60 Days. 60 Teams. 600 Words (or Less): Northeastern

Northeastern University

2018-19 Record: 27-11-1 (15-8-1, T-2nd in Hockey East)
Head Coach: Jim Madigan, 9th Year
Top returning scorer: Tyler Madden (12G-16A)
Top returning goaltenders: Curtis Frye (Sr.) and Nick Scarpa (So.)

With each passing season, it seems Northeastern can't possibly find a way to top the previous one before topping it. Right now the Huskies are top dogs in Boston with all the city's trophies. Northeastern, from 2017-18 to 2018-19, was able to turn a Beanpot and Hobey Baker Award into another Beanpot, a Mike Richter Award and Hockey East conference tournament championship.

Helping Northeastern coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournaments for the first time in program history is the continued growth of several forwards. Zach Solow went from 5 to 15 goals as a sophomore, putting away both the Beanpot championship and scoring the OT goal to send BU home in the Hockey East semifinals. Tyler Madden, meanwhile, had a freshman season that made NHL teams look foolish for letting him slip into the third round.

However, the Huskies lose two key players early in defender Jeremy Davies and goaltender Cayden Primeau (the aforementioned Mike Richter Award winner).

What's New: Although both returning goaltenders listed above are on the roster, neither has played in a game for the Huskies. Primeau turned pro and the previous starter Ryan Ruck left as a graduate transfer for Colorado College.

Ruck is not the only grad transfer goalie. Coming in for Northeastern is Merrimack's starting goaltender for the past two seasons, Craig Pantano. Connor Murphy, who led the CCHL in GAA last year, also arrives.

Madigan also brings in longtime New Hampshire forward Brendan van Riemsdyk as a grad transfer. Among the 11 freshmen are Rangers draft pick Riley Hughes (F), Oilers draft pick Mike Kesselring (D), Canucks pick Aidan McDonough (F) and Montreal 2019 2nd round pick Jayden Struble (D).

Closing Thoughts: As the Huskies build upon its own success - 2018-19's 27 wins were a program-high - what stands out is NU not building towards a national title contender with a single class.

The Huskies have had consistent hits mixed with good decisions. (i.e. Getting older, talented players. Two of the three incoming drafted freshmen were drafted in 2018. Struble was a late add and planned on playing juniors.) Over the past four seasons, four Northeastern players have left early for the NHL. Madigan's teams have survived losing major contributors to when one national scoring leader (Zach Aston-Reese) graduates, another (Adam Gaudette) pops up. When he leaves early, the team makes the NCAA Tournament again.

This season, the test will be making it happen again without a top defender and scorer, along with a goaltender who had an elite season and a senior class that averaged the eighth-most goals per game. Some of the moves help stop the bleeding. Pantano gives veteran presence in goal and played well when Merrimack had some defense his first year starting. van Riemsdyk had 9 goals last season.

As difficult to say Northeastern, with few firsts remaining, can't possibly find a way to top last season, it comes down to the next group - the Solows and Maddens and Filipes and Jozefeks - following and taking that next step. It wouldn't be a surprise to see a couple do just that.

If not, those good decisions have rewarded the Huskies with back-to-back Beanpots and no more talk of 1988.

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60 Days. 60 Teams. 600 Words (or Less): Ohio State

Ohio State University

2018-19 Record: 20-11-5 (13-7-4, 1st in Big Ten)
Head Coach: Steve Rohlik, 7th Year
Top returning scorer: Tanner Laczynski (10G-20A)
Top returning goaltender: Tommy Nappier (Jr.)

Without fail, a team or two each year peaks too early and wishes the season ended in February.

This year, Ohio State comes to mind. The Buckeyes enter 2019-20 in the best shape in program history. OSU built off its 2018 Frozen Four appearance by being the Big Ten's lone dominant squad. When things went right, Ohio State was a veteran team using its experience and a season-long goalie platoon of Tommy Nappier and Sean Romeo to its advantage.

As every other school beat up on one another for hard-earned splits, Ohio State was trading in sweeps. During a three-month stretch, the Buckeyes went 15-2-3 and Steve Rohlik's team looked to be the conference's best hope at another Frozen Four.

Instead, Ohio State's year ended on a 1-7-1 skid which began when Minnesota came into Columbus and swept the Buckeyes, and concluded at the West Regional with Denver shutting out OSU in only its second game in four weeks. With times looking like 2018-19 being Ohio State's year to make a national title run, the Buckeyes march on trying to prove the window is not closed.

What's New: Not scheduling the other two Ohio schools. What in the name of Sloopy is going on?

