After a month of hockey played we know 3 things.
We have seen a month of college hockey played so far in the 2017-2018 season.There hasn’t been a lot to base opinions on yet, but we have been able to see and learn three important things for this season of hockey.
1) The NCHC is good, again
The NCHC conference is at it again; they’re winning games and it shows in the rankings. The Denver Pioneers have assembled a stellar team like last year. Three weeks of playing and they sit at 4-0-2 for the season. Denver is stocked with players like Troy Terry, who showed off some of his abilities Friday night scoring the game winning goal in the final seconds to beat Boston University. Denver also has their Mike Richter winning goalie Tanner Jaillet. St. Cloud State University also stepped up their game this year, going an impressive 5-0-0, and being one of the final teams that remain unbeaten and untied. Jimmy Schuldt leads the team with 4 goals and 6 assists. NCHC leads all divisions with four teams ranked in the top 10 in the USCHO poll. The NCHC is as usual a very strong conference.
2) WCHA is doing better, which is good for everyone.
The WCHA has improved this season, making an early impression with two teams ranked in the top 20. This season the WCHA has impressed by playing better teams and playing even better in those games. Minnesota State Mankato is now ranked 9th overall in the latest USCHO poll. They look strong and have wins to show for it, going 5-2-0 at the beginning of the season after sweeping both Boston University and Michigan Tech. The Bemidji State Beavers have shown to be strong on the defensive end, lead by Michael Bitzer. We know one thing for sure: the WCHA isn’t the pushover conference they have been in past seasons.
3) The East Divisions aren’t doing as good as they should be.
NCHC, B1G, and WCHA are all off to strong starts, proving that this year the western conferences are stronger than the eastern. The non-conference games are almost over and Hockey East, ECAC, and Atlantic Hockey are all performing at a level that is surprising. Boston University, who is 3-4-1 right now, is playing at an unexpectedly low level. BU’s only wins come from beating Union, Quinnipiac, and Connecticut. Boston College is in the same boat, starting off with a 1-5-1 record, and is also not the team we’re used to. If the east teams want to show up this postseason, something needs to change.
