The ECAC received a needed boost of credibility last season. Its champion, St. Lawrence, made it all the way to the Frozen Four before bowing out to Boston College. Led by sophomore center Brandon Dietrich and freshman goalie, Derek Gustafson, the Saints were emerging as a clear powerhouse in the conference, raising the stock of the whole league.

Well, there must be some law guaranteeing complete and absolute parity (some would call it mediocrity) in the ECAC, because as soon as clear castes appeared, they got knocked down to size. Dietrich is now toiling in the New York Rangers system. Gustafson is now experiencing the joy of netminding for Jacques Lemaire's neutral zone trap in Minnesota. St. Lawrence still has enough talent to be near the top of the table, but that claim can be made for almost anyone in the conference.

The top story entering the season is the return of Vermont. The Catamounts had their season canceled on Jan. 14 in light of the hazing scandal that drew national attention and rocked the college hockey community. Vermont will have a difficult time reestablishing credibility, but the Burlington, VT community has rallied around the team and season ticket sales have actually increased for the always-packed Gutterson Field House.

Harvard will reacquaint itself with the Catamounts next Saturday at Bright.

Here's a look at each team in the conference in our predicted order of finish:

No. 16 Cornell

Harvard's top hockey rival should field a strong entry this year. Cornell (16-14-2, 10-9-1, 4th) swept the Crimson in the first round of the playoffs last year with its superior team size and strength. Led by the 6'1, 205-pound McRae twins, the Big Red has big players who know how to get the puck to the net. With his recruiting class this year, Head Coach Mike Shafer has added smaller, finesse players like Ryan Vesche and Jason Kuczmanski to complement his veterans.

The Big Red has a very deep roster and should pose a balanced attack that wears an opponent out and frustrates them with no one clear superstar to focus on. The only question mark for the team is in goal, where there is no clear No. 1 between Matt Underhill, Ian Burt and Chris Gartman. Underhill and Burt platooned last year, but neither really impressed so Gartman will get a chance to compete for starter minutes.