BEVERLY, Mass. — Tommy Daniels was leaving a rink after a Portland Junior Pirates game a few years ago, his college future set with his decision to join the upstart program at Endicott College.
He couldn’t predict how his college career would play out. But when his Pirates would play the Islanders Hockey Club, as they just had, there was one thing he could predict: a run-in with Islanders forward Ross Olsson (Billerica, Mass.), whom he classified as an enemy.
Walking away from the rink, Daniels heard a familiar voice call out.
"I heard this big, goofy voice behind me saying, ‘Hey Tommy, are you going to Endicott?’" he said. "I looked behind me and it was Ross and I said, ‘Oh, shoot.’ Next thing you know I get to campus and he’s my closest friend."
For an Endicott team beginning its third season at the varsity level — and finishing last season with a No. 6 national ranking — it’s a collection of these recruiting stories, guys just a shade too small, or too slow, or in the wrong place to impact a Division 1 program, who have helped build this program’s sturdy foundation.
Even if they didn’t all get along prior to arriving on campus.
"We all," noted assistant captain John Carricato, a Springfield Pics alum, "had choice words with Ross in juniors."
No team in Division 3 last year scored more goals than the Gulls (4.83 per game), who finished 24-4-2 and won the Commonwealth Coast Conference championship for the first time, after falling to Salve Regina in the final the year before.
Not content with that, they went on the road in the NCAA tournament and took out established power Hobart (N.Y.), 4-3, before coming up a bounce shy of the Frozen Four, suffering a double-overtime loss to Trinity (Conn.), 2-1, in the national quarterfinals.
It’s a team whose core began playing together as freshmen, arriving from various points on the hockey map. Leading scorer Tommy Besinger transferred in from Division 1 Army-West Point, forward Jack Musil from the University of Maine. Standout defenseman Logan Day spent seasons with both Providence and Northeastern, and goalie Kevin Aldridge started his career at Lake Superior State.
At this time three years ago, the first Division 3 game in school history was still 12 months away. Now, the Gulls are one of the teams to beat.
"Winning the CCC really isn’t an end-game," said Carricato. "It’s another step on the road to winning the national championship."
The story that coach R.J. Tolan (Waltham, Mass.) likes to tell about Olsson goes like this.
It was early morning on the Fourth of July and the coach was walking his dog through Endicott’s scenic campus, set on a bluff that overlooks a cove of the Atlantic Ocean and, on a sunny October afternoon, is truly spectacular.
Tolan didn’t see anybody on campus — until he got to the batting cages, where Olsson was by himself, snapping pucks out of a basket.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Olsson had one of those winding roads that led to Endicott. Originally committed to Division 1 Northeastern while attending Williston-Northampton, he got caught up in a coaching change when Jim Madigan (Milton, Mass.) took over and ended up looking elsewhere. He spent two seasons shuttling between teams in the USHL and NAHL, before playing a strong season with the Islanders and choosing Division 3.
It was his work ethic, especially to do the work when nobody was watching, that struck a chord with his teammates. In two seasons he’s scored 29 goals and collected 65 points, getting named All-CCC second-team last winter.
"It all started at Williston," he said. "My roommate got me into the gym and I got him to shoot pucks. It just carried over into juniors and all the way to college. … And when I’m by myself, it’s peaceful."
"He was like that freshman year when we had no upperclassmen," said Daniels, his old nemesis. "He taught a lot of us that if you want to play college hockey, that’s how you have to carry yourself."
"Ross has matured unbelievably in the past two years," said Tolan. "He’ll play pro hockey if he continues on that path."
At least half this Endicott team has had some kind of brush with Division 1. A native of Hull, England, Musil spent two years at Maine, dressing for 15 games and notching one assist during some down seasons for the Black Bears.
At Endicott, he immediately slotted in as an everyday player, averaging about a point per game.
"Everyone has regrets in life," acknowledged Musil. "You’ve got to look forward and, as of right now, I’m superhappy with how things have worked out. I’m in a great spot."
"Man of few words, but everyone can watch his game and watch how he plays, and take a lot from it," said Carricato. "Picking him up last year was huge."
