Six weeks and counting.

With less than six weeks left until the Terriers take the ice in the Nye Classic in Anchorage, it’s time to start looking at previews of upcoming opponents. Two weeks after the Alaska trip, BU will be in Ann Arbor for a pair against Red Berenson’s Wolverines. Jack Parker has let it be known that he’s expecting the incoming freshman to make the biggest impact of any first year group in several years. The same might apply to Michigan. Like BU, Michigan is replacing three starting defensemen and has recruited some highly-regarded blueliners. Kyle Woodlief of Red Line Report ranked the Wolverines’ 2007 recruit class for season third best, behind Wisconsin and BU.

Two more future opponents, Cornell and Vermont, are profiled in the continuing College Hockey News preview series. Meanwhile CSTV Rink Rat Elliott Olshansky, the most traveled journalist in college hockey, offers thumbnail looks at the sixteen 2007 NCAA tournament teams with an eye towards whether they’ll improve or regress in the upcoming season. Among the five Hockey East teams, he projects that BU and UNH will step up while BC, Maine and UMass take a step back.