1. Denver

Denver was far and away the preseason #1, and was absolutely loaded…..and then lost to RIT in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Still, they were a #1 seed for a reason, and the MacNaughton Cup winners.

2. Miami

After a heartbreaking loss in the 09 title game, I put money on Miami to get back there. They didn’t quite get there, but by getting to the Frozen again they certainly acquitted themselves well.

3. Boston U

Whoops. The defending national champs were easily the most disappointing team this year.

4. Cornell

Maybe a bit of an overrank, but the Big Red had almost everyone back, and I thought their defense could get them to Detroit. But they had a bit of a meltdown in the first round against UNH and ended disappointingly.

5. Notre Dame

Tons of talent up front, an All-American on the blue-line, and some questions in net. It just never happened for the Irish this year, as they missed the NCAA tournament.

6. Princeton

I’m blaming injuries for this, but there’s no getting around the fact that the Tigers just weren’t good this year.

7. North Dakota

They finished 1 slot away from where they started. Looks like I had the Sioux pegged this year.

8. Minnesota

Two disappointing years in a row for the Gophers. So much talent, so little results.

9. Michigan

They needed the autobid to make the NCAA tournament, but were a bounce away from the Frozen Four.

10. Yale

The ECAC Champs didn’t fall off as much as I expected them to, as they won the ECAC regular season again and made it to the regional final.

11. UMass-Lowell

After a great run in the 2009 Hockey East tournament, Lowell just didn’t put it together all the way this year and just missed the NCAAs

12. St. Cloud State

The Huskies rode one of the better goalie tandems in the country to their first ever NCAA tournament win.

13. New Hampshire

I figured they would be in the NCAA tournament, but didn’t peg them as Hockey East regular season champs.

14. Air Force

Although they returned the principles from the defending Atlantic Hockey champs, the Falcons never got it going and ended up finishing 3rd.

15. Boston College

Um, whoops.

16. Northern Michigan

I was much more bullish on Northern than most people, and the Wildcats rewarded me by making the NCAA tournament.

All in all I was way off on the two Boston teams (although it looks like most other people were too) and I was disappointed by Notre Dame, Minnesota and Princeton. But I feel somewhat redeemed by Northern Michigan and North Dakota. Still, I hope to do better with next year’s list.

This summer will feature a lot of early departure talk as well as some NHL draft and NHL playoffs stuff, and I may or may not start my season preview a little early this year. Still, I think year 2 was a success here at TCHB. I joined the FanSided network, got interviewed by Puck Daddy, and through Twitter got to “know” a lot of people around the college hockey universe, including the guys at INCH who basically inspired me to do this. Thanks for reading everyone.

1. Boston College (29-10-3)

I was a little skeptical of this Eagles team all year, but they went undefeated in their last 13 games to capture the school’s 4th national title.

2. Wisconsin (28-11-4)

My pre-tournament champion pick saw its first ever Hobey winner, but was also outdone by questionable goaltending.

3. Miami (29-8-7)

With a CCHA title and its second trip to the Frozen Four in as many years, Miami can officially be referred to as a dynasty.

4. RIT (28-12-1)

The second cinderella in as many years didn’t equip themselves as well as Bemidji State, but made an equally memorable run to the Frozen Four

5. Denver (27-10-4)

They were upset in the first round of the NCAA tournament, but by winning the WCHA regular season title Denver showed why it was the near unanimous preseason #1

6.North Dakota (25-13-5)

North Dakota will be an early favorite to win the national title next year, losing only Chris VandeVelde and Darcy Zajac. Chay Genoway might also be gone, but could receive a medical redshirt.

7. St. Cloud State (24-14-5)

Yay they won an NCAA game!

8. Yale (21-10-3)

They backed up their ECAC crown from 09 with one in 2010, and played in the wackiest regional final in 2010.

9. Cornell (21-9-4)

Ben Scrivens and Brendon Nash were 1st team All-Americans, and Colin Greening won the Senior CLASS award.

10. Northern Michigan (20-13-8)

Northern had a Hobey finalist in Mark Olver and Erik Gustafsson was perhaps the best defenseman in the country this year.

11. Union (21-12-6)

Union had the best season in the history of its program, and is a good bet to be perhaps just as good next year.

12. Michigan (26-18-1)

It was dicey for awhile, but the Wolverines managed to make it to their 20th straight NCAA tournament. Wow.

13. New Hampshire (18-14-7)

Their overall record isn’t gaudy, but the Wildcats did manage to win the Hockey East regular season crown.

14. Ferris State (21-13-6)

This was Ferris’s best year since 2002-03, and Blair Riley had probably the best season for a Bulldog since Chris Kunitz

15. Bemidji State (23-10-4)

The last regular season champs of the CHA could be immediate contenders in the WCHA next year.

16. Alaska (18-12-9)

The Nanooks rode great defense and goaltending to their first ever birth in the NCAAs, and probably came the closest to beating eventual champ Boston College.