Their Division 1 plans didn’t pan out. But there’s nowhere that Musil and Olsson would rather be.
"I’m excited to be here," said Olsson. "I think everything happens for a reason. You’re a little bit down on yourself at first, but once Coach Tolan started talking to me, and once I got on campus, it’s like, ‘This is a college? I can see myself here for four years.’
"The rink wasn’t up yet but they showed us the blueprints. I couldn’t be happier."
Two years and two months ago, the doors to the Raymond J. Bourque Arena opened. Tucked away in a back corner of campus, behind The Village, a student housing complex, the rink immediately made Endicott a player on the national Division 3 scene.
Like their counterparts in Division 1, the players who come to the rink daily for practices and workouts have a lot to accomplish outside of hockey first.
Carricato is majoring in athletic training. He spends four days a week doing an internship at nearby Marblehead High School, spending 4-5 hours a day there before returning to campus and his other responsibilities. "Balancing that, practicing and working out, it’s pretty hectic," he said. "I don’t get back to my room until 7 or 8 o’clock at night."
Daniels, a 5-foot-8 forward and straight-A student, holds the No. 2 position in student government at Endicott, getting elected vice-president of the SGA as the end of the last school year. He serves as a liaison between the student body and administration.
"Every second of his day is filled with making this a better place," said Tolan. ‘He has it together pretty good."
"I actually didn’t win the election," pointed out Daniels, whose post-hockey future could include law school. "The girl who won resigned after the election. I was bummed for about two weeks and then I got a phone call saying, ‘Are you interested?’ Absolutely."
His game, more than the eight goals he’s scored in two years, is tenaciousness winning faceoffs and blocking shots.
"On the ice, he doesn’t take no for an answer," said Musil. "If he’s maybe got 20 percent at winning a puck he’ll give it everything he has. We’ll look at him and say, ‘Damn, that’s how you work.’"
Musil is interning with the Hockey East conference, working with commissioner Joe Bertagna (Arlington, Mass.). The hockey team’s collective GPA last spring was 3.49, highest among any male sport at Endicott. Last fall it was 3.54.
"When you think D-3 hockey, some people think. ‘Oh, it’s a walk in the park; you’re going to school and having fun,’" said Carricato. "But a program like ours is pretty grueling. I’m pretty sure it’s right up there as far as the commitment level."
Players are quick to note they’ve been put into great position to succeed at Endicott, not just because of the new arena, but also thanks to the support the administration gives to all sports, not just hockey.
"I don’t think a lot of schools have as close a relationship with their athletic director (Brian Wylie) as we do," said Carricato. "He comes up every day, asks me how I’m doing. It’s not just me; it’s pretty much every athlete on campus."
Last year, five of the top scorers in Division 3 came from Endicott, a group that’s led by Besinger (18-31-49), who ranked second nationally to Brady Fleurent (Biddeford, Maine) of the University of New England. All five are back.
Day finished as the nation’s most productive defenseman (15-25-40), while Cam Bleck (20-19-39), Jason Kalinowski (14-24-38) and Olsson (17-18-35) also had big seasons. Aldridge was named Goalie of the Year in the CCC.
No wonder the Gulls are considered the preseason favorites in the CCC.
"They didn’t lose anybody; they only gained players," said Curry coach T.J. Manastersky. "They’re going to have over 12 Division 1 transfers on their roster. They are the team to beat."
Finishing off the conference title last year was both fulfilling and addictive.
"It changes to where now we want to have a death grip on the opportunity and get a chance to compete against the best schools for a national championship," said Tolan.
And while Endicott has an enviable résumé over its first two seasons in Division 3, it also has a tough-to-stomach loss that all the guys still feel. The double-OT loss to Trinity, which would end up losing to Norwich in the national championship game, ended on a tipped puck that found the net.
"I don’t think it’ll ever go away," said Daniels. "As far as the impact for the offseason, I think you can narrow it down to three words: Leave no doubt. That’s not how we wanted to see things end.
"(Opponents) are in for a rude awakening for 60 minutes this year. We’re not going to leave any close games on the table."