The Buckeyes are not guaranteed to face either Bowling Green or Miami. Ohio State does participate in the Ice Breaker tournament the Falcons host, however, the two don't face one another in the opening round. OSU also travels to Las Vegas for the Fortress Invitational with Army, Providence, and Cornell.

Ohio State rewarded Rohlik with a contract extension through 2023-24. Among this year's rookie class is 2019 3rd round pick Layton Ahac (D) and Michael Gildon (F).

Last but certainly not least, Ohio State gets to raise a regular-season banner. The only other time the Buckeyes won a regular-season title was the CCHA's inaugural year in a four-team league.

Closing Thoughts: Ohio State finds itself in a weird spot. After four seasons moving up the Big Ten standings, the Buckeyes reached the top. There's nowhere to go up. Some big-name schools would be happy with three straight NCAA Tournament appearances and a Frozen Four appearance.

The challenge now is maintaining that success without taking a step back following Big Ten career leading scorer Mason Jobst, Dakota Joshua, Sasha Larocque, Romeo and several key players graduating. Tanner Laczynski remains one of the league's top players and Gustaf Westlund looked like he was ready at times to take the next step. He'll get that chance.

In a way, the Buckeyes were the Dads of the Big Ten. When the rest of the league were out late scoring goals and being as entertaining as possible, Steve Rohlik made sure OSU was responsible with the car and play in 3-1 games. Ohio State does not need to tinker too much to keep being in good shape, unlike other B1G schools. Several veterans plus the majority of its defense and Nappier, who likely gets a bigger role in goal after posting a .926% save percentage, return.

That's the good news as long as the team didn't miss the timing to buy a sports car before it appears to be a midlife crisis.

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BLOG: Why do we enjoy discussing new college hockey programs yet hate change?

Illinois. Penn. St. Thomas.

These are all schools who, at one point or another, over the summer, came up in the conversation of beginning a Division 1 men's hockey program. The group ranges widely from "in the red zone" to "an endowment with an eye towards varsity hockey" to "got kicked out of the MIAC so let the speculation begin."

For all the speculation, there's no guarantee all, or even any, join the Division 1 ranks in the coming years. (The same can be said on the women's side with Northern Michigan and a plethora of other schools on fan wish lists.) That doesn't stop discussing new programs.

Any time one gets brought up, discussing what's next becomes rampant among college hockey fans. Twitter accounts have made a cottage industry of RTs and likes out of "which school should or will be the one to add hockey?"

When it does happen, an uplift of support normally accompanies a new program on the horizon.

At the same time, the fact expansion discussion is one of the few things in college hockey to break through to casual fans ends up being something I find odd because few things in the sport bring out vitriol like a massive change.

Everyone is happy to see Arizona State join 59 other men's hockey teams in the NCAA yet no one quite wants Arizona State in their conference. Penn State, in an era where attendance is down nationally, each night sells out a 6,000 seat arena. That doesn't stop both from being scapegoats for what's wrong with the sport.

Still, I'm not exactly sure why there's a disconnect between a new program possibly existing and actually existing. Why do we enjoy discussing schools starting up hockey and hate the change the new schools bring? It would make sense to hold some consistency.

My guess, however, is that the consistency comes from the enjoyment of college hockey, one of the few sports where small and big schools alike are on even footing.

On one side, there's a ton to like about the sport. It should be shared. It should grow. In fact, hockey continues to grow as the number of spots for players continues to be limited. Only three programs have added D1 men's hockey this century. Much of the talk of new programs is just that, talk.

(For every school that ends up in the end zone and scoring a shiny new program, there's a long list of failed rumors ranging from Navy to Minnesota State, Moorhead to UNLV to Rhode Island to Iowa and anywhere in between. Illinois has been discussed as a potential addition since before Penn State, itself a longtime rumored school, began its program.)

On the other side, the reality of growing the game, sharing the sport and what change means doesn't come to mind until it becomes a reality. This is a sport where each team and conference looks out for itself first and foremost. Adding new rules, whether it's recruiting or 3-on-3 OT, can be like pulling teeth.

Any new school would mean something different. Penn possibly gives the Ivy League enough schools to make it worthwhile to leave the ECAC. St. Thomas adds a geographical fit for the Upper Midwest. Illinois is in a spot where several schools recruit - the state of Illinois continues one of several hockey-mad areas in the United States without a nearby team.

It's easy to dream of expansion to the West Coast/South/Power 5/more Minnesota schools. When push comes to shove, a growing sport is also one that ends up being a changing sport; something fans know all too well with realignment and proxy battles that continue to be fought nearly a decade later.

