Maybe. But senior forward Hilary Witt (27, 24) has also played a major role in Northeastern's recent success. Witt's penchant for timely goals made her a Kazmaier nominee last season, and she should lead the Husky offense again.

Northeastern is in the process of grooming its next big scorer in sophomore forward Brooke Whitney (6, 26). But Coach Heather Linstad will need more than two scorers to remain competitive this year. Additional help might come from sophomore forwards Nicole Lewis (11, 11) and Brooke White (7, 14).

The anchor of the defense will be junior goaltender Erika Silva (1.61 GAA), who split time with the now-graduated Shannon Meyers, although Silva was between the pipes for most of the games against nationally-ranked opponents.

This year Silva will miss the services of defenseman Jaime Totten (6, 17), who was a Second-Team All-American in her senior season. Senior Jennie Setaro (14, 11) will lead the Huskies at the blueline, along with freshman Kim Greene.

5. Dartmouth

Dartmouth (16-9-5, 14-7-5) came on strong in the last month of the regular season last year, ending on a positive note by upsetting Brown in the first round of the ECAC Tournament. And the Coach Judy Parish Oberting's squad could have improved even more this year.