By Brittany Burke
The 2010-2011 season brings major changes and new opportunities for the CCSU club ice hockey team.
The 2009 Blue Devils made it farther than any team in the club’s history by finishing the season in second place in the American Collegiate Hockey Association’s DII National tournament. The team fell in the final day of competition to Davenport University, but making it that far in their own back yard drives them to get the number one spot this coming year.
“I think as a team we expect to have the same success as we did last year,” said Ben Adams, the second year head coach. “Obviously nationals is the goal at this point. Having gotten there last year obviously we always like to build off of the prior season. Obviously looking to repeat and get back there it’s gonna be a tall task and it’s going to require a lot of the incoming freshmen and sophomores from last year to step up.”
This isn’t the same team as the one that went to Nationals, after losing a handful of key players to graduation the team is forced to rework its dynamic and the athletes must learn to create the same chemistry they once had.
“We lost about 15 players last year so it’s pretty much a whole new team,” said new club president Ryan Beaulieu. “So I want to try to get the team to be as close as the team was last year and kind of want everyone to learn to gel and play together like we did last year, and make a tight knit group.
“It’s definitely taking a little more time getting to know everybody because you have to learn everyone’s different playing styles and tendencies, but I actually think this week we’re actually playing well together.”
CCSU lost major players on each of their four lines, such as the DiClemente brothers, Mike and Rob, Joe Dabkowski, Erich Stoneman, Dane Anderson, Matt Williams and defenseman Brett Holmes.
The void in the lines will force the incoming class to step up and the returning class of sophomores such as Ryan Stanley and Jonathan Knobloch to become the leading goal scorers.
“We’re gonna lean on them to carry a couple lines and they’re really going to be quarterbacking our offense. Stanely and Knobloch, those will be our two key guys and hopefully we build around them and their scoring becomes contagious,” Adams said.
The team isn’t straying from its core methods, focusing on conditioning much like last year according to Adams.
“I think as a team we have a strong def core because we have three or four returning defensemen from last year,” Beaulieu said. “Offensively we have some speed we just have to work on finishing to the net and putting the puck in the net. I think as the year goes on we’ll def get better with that.”
The month of October will prove to be the true test of what this new team is made of. The team opens its season against Merrimack, who they beat twice last season. The team will also face longtime rivals, Siena, William Patterson and the University of New Hampshire, who CCSU defeated five times.
A game to look out for will be the outdoor game at Rentschler Field on Feb. 23 as part of the Whalers Hockey Fest. The team has been given the opportunity to take on UConn in an outdoor atmosphere much like that of the NHL’s Winter Classic.
“I think this will be a great time for the players great time for the alumni and everyone involved in CCSU hockey…We’re gonna try to do our part to help them out, spread the word and get hockey back to be a primetime sport in CT again,” Adams said.
Last year’s national tournament was held at the International Skating Rink in Simsbury, which has become the new home of the CCSU Blue Devils. After playing in Newington last season CCSU is making the jump to Simsbury.
“It’s definitely gonna be an adjustment, but we’re definitely starting to adjust to it now,” said Beaulieu. “The first couple of weeks were a little tough because we used to practice in the mornings and now we practice at night but it’s really only about a 25 minute drive from Central so it’s really something you can get used to.”
The ISCC may be a farther drive, but as the lowest bidders, the switch is worth it. The ISCC boasts two different rinks, an Olympic sized rink on one side and a NHL size rink on the other. The two options allow CCSU the opportunity to switch between rinks depending on which team they are facing, giving the team an even greater advantage.
The hockey team opens its season on Oct. 1 against Merrimack before heading out onto the road for three consecutive games. The team will return to Simsbury on Friday, Oct. 15.