However, that remains true regardless of expansion. At its core, the one constant of college is continued change. Players have a limited amount of time before moving on to the next level. Buildings constantly get built. Restaurants change. Go to a college campus after a five-year absence and half the time gets spent recalling memories at long-lost locales.

The entire experience is one of trying to hold onto the past as the world changes around you.

Maybe that's the best way to look at why it's fun to discuss new programs yet hate change. Depending on the year, everyone has their own version of what campus and college hockey was to them. Different rivalries. Different eras. Whether new schools are added or not, there will be change. It's inevitable.

We don't need to go far for that to be true. Something else happening over the summer besides conversations of schools beginning a Division 1 men's hockey program was the start of actual realignment.

There's no speculation. Shots were fired. In late June, seven WCHA schools decided to give notice and depart the conference. The move, which comes after uncertainty over the future of the two Alaska schools and an untenable alliance of teams, opens Pandora's realignment box once more, new schools or not.

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60 Days. 60 Teams. 600 Words (or Less): Arizona State

Arizona State

2018-19 Record: 21-13-1
Head Coach: Greg Powers, 5th Year Varsity
Top returning scorer: Johnny Walker (23G-11A)
Top returning goaltender: Evan Debrouwer (So.)

What is left to write about Arizona State? The Sun Devils, in season four of D1 men's hockey, became the fastest program and first independent school since Alaska Anchorage in 1992 to reach the NCAA Tournament.

In a year of surprises, ASU swung heads. If I wrote this series last year, an 8-21-5 Arizona State would be a second-week profile. Instead, it's mid-September, discussing its recipe for success and where the team goes from here.

It'd be expected the Sun Devils, returning 84% of scoring, would slowly do better as the first D1 classes become upperclassmen. Goaltender Joey Daccord improved from a .892% save percentage as a freshman to .909% as a sophomore to .926% and a Mike Richter Award nomination last season. Johnny Walker had a school-record 23 goals (2nd nationally) before getting injured near the end of the season. Defender Brinson Pasichnuk was 5th nationally among blueliners with 13 goals.

What's Old: Still waiting on a new arena and conference.

What's New: Scottsdale native Auston Matthews came around from not having ASU in his college top five and modeled some "throwbacks" to add to the team's thousands of jersey combos.

Bringing new 🔥 to the ice.

A @sundevilhockey ✖️ @AM34 collab pic.twitter.com/5ycTUBLsM1

— Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) August 22, 2019

Also new? Going to China to play summer hockey.

As an independent, the Sun Devils embraced their inner Johnny Cash by being everywhere. But an 11-day August international trip goes to a new level. Arizona State won the Fu Xing Cup and went to the Great Wall of China.

ASU knocks off another state by playing Harvard in Irvine, California. Not a bad way to spend late December by wanting to see some palm trees, the Harvard of tropical trees.

Daccord, the great wall of Tempe, signed with the Ottawa Senators, becoming the first Sun Devil to play an NHL game. Replacing him are BU graduate transfer Max Prawdzik (Jake Oettinger's backup), sophomore Evan Debrouwer, and freshman Justin Robbins, one of six Arizona State rookies. Eddie Lack's now the goalie coach.

Closing Thoughts: I can't wait to read (or write) the next chapter of Arizona State hockey. A November OT win over Penn State seemed like a changing of the guard. ASU made the most of its opportunity to be one of college hockey's great stories.

But the way Arizona State earned an NCAA Tournament berth is not exactly easy. ASU beat the teams it should, avoiding bad losses for the most part while struggling against top teams, going 2-10-1 against teams in the top 20 of the Pairwise. Even with struggles (and the Sun Devils beat two NCAA teams plus swept BC), that consistency gets rewarded over a long season.

Is it a story Arizona State can repeat? Can ASU fare better against top 20 schools? The Sun Devils schedule features four NCAA Tournament teams (including a Quinnipiac rematch) plus several others looking to be on the upswing. Getting back Walker, who led the nation in shots per game (4.81) on a team outshot on average, and most of the blue line help limit the loss of Daccord.

More than anything, when the tradition continues to be set, it'll be interesting to see which individual(s) adds to the recipe of success like Daccord, Walker, Pasichnuk and the entire Sun Devils did last season.

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60 Days. 60 Teams. 600 Words (or Less): Harvard

Harvard

2018-19 Record: 19-11-3 (13-7-2, T-3rd in ECAC)
Head Coach: Ted Donato, 16th Year
Top returning scorer: Reilly Walsh (12G-19A)
Top returning goaltender: Cameron Gornet (Sr.)

