not good for any type of division 1 sports team, much less hockey. The world arena could fit 3 and a half CC student bodies easily in it. Hell, at the rate they are at, they could probably teach all the classes in the World Arena. Recruiting is not a problem, but the coaching is. And until the mindset in Colorado Springs is not the school but the team, don't expect this team to be raising a banner anytime soon.
4. Minnesota - State: Another tragedy like CC, just with more students. This is more of a commuter campus than anything. Similar to UNO, but with less support. Mankato is not a hockey derived town. They have plenty to celebrate about, just not the Mavericks. The local high school hockey team is usually one of the best in the state. Who wants to pay high prices to watch the Mavericks lose nearly every game?
5. Lake Superior: This team has some talent from past years, but really everything has evaporated in recent years. Nobody really knows this team. Being a so so team in the CCHA might make them superstars in the new WCHA. Only time will tell. If you have lots of money to spend, or waste, I would bet on these guys winning the national championship. It's a more humane way of putting your money in a paper shredder.
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Teams likely to have their name on the national championship roster, and soon:
1. North Dakota: As much as everyone claims that the NCHC is the new hockey power house, there are only three teams with the ability to take this conference by storm: UND, Denver, and Miami. Focusing on UND: they build solid every year. No team expects to go into Grand Forks without getting into some kind of fight. These guys are scrappy, every....single....year. That kind of man handling will get this team far. UND will probably be the first team to get their hands on the NCHC trophy.
2. Wisconsin: This year has not been good to bucky. In the past it has been Minnesota who has taken an off year, or 4. With the new Big 10 forming, Penn State will probably not be in any kind of contention for a couple of years. Michigan State will have to play more than just the crap CCHA schedule with the occasional Michigan and Ohio State games thrown in. Although Ohio State has the largest arena in the NCAA's, and the big 10 for that fact, they rarely use it during basketball season. They are relegated to a 1,600 person arena. Putting teams like this in the Kohl Center which seats 15,000+ will be a major advantage to the badgers. Plus bucky is in prime recruiting territory.
3. Denver: For all the reasons that UND will be the best in the NCHC, Denver has a fighting chance. For some odd reason, Denver has always recruited well. They seem to be the best at it year in and year out. I don't know if this is a long term idea, but I would pick Denver to be in the Frozen Four soon after the NCHC is formed.
4. Notre Dame: Playing in a league where just about every single opposing team is a football rival makes this team a constant battling team. They fight in front of every Big 10 crowd. Now they will go to Hockey East which craves hockey on a different level. They will bring this same attitude to Boston. I doubt that the talking heads know what is headed their way in this ND team.
Thanks for reading!
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