Just about everywhere he’s played, Dylan Holze has been on a winner.
The Wesleyan University senior led the NESCAC in goals (12) and points (22) as January wound down, his play — and the play of his line — a big reason the Cardinals (9-4-3) were only a tiebreaker away from second place in their loaded league.
Holze won a national championship with the Long Island Royals, then skated on two teams at Salisbury School that captured New England prep titles.
That’s what made the process at Wesleyan, an upward climb from the 3-21 and 2-14-8 seasons he suffered through as a freshman and sophomore, respectively, all the more appreciated.
"I came in here through a lot of winning cultures," he said. "People say all that’s contagious. But the first two years here, it was probably good for me to get some perspective."
The Cardinals put some pieces together last winter and went 13-9-4, getting validation at the end by upsetting second-place Colby, 5-4, in the NESCAC quarterfinals, with Holze scoring twice and assisting once.
It also was one of the only games he skated with his current linemates, sophomore center Tyler Wyatt and sophomore right wing Spencer Fox. Together since opening night this winter, they’ve become one of the most productive lines in Division 3 hockey.
"I’ve toyed with breaking them up, taking one of them off the line and playing him with Walker Harris," said Wesleyan coach Chris Potter, "but I haven’t yet. They play so well together and they really dominate games. Three guys who aren’t afraid to go to the front of the net."
Wyatt, who put on 20 pounds since last season, has become a more durable player and, according to his coach, "maybe our best all-around player." He has seven goals and a team-high 14 assists.
Fox, who skated for Paul Cannata at Milton Academy, has chipped in four goals and 11 assists, playing in all kinds of situations.
"You watch Spencer and you’d like him to be a little faster, but he’s extremely effective," said Potter. "Paul said, ‘You’re not going to want to take this kid off the ice,’ and he’s right. He very rarely doesn’t make the right play."
Since losing to Conn. College and rallying from two goals down in the third period to tie Tufts on opening weekend, the Cardinals have gone 5-2-1 in league play, with a road win over then-No. 8 Hamilton.
"The first weekend was definitely an eye-opener," said Wyatt.
Wesleyan is scoring goals, and not just from its top line. Eleven players have scored at least twice, including defenseman Chad Malinowski, another Milton Academy product and one of the league’s most offensive blueliners. The team’s average of 3.56 a game is half a goal more than Wesleyan was scoring a year ago and ranks among the top 20 of 81 teams in Division 3.
And so Holze, four years after last raising a trophy, is playing on a winner again. "When the time’s right, he just turns on the wheels and beats guys," said Fox. "And he goes to the net. It’s such an underrated part of the game and Dylan does that."
"He can skate, he can shoot and he competes," said Potter. "That’s the common thread with all those guys. They have a very high compete level. They don’t turn their back on the puck."
The line played together only in spots last season. After Holze returned from the concussion he suffered in January, Wyatt was lost with a knee injury.
Now, they’re making up for lost time.
"That’s my favorite part about this line," said Wyatt. "No matter what happens, we never get frustrated with each other. That’s what’s made this season so much fun."
It’s been a fun exit season for the 22-year-old Holze, for sure. Only 18 players in Division 3 have produced more than his 1.37 points per game, and he’s up to 52 for his career. "Everyone’s on the same page," he said. "My first two years, it seemed we had people pulling in different directions."
With eight games to go in the regular season, the Cardinals and everyone else are looking up at first-place Trinity. There’s a logjam of teams after that, with Colby, Conn. College, Wesleyan, Williams and Amherst all in the mix for quarterfinal home ice when the league playoffs open at the end of February.
"There’s a lot of parity in the league this year," said Holze. "We’ve been through every team and we know, speaking as a group, there’s no team we can’t play with."
