A 14-11-2 overall record for the Plymouth State Men’s Hockey team is how the Panthers finished last season, in which their last game was a 6-1 loss to Salem State University back in March. Despite what most teams would classify as a successful season, since they were able to advance to their conference championship game, this team is different. They expect more than that. By getting off to a slow start in the beginning of last season, the Panthers weren’t able to host the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) championship game in front of their home crowd at Hanaway Arena.
Knowing how crucial it is to get off to a good start this season, the team has gone through a much more rigorous offseason work-out session, in which there were a number of Captains’ practices, weight training, and agility sessions. “We’ve had a way tougher preseason than last year,” said sophomore forward Mike Economos (Crystal Lake, Ill). By losing only five members from last year’s team, everyone on the Panthers knows they have the ability to be a team with a great opportunity to win the MASCAC championship.
One member of the team that was able to put a positive spin on last year’s loss is another sophomore, Ian McGilvrey (Omaha, NE). “Having 14 freshman last year, and losing, was a learning experience,” said McGilvrey. “It gives us an extra incentive.” Those freshmen were able to experience a little bit of success last year, but they are now a year older, and more mature and improved. “The biggest thing coming back is the experience that the guys were able to grow last year,“ said Head Coach Craig Russell. “The freshman class of last year grew so much last year. They progressed as much as two years in one year,” Russell said. That maturity and growth is evident when watching this team play, as there are a number of sophomores, including Economos (who was voted an Alternate Captain), Erik Strom (Gothenburg, Sweden), Matt Vermillion (South Lyon, MI), and Ryan Callahan (Londonderry, N.H.). These players have the ability to talk to the team as a whole, and get respect back, earning it with their play and attitude last season.
Respect is something that the Panthers are going to have to earn this season, as they were picked to finish second in the MASCAC this season to Salem State. The team hasn’t discussed this, and Coach Russell said it best. “It is a preseason poll, and I really don’t care. We were picked to be #1 last season with 14 freshmen…. [Salem State] earned it, and they are the defending champs,” Russell explained.
Taking it one game at a time is what Russell, along with all of his players, stressed, as they don’t want to overlook any opponent. Aside from the 18 MASCAC games the team has, Russell has assembled a tough out-of-conference schedule to truly see what the make-up of his team is. Some of these games include Norwich University (which defeated PSU last week), Nichols College, and Babson College, all whom made the NCAA tournament last season. There aren’t many teams who would be able to handle a schedule this tough, and as the season progresses, it will be extremely interesting to see how this team does when they face adversity.
As far as how the team looks this season, the Panthers didn’t lose many players from last season. Last year’s Captain David Walters graduated, as did Alternate Captain Phil Arnone, but Arnone comes back this season as an assistant coach. Tyler Ingerson, who started eight games in net last season graduated as well. While these players will not be easy to replace both on the ice and in the locker room, the Panthers will look for a new set of captains to step up this year.
Former Alternate Captain Zach Sarig (Reading, PA) is now the new Captain for the Panthers, and he has Economos, Chad Barthelmess (Norristown, PA) and Kyle Brumfield (Bowie, MD) to help him this season as Alternate Captains.
So, who are some of these key players this season?
Forwards
Key Returners- Ian McGilvrey, Mike Economos, Josh Woody, Dan Dupell, Andrew Wigg, Mike Freitag, Chad Barthelmess, Tieg Alward
Who’s New- Chris Zuccaro, Dylan Giberson
On last year’s team, seven of the top eight leaders in points on the team were forwards. Of those seven, six are back on this year’s team. McGilvrey, who led the team with 31 points last season, will lead a line that will mainly have Economos and Wigg (Lantz, Nova Scotia) on it. McGilvrey and Wigg are smaller, yet quicker players who have the ability to create a shot off of a broken play, while Economos, who is listed at a generous 200 lbs., brings the physicality to the first line. Freitag (Westmont, IL) is the team’s active leader in career points (65), while Alward (Vail, CO) was the first person Russell mentioned when asked which player looked the most improved from last season. Dan Dupell (Collegeville, PA) and Chad Barthelmess are two rugged forwards for PSU that bring a certain aggression to the team. Against Norwich, Barthelmess blocked a shot that not only broke his stick, but also gave the team a big boost. Under the radar players Riley Flanagan (Weymouth, MA) and Ryan Callahan (Londonderry, N.H.) are two players who will have increased roles this season upon completing their freshman year in 2013-2014. It will be tough for Zuccaro (Hudson, N.H.) and Giberson (Chesterville, Ontario) to get into the line-up, but both players have the potential to contribute this season.
