One bounce. That’s all was needed last year to turn an exceptional season by Salve Regina — and, by extension, the entire Commonwealth Coast Conference — into a championship one.
When the hockey stopped in Lake Placid, N.Y., Salve Regina had to make peace with being the first team from the conference to reach an NCAA title game, losing to St. Norbert (Wis.), 3-2 in overtime.
That run capped a wildly successful season for the conference. League tournament champion Nichols and the University of New England also were selected for the 12-team NCAAs.
“It’s great for our league. It’s legitimized,” said Nichols coach Parker Burgess. “It’s a tribute to a lot of the coaches — RJ (Tolan at Endicott), Kevin (Swallow at UNE), Zech (Klann) at Salve and Andy (Boschetto) before Zech. All these guys are working extremely hard.”
So who enters the new season as the team to beat? The prevailing opinion is Salve.
“I’ll say Salve is the team to beat right now,” said Swallow. “They finished number two in the country. They’re the ones to watch.”
The Seahawks (22-6-2) graduated just three regulars, though they saw standout forward Jack Billings transfer to Division 1 Niagara (where Boschetto is on staff as an assistant). But they return a good core, including standout goalie Blake Wojtala; defensemen Kevin Clare, Vincenzo Renda and Nick Cyr; and sophomore forwards Danny Eruzione of Winthrop, Mass. (10-25-35), Paul Boutoussov (15 goals) and Erik Udahl (14 goals) of East Walpole, Mass.
And Klann is excited about the incoming freshmen, including five who won a junior championship with the Islanders Hockey Club last season.
“They’re ready to contribute at the next level,” he said.
With the CCC at eight teams after Suffolk and Johnson & Wales left for the NEHC, challenges will come from all over the map.
UNE (20-6-3) has virtually everyone back, a list that starts with top guns Brady Fleurent of Biddeford, Maine (16-35-51) and linemate Ryan Bloom (19-28-47). Those two, along with defensemen Ryan Burr, earned All-America honors.
“On paper, we look strong, for sure,” said Swallow.
One year after winning the league and reaching the NCAA quarterfinals, Endicott (18-6-3) couldn’t produce that big win at the end of February to extend its season. But it’s got enough back in a cupboard filled with D-1 transfers to make another run.
Up front, big gun Ross Olsson of Billerica, Mass. (16-22-38) is joined by Daniel Kucerovy (19-12-31), Jason Kalinowski of Stamford, Conn., (9-20-29) and Josh Bowes (14-15-29).
The losses for defending champion Nichols (18-9-3) seem manageable. Burgess calls senior defensemen Ian Spencer, TJ Roche and Ben Campbell “our best three ‘D’ for the last three years, since they were freshmen.”
There’s a three-way battle for the No. 1 goalie job, but scoring shouldn’t be a problem with guys like JB Baker (15-22-37), Matthew Menta (8-26-34) and Vincent Crivello (16-10) returning to the fold. The Bison averaged 3.7 goals a game last season.
“It’s going to be a dogfight,” said Burgess. “I think you’re going to see a lot of these (top) teams beating up on each other.”
If any other team cracks the top four it could be Curry (17-8-1), while Wentworth, Western New England and Becker are all coming off sub-.500 seasons and looking up at a league that’s heavy at the top.
“The league continues to get better and better every year,” said Swallow. “Two years ago, Endicott had a great year and went on a good (NCAA) run. We had three teams make the NCAA tournament last year and I think it’s been quite some time since any league’s done that, not just ours.”
Three stars
- Brady Fleurent (Biddeford, Maine), sr., F, University of New England – The former Concannon Award winner is coming off a 51-point season and is a big reason the Nor’easters will challenge again for league title.
- Matthew Menta, sr., F, Nichols – His 26 helpers ranked 14th in Division 3 and he embraced the big contests, managing at least a point in all five postseason games.
- Blake Wojtala, sr., G, Salve Regina – The program’s all-time leader in wins (46), the Michigan native posted a .937 save percentage in taking his team all the way to Lake Placid.
