10 College Hockey Teams That Should Contend for the 2012 NCAA National Title

Only 16 of the 58 schools playing NCAA Division I men's ice hockey will make it to the NCAA Tournament.  

Here are 10 teams (okay, 11) that could be there when the selections are announced in March.

The 2012 NCAA Frozen Four will be contested in Tampa this April.

Minnesota, much maligned the past few years, is off to a 9-1-0 start this fall.  Sophomore forward Erik Haula is topping the Golden Gophers—and the nation—with seven goals and 17 points to date, while senior goaltender Kent Patterson (9-1-0, 1.60 goals-against average, .942 save percentage) has been in net for every game.  Head coach Don Lucia, who led the Gophers to back-to-back NCAA titles in 2002-03, recently agreed to a contract extension.

Boston College has almost always been invited to the big dance since 1998.  The Eagles, who have won three national titles since 2001, have only lost twice so far this season, even with a new No. 1 goaltender in junior Parker Milner (8-2-0, 2.19, .918).  Junior forward Chris Kreider, a first-round New York Rangers' draftee in 2009, is among the national scoring leaders with eight goals and seven assists for 15 points.

Michigan hasn't missed an NCAA tournament since 1990, and last spring came within an overtime goal of its 10th national title.  The Wolverines are off to a 7-2-1 start, with senior netminder Shawn Hunwick sporting a 7-1-1 record and a .941 save percentage, while junior forward Lindsay Sparks has tallied 5-8--13 points.  Red Berenson is in his 28th season behind the Michigan bench.

Merrimack, the lone unbeaten team remaining in NCAA Division I at 7-0-1, made it back to the NCAA Tournament last year for the first time since 1988.  Head coach Mark Dennehy's Warriors finished 25-10-4 overall last season, and will be competing for a Hockey East title this time out.   Senior forwards Ryan Flanigan (5-5--10 points) and Jesse Todd (3-4--7 points) are both back in North Andover this season, as is senior goaltender Joe Cannata (6-0-1, 1.41, .939).

Notre Dame has made the NCAA Tournament four of the last five years, and started this season at 5-2-2.  The Fighting Irish came up one game short of their second-ever national title game last spring, and this year unveiled a new 5,000-seat arena on campus in the Charles W. 'Lefty' Smith Jr. Rink.  Back for another crack at the CCHA title, and a shot at the NCAAs, are sophomore forward Anders Lee, who leads the nation with 10 goals, and classmate T.J. Tynan, who is tied for first in Division I with 12 assists.  Back in net is junior Mike Johnson, who is 4-1-2 with a 1.84 goals-against average.

Western Michigan, despite losing head coach Jeff Blashill to the NHL's Detroit Red Wings in the off-season,  seems to have picked up where they left off last spring, with a run to the CCHA Championship game and its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 15 years.  New head coach Andy Murray has the Broncos off to a 6-1-3 start, with sophomore forward Chase Balisy leading the way with four goals and 12 points.  Junior goalie Nick Pisellini and freshman Frank Slubowski have shared the duties so far in net.

Colorado College knocked off defending NCAA champion Boston College in its NCAA West Regional opener last year, and then came within two goals of its first trip to the Frozen Four since 2005.  Leading the fast-paced attack again are brothers Rylan Schwartz and Jaden Schwartz, who have combined for 11 goals and 18 points so far in the Tigers' first six outings this season.   Junior backstop Joe Howe is the returning starting goaltender (4-1-0, 2.08, .923), while senior Gabe Guentzel and junior Mike Boivin key the CC defense.

The Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs, who lost several players from last season's NCAA title run, got off to a 5-3-2 start this season, and are 3-0-2 in their last five outings.  Paramount to their hopes for a repeat will be another stellar performance from senior goaltender Kenny Reiter (5-2-2, 2.39, .907, 2 shutouts), who went 16-7-5 a year ago, including all four wins in the NCAA Tournament. Also back at Amsoil Arena is leading returning scorer Jack Connolly, now a junior center, who leads UMD with 13 points so far, while senior forward Travis Oleksuk has a team-high nine goals.

Yale has played in just four games so far this season, but has won two consecutive ECAC Tournaments and advanced to its NCAA Regional final both years.  The Bulldogs are breaking in a new starting goaltender in Jeff Malcolm (2-1-1, 1.98, 9.38), who has played every minute so far after seeing action in just a dozen games his first two years in New Haven.  Yale also returns its top two scorers from a year ago in senior Brian O'Neill and junior Andrew Miller.

The Lake Superior State Lakers and Ferris State Bulldogs are both off to 8-2-0 starts this season, and are sandwiched around Western Michigan in the CCHA standings.  LSSU hasn't been to the NCAA Tournament since 1996, while FSU hasn't received a national invitation since 2003.  Sophomore netminder Kevin Kapalka has gone 7-2-0 for the Lakers with a 2.09 GAA, while senior Taylor Nelson (5-1-0, 2.01) is Ferris' top goaltender.  Nick McParland, Kyle Jean, and Zach Trotman have each posted nine points for LSSU, while Travis Ouellette is pacing the Bulldogs with six goals and five assists for 11 points.  The Lakers and Bulldogs meet this weekend for a two-game set at FSU that could help determine how the CCHA unfolds the rest of this season.

Other Schools to Keep an Eye On This Season (Overall Records Through Nov. 10):

Denver (3-3-2)

Quinnipiac (7-3-1)

Michigan Tech (6-3-1)

Air Force (5-2-2)

Union (5-1-3)

Clarkson (6-2-2)

Colgate (5-3-1)