Senior forward Ralph Cuddemi will serve as captain for the 2015-16 Canisius College hockey team with junior defender Geoff Fortman being named assistant captain, announced by head coach Dave Smith on Wednesday.
“Leadership is critical to any successful team,” Smith said. ”The combination of Ralph and Geoff provides our program with that A+ leadership. Both are elite citizens, ultra-competitive and have a major influence on the rest of our team. We listen to the captains as a voice of the players and together, we are very excited to start the season.”
An All-Atlantic Hockey Second Team selection a season ago, Cuddemi led the Griffs with 39 points, 22 goals and eight power-play tallies. He finished his junior campaign ranked eighth nationally in power-play goals, 10th in goals and 33rd in points. Overall, Cuddemi has appeared in 115 career games with 81 points, 41 goals and 40 assists.
Fortman played in 30 games during his sophomore campaign, totaling five assists and helping anchor a record-setting Canisius defense. The defender helped the team allow a league-best 2.24 goals per game – the lowest mark in the school’s history. Named the team’s Most Improved Player after the 2014-15 campaign, Fortman has appeared in 59 career games with eight points, one goal and seven assists.
The duo is set to lead a team that returns 13 letterwinners, while adding 12 freshmen to the roster, from a squad that matched its best Atlantic Hockey finish in school history and advanced to the league’s final four for the third-straight season.
