Picking the outcome of a college hockey conference before a game has been played falls somewhere in between luck and skill. How close to one or the other is open to discussion.

Here’s a closer look at how the media who cover the NCHC fared with their preseason conference picks. The final order is listed along with a brief comment. Magness Mayhem had one of three votes in the Denver market. Preseason picks are in parenthesis.

1. St. Cloud State (Media – 2nd; Mayhem – 2nd). Comment: The Huskies were the most consistent team in the league from start to finish despite working several freshmen into their lineup. My impression of them during their November visit to Magness Arena was that they are fast and skilled, but perhaps a bit soft. Strike that. I was thoroughly impressed with SCSU’s grit and energy in the rematch with Denver a few weeks ago in St. Cloud.
2. Denver (Media – 1st; Mayhem – 1st). Comment: The Pioneers were the unanimous pick, and with good reason. For all of the experience they lost, they returned nearly all of their top scorers and reigning Mike Richter Award winner Tanner Jaillet while blending in a very good freshman class. That DU finished second in a league this tough despite some growing pains speaks to its overall talent level.
3. Minnesota Duluth (Media – 4th; Mayhem – 4th). Comment: The Bulldogs had to replace major portions of their lineup but played better and better down the stretch. Along with St. Cloud, Duluth has an impressive freshman class. The series with DU at Magness was the best hockey I’ve seen in person this season.
4. North Dakota (Media – 3rd; Mayhem – 3rd). Comment: Given all the injuries the Fighting Hawks endured, this is an excellent outcome. Still, it didn’t seem as though NoDak was as stacked as usual. They played a tough, physical brand of hockey that gave several teams, DU included, problems. I thought Christian Wolanin was the most exciting defenseman I saw in the entire conference.
5. Omaha (Media – 7th; Mayhem – 6th). Comment: A mild surprise, but perhaps only because no one was really sure what rookie coach Mike Gabinet’s impact would be. The Mavericks beat Duluth and NoDak twice, but were swept by DU and St. Cloud State.
6. Western Michigan (Media – 6th; Mayhem – 7th). Comment: The season-ending injury to Wade Allison in the 22nd game really hurt and contributed to the Broncos going 4-9-1 in 2018. With only three seniors among their top 14 scorers, the future would appear bright.
7. Colorado College (Media – 8th; Mayhem – 8th). Comment: The pessimist would say the Tigers had nowhere to go but up. The optimist would say they’ve turned the corner. CC had 14 wins (same as North Dakota and one fewer than WMU) and beat every team in the league except St. Cloud and Duluth.
8. Miami (Media – 5th; Mayhem – 5th). Comment: A mild surprise. The RedHawks struggled to keep pucks out of the net, and after seeing them in person this past weekend I believe that was a group effort. There is a good amount of talent on this team, and I remain puzzled why they didn’t fare better.

Overall: There weren’t huge surprises. Going forward, expect at least four and possibly five of the league’s teams in the NCAA Tournament.

©First Line Editorial 2017-18