There had never been a season quite like last year’s in the NESCAC. The next six teams after first-place Trinity — Connecticut College, Amherst, Hamilton, Wesleyan, Colby and Williams — all finished within three points of each other.
That set up a super-competitive conference tournament, one captured by sixth-place Colby, which would parlay that title into its first trip to the Frozen Four.
So, who’s the favorite this year?
“Good question,” said Conn. College coach Jim Ward. “Nobody’s going to look past Colby, but I think Trinity is going to be very good. And I’ll be curious to see how Hamilton does. I thought they were the most well-rounded team and one of the hardest teams to play against.”
Trinity (19-6-2) won the regular-season title for the second time in four years and reached the conference championship game, but was left out of the NCAAs, a snub that should have fueled its offseason.
Despite graduating six seniors, there’s good talent back up front and on the blue line. That group is headed by junior forward Barclay Gammill of New Canaan, Conn., who enjoyed a breakout sophomore season (10-9-19), and junior defenseman Liam Feeney of Foxboro, Mass. (4-18-22), who was a second-team All-Conference pick.
Colby (17-11-2) must overcome the graduation of nine seniors, including standout goalie Sean Lawrence, whose .940 save percentage ranked second in Division 3.
Andrew Tucci will look to cement the starting job in net, while leading scorer Kienan Scott (11-16-27), Nick O’Connor (11-13-24) of Canton, Mass., Justin Grillo (8-16-24) and Spencer Hewson (4-15-19) return to lead the attack for Blaise MacDonald (Billerica, Mass.), the national Coach of the Year last season in Division 3.
“The ultimate team award,” he called it. “We had a great group of guys that collaborated so well with the coaches to help chart our course. (The) team invested in their work and the results show that.”
In a season of great goaltending, Connecticut College (10-11-4) had one of the best in Connor Rodericks (Buzzards Bay, Mass.), who ranked fourth in the nation with a .937 save percentage. The team also returns all but one of its regular defensemen.
Up front, the addition of Quinnipiac transfer Matt Creamer (Warwick, R.I.) should bolster a returning group that includes linemates Jacob Moreau (11-11-22), Paul Capozzi (10-9-19) and Ryan Petti of Tewksbury, Mass. (8-14-22).
Starting the season better — the Camels were 3-8 at one point a year ago — and playing better in the non-conference have been preseason points of emphasis. “We need to start better,” said Ward. “That’s one thing we’ve been talking about a lot.”
Williams (14-11-1) welcomes back coach Bill Kangas (South Burlington, Vt.) from his year-long sabbatical and should be excellent in the defensive end with so many veterans returning. Team captain Keanu Hilaire is the leader of that group.
Wesleyan (13-8-2) saw its sophomores up front blossom last season and can only hope for more development. The defense is led by senior Chad Malinowski and junior goalie Tim Sestak (Darien, Conn.), whose .929 save percentage was one of the best in the league.
The good news for Amherst (11-9-5) is that five of last year’s top six scorers were non-seniors, a group that includes defenseman Phil Johansson (4-12-16). The bad news is that the team scored just 63 goals in 25 games (2.5 a game).
Tufts (5-16-4), Bowdoin (8-16) and Middlebury (4-17-3) are all looking for bounce-back seasons.
Three stars
- Liam Feeney (Foxboro, Mass.), jr., D, Trinity – Former Dexter School standout had the most assists on the team last year, 18 from the blue line.
- Connor Rodericks (Buzzards Bay, Mass.), jr., G., Conn. College – Backstopped the Camels back from a poor first half to finish second in the conference. His .937 save percentage was fourth in Division 3.
- Cody Todesco (Franklin, Mass.), sr., F, Bowdoin – 5-foot-7 Nobles alum has chance to reach the century club, entering his senior year with 33 goals and 34 assists.