Defense
Key Returners- Zach Sarig, Matt Vermillion, Kyle Brumfield, Tommy Dowell, Erik Strom, Tord Thoresen, Colt Smelstor, Ryan Cigle
Staying healthy for this unit will be a big key for this team to having success this season. Brumfield and Colt Smelstor (Fairfax, VT) are coming off of surgeries, with Smelstor hoping to be back as soon as possible (Brumfield played against Norwich). Erik Strom (Gothenburg, Sweden) separated his shoulder in the Norwich game, but hopes to be back upon the holiday break. Sarig is a big body defender that is coming off of being named to the MASCAC first-team for the second consecutive season, and is a threat on the offensive side, as he had 25 points last season. For both Thoresen (Oppegard, Norway) and Vermillion, they are coming off of playing the last 11 straight games for the Panthers, and will become extremely reliable. Dowell (Olathe, KS) came on strong during the back half of last season, and was able to play in the last 17 games of the season. Cigle (Canton, MI) come into the season having played in only six games last season, but played well against Norwich last week. With the injuries that have occurred to the defense, Cigle, and all of the other defenders, will have to play at the top of their game to show Russell that they should stay in the line-up once Smelstor and Strom come back from their injuries.
Goalie
Key Returners- Zac Enstrom, Gordon Ceasar
Who’s new- Mac Haight
Gordon Ceasar (Oak Park, CA) comes off a stellar 2014 season upon transferring from Utica College during the middle of the season. Upon putting the Panther jersey on, Ceasar had a 1.86 Goals Against Average and four shutouts. Enstrom (South Windsor, CT) had offseason back surgery, but has performed extremely well in practice. “He had the surgery, and has improved, and is playing so much better,” said McGilvrey about the senior Enstrom. Mac Haight (Sammamish, WA) comes in from UMass Amherst, and brings Division I experience with him. Having three goalies constantly pushing each other has allowed the unit to become a lot better, and allows for Russell to switch players if the starter isn’t performing well in a game. “Having that goalie that you can trust, takes so much more pressure off of you,” said Tieg Alward. “Our goalies, collectively, as a whole, are a lot better this year,” said Riley Flanagan. Both forwards were quick to praise how well each of the goalies had been playing, whether it be the proven ability of Ceasar last season, or the other two during the preseason this year. Watch for all three goalies to get a decent amount of playing time this season, so that each of them are fresh and healthy for the duration of the season.
What to think for the 2014-2015 season
Losing against Norwich University last week was not easy for this team to accept, especially with it being the team’s first game this season. The first three teams that the team faces this season all made the NCAA tournament last season (Norwich, Nichols, and Salem State). Having this tough of a schedule to kick off the 2014-2015 season will show the team, as well as the Plymouth community, how they will be this season.
“The first goal is to make the playoffs, and then after that, win a championship in the MASCAC, and then go on to have success in the NCAA tournament,” said Ryan Callahan about his eagerness to have some postseason success. Taking it a game at a time was something that Callahan, Economos, Coach Russell, and all of the other Panthers have stressed, and is what they believe in. Looking ahead to games down the road becomes irrelevant, as teams will be looking to slow down the success the Panthers have been able to have over the past few years. The home-ice advantage the Panthers have had since Hanaway Rink opened back in 2010, has allowed for PSU to become one of the most success Division III teams within the NCAA. Watch for this team to have a success 2014-2015 season, and make some noise in both the MASCAC and NCAA.
Prediction
Fitchburg State (3) over Worcester State (6) 5-2
Westfield State (5) over UMass Dartmouth (4) 3-2 (Overtime)
Plymouth State (1) over Fitchburg State (3) 4-2
Westfield State (5) over Salem State (2) 5-4 (Overtime)
Plymouth State (1) over Westfield State (5) 3-0
Plymouth State over Bowdoin College 4-2
Oswego State over Plymouth State 6-3