1. CLARKSON

No doubt about it, the Golden Knights are stacked. Hobey Baker candidates Hugo Belanger and Scott Thomas team up with freshmen Patrice Robitaille and Marko Tuomainen for the high-powered offense. Chris Rogles and Jason Curry compose one of the finest goalie tandems in the nation. And the defense, though young, should be solid, featuring bruisers Mary d'Orsones and Guy Sanderson. NCAA champions? Probably not. But they'll make a run for it.

2. Harvard

The year of the frosh. See above.

3. St. Lawrence

With only three seniors lost to graduation, the Saints should feature one of the top teams in the ECAC. Seniors Mike Lappin and Martin Lacroix, along with freshmen Brian Lapeller, will anchor a speedy, prolific attack. Look for defenders Daniel LaPerrier and Chris Lappin to perform well on the blue-line. Goalie time will be split between Paul Spagnoletti and Brady Giroux, but defense remains the Saints biggest weakness. A solid team, but nothing sparkling.

4. Vermont

The Catamounts are hoping that their youth will triumph over their inexperience. Having lost start forward John LeClair and goalie Mike Millham, Vermont will look for players to fill their shoes. Seniors Jim Larkin and Mike McLaughlin will try to inject some punch into the Catamount offense, while fellow senior Jeremy Benoit will lead the team's defense.

Vermont will turn to freshman Christian Soucy to fill Millham's spot in goal. If Soucy can shine, look for the Catamounts to do very well this year.

5. Cornell

The Big Red are in for some tough times. Coach Bill McCutcheon must make do with a rag-tag offense (a weak recruiting class and only two remaining guns, Ryan Hughes and Joe Dragon). His young defense, however, looks reasonably solid. Upstart Parris Duffus mans the pipes, and David Burke and Paul Dukovac will anchor the blue-line. Visions of Harvard Hockey 1990.

6. Rensselaer

The Engineers win the "Most Screwed By the Class of 1991" award. RPI lost nine of its top 10 scorers from last year to graduation and will have trouble filling their spaces.

RPI Coach Buddy Powers will look to promising sophomores Xavier Majic and Ron Pasco to carry a lion's share of the offensive duties for the team.

Senior Sean Kennedy and sophomore Neil Little will share goal tending duties again for RPI, trying to make up in defense what the team will undoubtably lack in offense. The task is a bit too tough for Rensselaer, however.