Put it on old Harvard to mix things up a little bit. The Crimson, of the four Beanpot schools, remain the last to appear in a Frozen Four. Ted Donato's team continues to be built in a way that works well in the current college hockey landscape, making it difficult to ignore the sound and the fury coming out of Bright Hockey Center.

Harvard enters 2019-20 with four NCAA Tournament appearances in five seasons. Reaching that consistency has been in no small part thanks to recent recruiting classes replenishing lost talent.

Five of the seven players with at least 20 points last season were underclassmen. All return. While not the multiple first-rounders of nearby schools, Donato has a mixture of players selected in the top 3-4 rounds with undrafted guys who can both develop into solid college players for Harvard.

What's Old: Players getting their NHL rights traded over the summer and then leaving early.

What's New: Seriously, this would be a different feature if it came out in early May rather than September. Harvard players seem to take some leftover lessons from Jimmy Vesey and control their futures. Both Adam Fox and John Marino pulled the "we're staying in school" move right up until the NHL teams who held their draft rights moved them to teams they wanted.

Without getting into a college thesis about the ethics or pro and cons of utilizing CBA labor rights (I only have 600 self-imposed words, okay?), the loss of both defenders will be felt. Fox led the nation in assists (insert your "how do you like them apples?" joke here) with 39 and was a Hobey Baker hat trick finalist. Marino is mobile with a more defensive edge, providing a balance to offensively-happy defensemen like Fox and Reilly Walsh.

Starting goaltender Michael Lackey also departed, a side effect of the Ivy League not having a redshirt year. He's now at Providence. Cameron Gornet played well (.915% save percentage) late in the season during Lackey's absence due to injury. He will get the first crack.

Of the Crimson's seven first-year players, three were drafted in June: Forward John Farinacci (76th to Arizona), defender Henry Thrum (101st to Anaheim) and forward Nick Abruzzese (124th to Toronto).

Closing Thoughts: It would not be a stretch to call Harvard, after losing to Massachusetts in the first round, a potential national title contender if both Fox and Marino returned. The Crimson worked through some early team struggles into a 12-3 stretch in January and February.

Keeping most of that team - especially a blue line that can score at will, finishing with the second-highest power play (28.3%) in the country - together would raise expectations.

Still, there's plenty to like even without a preseason Hobey Baker favorite. Donato's teams have been able to bounce back from losing key players this decade (Vesey, Kerfoot, Ryan Donato, etc). Harvard's D departures pave an opportunity for junior Walsh and sophomore Jack Rathbone to take the next step in their development. (Walsh, in particular, has the tools to be a No. 1 D and play in all situations.) The same can be said with returning forwards such as Jack Drury, Jack Badini, Casey Dornbach and Henry Bowlby.

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60 Days. 60 Teams. 600 Words (or Less): Bowling Green

Bowling Green

2018-19 Record: 25-15-5 (16-8-4, 3rd in WCHA)
Head Coach: Ty Eigner, 1st Year
Top returning scorers: Brandon Kruse (10G-31A) and Connor Ford (17G-17A)
Top returning goaltender: Eric Dop (Jr.)

Figuring out whether the glass is half empty or half full in Toledo Northwest Ohio depends on your outlook. Optimists can find solace in Bowling Green's recent path. So can pessimists.

After recent close calls, the Falcons finally snapped its 29 year NCAA Tournament drought, giving the eventual champions its biggest scare. For a program whose entire future was uncertain a decade ago before Chris Bergeron took over, that's no small accomplishment.

Ryan Bednard (.926%) and the team's defense stifled opponents, allowing on average less than two goals (1.83) per game. On offense, the top three scorers were all sophomores.

For a pessimist, just when things went well the bottom fell out. A 13-3-3 first half turned into a nailbiting finish for an at-large bid. BGSU lost to four of the WCHA's bottom five. The Falcons blew late leads against both Minnesota State in the WCHA championship game and UMD in the NCAA Tournament (losing both in OT).

Bergeron departed for old rival Miami. Bednard signed with an NHL team near Miami (Florida, not Ohio). Junior forward Lukas Craggs signed with Nashville as a free agent.

What's New: The Falcons host the Ice Breaker Tournament in Toledo to kick off the season...a week after kicking off the season on the road against Bergeron's Miami.

Even though the tournament now ends up being the equivalent of a networking event over drinks after meetings, it features RIT, Western Michigan and in-state rival Ohio State (who BGSU absolutely crushed 8-2 last season). Notre Dame comes to town as part of a home-and-home series. The Falcons add former Michigan Tech forward Gavin Gould as a transfer.

And of course, Bergeron leaving means Bowling Green has a new head coach. Enter Ty Eigner.

