Who will be the "darkhorse" in the WCHA this season?

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: Who will be the "darkhorse" in the WCHA this season?

UAA is actually an intriguing pick as a Dark Horse.

I like to look at the last 10 games of the WCHA's previous regular season to gauge who was hot at the end of the year when everyone is scrapping for playoff position. UAA was right up there.

1. UND  7-2-1
2. DU  5-3-2
3. UAA 5-4-1
3. SCSU 5-4-1
3. CC  3-2-5
6. MSU-M  4-4-2
7. WI  4-5-1
8. UMD 3-5-2
8. MN 3-5-2
10. Tech 1-5-4

What can you really take from that when you look at what UMD did in its next 7 games after going 3-5-2 to finish the regular season?

[startthebus]

Re: Who will be the "darkhorse" in the WCHA this season?

Huh?

As in Pierre has seen the team practice this year and is very impressed by the defense. As in they worked out and got a lot stronger from last year. As in their off-season leagues/camps/etc really paid off.

[SCSU Euro]

Re: Who will be the "darkhorse" in the WCHA this season?

As in Pierre has seen the team practice this year and is very impressed by the defense. As in they worked out and got a lot stronger from last year. As in their off-season leagues/camps/etc really paid off.

Pssst.... EVERYONE "looks good and is clicking" in the offseason. I hope they are improved, but to say that its gonna happen because someone's watched some practices and reports that is, at the least, a little naive.

[startthebus]

Re: Who will be the "darkhorse" in the WCHA this season?

Pssst.... EVERYONE "looks good and is clicking" in the offseason. I hope they are improved, but to say that its gonna happen because someone's watched some practices and reports that is, at the least, a little naive.

And you've never posted anything naive on here? lol

[SCSU Euro]

Re: Who will be the "darkhorse" in the WCHA this season?

And you've never posted anything naive on here? lol

Very good, you admit it. Admitting your posts aren't relevant at all is the first step to recovery.

[dggoddard]

Re: Who will be the "darkhorse" in the WCHA this season?

What can you really take from that when you look at what UMD did in its next 7 games after going 3-5-2 to finish the regular season?

Goaltender caught fire.

In a single elimination situation which UMD was in every step of the way in the WCHA & NCAA playoffs, goaltending was everything.

[johnnypohlfan]

Re: Who will be the "darkhorse" in the WCHA this season?

I think the darkhorse this year will be UML.

That's right, UMass-Lowell. For a team that has never done anything, they're being hyped so much out east that its only obvious what will happen: They will obliterate all their opponents on the east coast, and the other teams will be so scared that they will kick them out of the conference, clearing the way for them to join the WCHA mid-season and just run away with it.

They'll be that good. Trust me. The Sporting News can't be wrong.

[Driftryder]

Re: Who will be the "darkhorse" in the WCHA this season?

Pssst.... EVERYONE "looks good and is clicking" in the offseason. I hope they are improved, but to say that its gonna happen because someone's watched some practices and reports that is, at the least, a little naive.

I heard those orange practice cones are pretty tough this time of year.

[Handyman]

Re: Who will be the "darkhorse" in the WCHA this season?

Pssst.... EVERYONE "looks good and is clicking" in the offseason. I hope they are improved, but to say that its gonna happen because someone's watched some practices and reports that is, at the least, a little naive.

Just look back a few years when tommyboy and few others (I am looking at you DL) thought SCSU would be awesome because Montgomery was great in practice...even robbed Hartigan once! Being good in practice means zero!

[Twitch Boy]

Re: Who will be the "darkhorse" in the WCHA this season?

I've never completely agreed with the theory that claims a team will be much improved because they have everyone back. Couldn't the opposite be assumed as well? If you have everyone back from a 9th place team, why would you say they are going to be better when they have the same 9th place players returning?

I can understand making this claim when a middle of the pack team has all their core players back, and have supplemented the roster with a highly recruited goaltender, or a big name freshman goal scorer, but a 9th place team? There may be a pretty good reason UAA finished in 9th last year. They didn't have players that were very good. Why should it be different this year just because they are a year older?

My theory is mostly based on who they'd likely have to beat to make such a run. Tech is Tech , CC is pretty much depleted, and tUMD lost just about everybody. Mankato doesn't seem to be anything special, but could also be a lower-middle pack dark horse (don't know too much about them, though.) You're telling me UAA can't sneak in the back door and nick most or all of those teams by one point in the standings?

And keep in mind, that 9th place finish was with 23 points. 8th had 26, 7th had 27, 6th had 28, 5th had 29. The WCHA is so tight that one point could be (and has been) equal to one position. The bottom half of this conference is wide open.

It's a possibility. Not a guarantee by a long shot, but a possibility.

[Puck Swami]

Re: Who will be the "darkhorse" in the WCHA this season?

Hate to say it, but CC will be better than people think.

They are loaded with seniors, and have a lot to prove with everyone writing them off after more highly touted CC teams have struggled down the stretch in recent years.

I see them as a mid pack WCHA team, but pretty dangerous due to all the seniors and the chip on the shoulder...

[4four4]

Re: Who will be the "darkhorse" in the WCHA this season?

I also believe UAA will be better this upcoming season. For some reason I have a good feeling about them this year.

[bigblue_dl]

Re: Who will be the "darkhorse" in the WCHA this season?

I think Tech will be better, but not good enough to be a darkhorse, they won't get home ice.

Mankato will be the darkhorse

[First Time, Long Time]

Re: Who will be the "darkhorse" in the WCHA this season?

Hate to say it, but CC will be better than people think.

They are loaded with seniors, and have a lot to prove with everyone writing them off after more highly touted CC teams have struggled down the stretch in recent years.

I see them as a mid pack WCHA team, but pretty dangerous due to all the seniors and the chip on the shoulder...

I think part of the reason is that most of these seniors haven't done much outside of Sweatt.
He and Vlassopoulos are the only 2 seniors above 50 career points and Testwuide is the only other one who even has 40.
When you only return 2 guys with double digit goals and no one else had more than 6 plus you have major questions in goal with zero experience, it's not hard to see why they are being picked low.

[The Paragon of Virtue]

Re: Who will be the "darkhorse" in the WCHA this season?

Just look back a few years when tommyboy and few others (I am looking at you DL) thought SCSU would be awesome because Montgomery was great in practice...even robbed Hartigan once! Being good in practice means zero!

Hartigan never played with Montgomery. Monty's first year was the year after Hartigan left.