Finally, the season is starting. I don't know about all of you, but I've been waiting for this. Sadly, we Husky fans have to wait another week to see our squad in person. Sadly, all I've been able to find is streaming audio for the game, but I'll keep my eyes open for streaming video as well.
RIT comes into this season having advanced to the Frozen Four last season. They are the coaches pick to finish first in Atlantic Hockey this year. The line on them is that they should have some good offensive fire power, but lack defensive depth and have some question marks in goaltending.
The Huskies actually are a similar team, in respect to the defense. Last year's D was mediocre at best, and the loss of minute-eater Garrett Raboin could be a problem. However, I do think guys like Oliver Lauridsen and Chris Hepp are ready to make that next step and eat some valuable minutes. We have one of the best one-two goalie tandems in the country in Mike Lee and Dan Dunn, and Hobey hopeful Garrett Roe up front to lead the team.
This years teams should have no problem scoring goals. We still have Roe, Mosey, and LeBlanc who can not only score, but can skate with the best of them. We also have one of the fastest skaters in the country in Travis Novak who, if he can finally match his puck handling to his speed, should be able to have a 30+ point season. Captain Aaron Marvin is also looking to bounce back after a very mediocre, if not bad, junior season and lead this team. The addition of forwards Mitch MacMillan and Nic Dowd should prove to be invaluable, and we also have Ben Hanowski and Jared Festler coming back with improved games.
The Huskies should win this game. I'm going to keep it close, though, and say 3-2. It is possible, however, that the Huskies will put up some bigger numbers if RIT's goaltending is suspect like people are saying it is.
Clarkson, on the other hand, is a completely different story. They were picked to finish 12th in their league by the coaches and the media. They look to have issues on offense and between the pipes. Then again, the offseason can do a lot for a player if they really work at it. I don't think they have a shot, though. The Huskies should win this fairly convincingly by a score of 5-1.
