8B - Faceoff - October 11, 2006 - The Michigan Daily Daily Hockey Beat Season Preview Picks The Daily hockey writers make predictions on the fate of Michi- gan and the rest of the college hockey world. CCHA first place CCHA second place CCHA third place Mason Cup winner Mason Cup runner-up CCHA Coach of the Year Surprise CCHA teamn CCHA MVP GLI Champion Michigan MVP Michigan leadingscorer Top Michigan freshman NCAA Frozen Four (Team 1) NCAA Frozen Four (Team 2) NCAA Frozen Four(Team 3) NCAA Frozen Four (Team 4) NCAA Champion James V. Ian Dowd Robinson DEAR JACK JOHNSON SR., Amoer Colvin Sanaais Michigan State Michigan Miami Michigan Michigan State Rick Comley, Michigan State Lake Superior State Jeff Lerg, Michigan State Harvard Jack Johnson TJ. Hensick Chris Summers Minnesota Wisconsin Boston college Michigan State Minnesota Michigan Miami Michigan State Michigan Michigan State Jeff Jackson, Notre Dame Notre Dame T.J. Hensick, Michigan Michigan TJ. Hensick Hensick Summers Boston University Michigan Denver Minnesota Boston University Miami Michigan Michigan State Michigan State Michigan Enrico Blasi, Miami Nebraska-Omaha Scott Parse, Nebraska-Omaha Michigan Matt Hunwick Hensick Summers Boston College Minnesota Boston University North Dakota Boston College Michigan State Michigan Miami Michigan Miami Walt Kyle, Northern Michigan Northern Michigan Lerg, Michigan State Michigan State Billy Sauer Hensick Summers Boston College North Dakota Michigan Minnesota Minnesota WE MISS YOUR MOVES. LOVE, DAILY HOCKEY BEAT CCHA Continued from page 3B league rankings. With their top four scorers returning and goalie David Brown back for his senior year, another jump in the CCHA standings wouldn't be out of the question. With a two-time NCAA championship winning coach Jeff Jackson behind the bench as well, a Notre Dame team near the top of the CCHA wouldn't be due to simple Irish luck. Better luck next year: Lake Superior State: The Lakers featured one of the best defensive corps in the conference last year - posting the second lowest goals against average (2.31). And that shouldn't change this year. Although it returns four of its top six blue liners from a year ago, the key to Lake Superior State's defense is between the pipes. All-CCHA Con- ference first-team goalie Jeff Jakaitis returns for his senior season. While the defense was stingy last year, the offense made opposing teams' defense look just as stingy. The Lakers found the net just 93 times last season, the third-lowest total in the conference. If the team is going to rise above its preseason ranking of 10th in the CCHA, it has to find a way to turn on the red light more often. Bowling Green: There is nowhere to go but up for the Falcons. They finished at the bottom of the CCHA after losing standout goalie Jordan Sigalet following the 2004-05 sea- son. With 19 underclassmen on the roster, a dramatic rise to the top of the conference is unlikely. "We scored a lot of goals last year, but we couldn't keep them out of our net," Bowling Green coach Scott Paluch said. "That's our biggest chal- lenge as we enter the new season." The Falcons scored 124 goals a year ago but allowed a conference- worst 147. Although the defense should be stronger with six returning blue lin- ers, the team is young and at least a year away from being in the top half of the conference. Western Michigan: Goalie Daniel Bellissimo led the NCAA in saves, which says something about the team's defense. And he didn't finish in the top 10 of the CCHA in goals against, which says something about his goal- keeping. The Broncos finished last in the league in defense and second to last in the overall standings last year. The Broncos ended the season on a high note, though, upsetting Lake Superior State in the first round of the CCHA Tournament. Judging by where the coaches and media picked Western Michigan to finish this year (12th in both polls), winning a series in the first round of the CCHA playoff might be the Broncos' only momentum heading into next season. DEFENSE Continued from page 5B "Jack Johnson certainly lived up to all the expectations that people put on him," Berenson said. Considering the buildup that comes with being highest drafted Michigan player of all time, that says a lot for John- son's play - and he wants to improve. "He just absolutely can do it all," Pow- ers said. "Everything's been said about him, but everything's true. It won't surprise me if he can take his game to another level, which is not going to be easy to do because he's already so good. But he doesn't want to be just that good. He wants to be great." Fresh-faced first years In a sea of returning roster members, it's easy to lose track of two players new to the Michigan squad. But then you see Chris Summers skate. And you watch Steve Kampfer move the puck. "They're going to demand ice time," Powers said. "They're not going to take a backseat to anybody here." Summers, already drafted by the Phoe- nix Coyotes in the first round of the 2006 draft, is generating buzz for the way he moves on the ice. Powers called the Milan native's skating "world-class, like Hunwick's." Summers, .like many of the Wolver- ines, comes from the Under-18 United States National Team Development Pro- gram. The team nakes a seasn out of' playing college teams, so for Summers, skating against Division I opponents is nothing new. And he hopes to be scoring against them soon, too. Summers says he tries to make himself into "the fourth forward," jumping up and joining the rush when he can. Kampfer, newly 18 and the team's youngest player, likes to get in the rush a bit, too. "I can chip in equally at both ends," Kampfer said. "I can pick when I want to join. It's fun jumping into the play, but you also have to realize you've got to be back if the puck turns over." Coaches and teammates marvel over Kampfer's puck handling and strong shot, attributes that will probably land him a spot on Michigan's ailing power play. But to Powers, the biggest strength of Kampfer and Summers isn't a hockey skill. Both rookies have had their eyes set on Michigan from a young age, and to him that's worth more than anything. "For them, putting on that helmet and that jersey is a very, very special thing," Powers said. "You're not get- ting just good hockey players and good kids, you're getting kids that are living out a dream. We're seeing that every day. They're working so hard because they're so happy." These seven players are bound by a drive to return Michigan to the upper echelon of college hockey. Each of them knows that starts in one place: with them, at the blue line, keeping pucks out of the net.