NCAA hockey season preview: Can Boston College return to the Frozen Four?

The Boston College Eagles didn't suffer a huge amount of losses in the offseason, but the two most important players who did depart were some of the best in college hockey.

No NCAA team can fully absorb the loss of Cutter Gauthier (38 goals in 41 games) or Will Smith (71 points in 41 games), because the number of players in recent memory who could produce at that level can be counted on just a few fingers.

So one might think that the Eagles, who won 34 games last season and lost a heartbreaker in the national title game, might be expected to take a step back.

However, that's not the case. BC was not just the youngest team in the country last season, they were the youngest team in all of college hockey since the early '90s, and despite the gut-punch, if expected, losses to the pros, they seem