Eigner, who spent the previous nine seasons as an assistant coach under Bergeron, gets his first head coaching opportunity at his alma mater. His staff rounds out with Merrimack associate coach Curtis Carr and Wisconsin alum Maco Balkovec.

Closing Thoughts: No matter whether the glass is half empty or half full, Bowling Green has been on a program-changing run. The Falcons continue to be one of the top WCHA (for now) teams. There's some sense of stability returning several key players and Eigner promoted from within to the head coaching position.

An optimist and pessimist will answer the same questions differently. Can BGSU replace Bednard's play the past two seasons? What adjustments will be made under Eigner? How do the Falcons react to success and snapping the NCAA Tournament drought?

It's that last question which stands out. 2018-19's ending and last-minute OT losses should be a learning experience. BGSU can say it had both the ending it wanted and a chip on its shoulder being hungry for more (and I'm sure the atmosphere for Miami's trip to Toledo Bowling Green on December 30th will be fun to watch). Max Johnson is an underrated player nationally, as is Alex Rauhauser on defense. 50+ teams would take getting back three players with 34+ points.

The Falcons should be intriguing. Whether the optimist or pessimist is right, both can agree on not expecting Bowling Green to spend another 29 years without an NCAA Tournament appearance.

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60 Days. 60 Teams. 600 Words (or Less): Penn State

Penn State

2018-19 Record: 22-15-2 (11-12-1, 4th in Big Ten)
Head Coach: Guy Gadowsky, 8th Year Varsity
Top returning scorers: Alex Limoges (23G-27A) and Evan Barratt (16G-27A)
Top returning goaltender: Peyton Jones (Sr.)

Penn State, for my money, was college hockey's most entertaining team. No matter what happened, there was bound to be a spectacle in a season filled by Sportscenter Top 10 goals. No lead was safe. No red light or Coach's Challenge went unused.

The Nittany Lions put up a goal-scoring bonanza, leading the nation with 4.54 goals per game. Midway through last season, Penn State averaged a total (5.22) on pace to be a 20 year high. PSU ended with more than half a goal on average than the second-place team and over a goal than the fourth-place team.

Penn State historically has never been afraid to shoot. Adding in players who can build upon the mantra and create offensive chances, PSU has multiple weapons throughout its lineup.

🚨 LIMOOOOO 🚨

Off the rebound from Barratt and Sucese!! Penn State leads 4-0 at 1:35 of the second period!! #WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/tJhdjsB2Ee

— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) January 27, 2019

All three return, BTW.

What's New: Stability to end its first decade. Six of Penn State's seven players with 14 or more goals return. Several could have left. Among the 11 returning forwards are Limoges, who after 12 goals in his final 14 games, had some buzz as an undrafted free agent. (Nate Sucese and Brandon Biro each had nine during that stretch.) Barratt is a Chicago Blackhawks draft pick back for his junior season.

Guy Gadowsky also gets back forward Aarne Talvitie. Talvitie, who had 16 points in 17 games, missed the second half after getting injured captaining Finland to a WJC gold medal.

Of PSU's nine newcomers, Kevin Wall was drafted by Carolina in the sixth round of June's NHL Draft. Wall had 31 goals for Chilliwack (BCHL). Clayton Phillips transfers in from Minnesota.

Closing Thoughts: So far this has been positive. So it's time to put a big "but" to Penn State being college hockey's most entertaining team.

The offense is historically fun to watch. But the reason PSU is entertaining has to do with no lead being safe. On either side.

The Nittany Lions were an elite offense mixed with one of the nation's worst defenses (56th of 60 teams - only Western Michigan and them had a positive goal differential among the bottom 20). Goalie Peyton Jones barely was above .900%. On multiple occasions last season PSU blew 4-1 third period leads. Opponents scored 5+ goals 13 times. Remarkably, Penn State won three of those.

Any team who is the last one out can point to a number of factors (both internal and external) that barely kept them out of the NCAA Tournament. That's true with Penn State, who had an opportunity to win an automatic berth against Notre Dame.

A healthy Talvitie adds an important element. Limoges is the nation's leading returning scorer. However, whether it's Jones rediscovering his end-of-year freshman form or an older blue line improving vastly defensively, the Nittany Lions, returning the nation's top offense, is a respectable defense away from being a title contender. Seven D return, led by the Cole Hults-Paul DeNaples pairing.

While Penn State missing the NCAA Tournament was lost entertainment, it fits in with college hockey in 2019. The teams on ESPN in April weren't the ones on Sportscenter during the regular season. They were the ones who defensively were responsible and limited opponents opportunities and goals.

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