A slow start to the 2013-14 season cost the SUNY Potsdam men’s ice hockey team a playoff spot for the first time in three years, despite a strong finish and a winning record over its final 19 games. The Bears enter this year vowing to get back to the postseason.
“Our goal has to be to return to the SUNYAC Playoffs,” said Potsdam’s sixth-year head coach Chris Bernard. “Everything we do has to be predicated on that objective and we’ve got to practice with a purpose. We’ve got to play each and every shift through the balance of the season, from start to finish, with that conviction in our minds.”
The Bears return 21 players from their 26-man roster from a season ago, but the five departures will leave big shoes to fill. Gone are two-time All-SUNYAC selection Mike Arnold (17g-6a-23pts.) and playmaker Adam Place (5-15-20) along with defensive specialist Ryan Miller. Steady defensemen Nick Avgerinos andKevin Carpenter have graduated as well. The many veterans are expected to pick up the slack and lead the team.
Junior forward Todd Thomas (Davidsville, Pa./Hartford Wolfpack) will serve as the Bears’ captain this season and senior forward Ken Simon (Norwell, Mass./Philadelphia Revolution) and junior defenseman Brad Campagna (Monroe, N.Y./New York Bobcats) will each wear an “A”.
“Todd has proven to be a consistent model for our team identity,” Bernard said. “He is a responsible, two-way player who has earned the respect of his peers with his consistent and hard-working approach to the game. Our guys know he is a team-first person. Both Simon and Campagna compete hard every day. They hold themselves accountable and are fully invested in representing the best interests of their teammates. They will push people to be better.”
Forward
Bernard knows goals in the SUNYAC won’t come easy and that effort will make the difference for Potsdam on offense.
“We’re going to have to manufacture offense,” said Bernard. “When we outshot our opponent, we won. When we didn’t, we lost. We know our formula for winning is that we have to create those chances. Hard work and tenaciousness should be the hallmark of what we bring everyday. We want to play a real fast-paced, territory-centered game.”
Twelve forwards are back to carry out that game plan for the Bears. After returning from an early season injury, junior Billy Pascalli (Deer Park, N.Y./New York Bobcats) recorded 17 of his 19 points (10-9-19) in his final seven games, nearly lifting the Bears into the playoffs. He also had a team-high seven power-play goals. Simon played in all 25 games last season, matching a career-high with 14 points (5-9-14). Thomas had a career-year with 14 points (3-11-14) as well, while missing just one contest. Senior Trevor Cope (Swartz Creek, Mich./Atlanta Jr. Knights) rounds out Potsdam’s top-four returning scorers. Cope totaled 12 points (2-10-12), while suiting up in every contest.
Senior Zach Blake (Campbellford, Ontario/SUNY Plattsburgh) and juniors Matt Thompson (Anchorage, Alaska/Kenai River Brown Bears) and Jake Rivera (Pacific Palisades, Calif./Hartford Wolfpack) make up the returning upperclassmen. Blake had four goals and seven assists for 11 points in 24 games. Thompson matched Blake with 11 points (6-5-11) in 25 games and Rivera (2-1-3) saw action in 22 contests.
Five players comprise the sophomore class of forwards. Vinny Caligiuri (Shoreham, N.Y./Hartford Wolfpack) headlines the second-year returnees. Caligiuri (6-5-11) earned a SUNYAC Rookie of the Week nod last November and recorded his first career hat trick in 5-2 win over Saint Anselm on Jan. 3. Tommy Telesca (Selden, N.Y./New York Bobcats) notched six points (1-5-6) in 20 games last season and Alex Goodhue (Traverse City, Mich./Atlanta Jr. Knights) (12 games) scored his first collegiate goal in a 3-2 victory over Skidmore on Jan. 11. Logan Brown(North Woodstock, N.H./Boston Rangers) and Jake Butler (Atlanta, Ga./Smith Falls Bears) each saw most of their ice time in the second half of the season as Potsdam made a run at the playoffs.
Two promising freshmen join Bears on offense this year. Joey Gilhooly (Brooklyn, N.Y./New York Bobcats) heads north from Brooklyn and Dylan Vander Esch (San Jose, Calif./Hartford Wolfpack) makes the trek across the continent from San Jose.
Defense
Bernard’s defensive corps consists of four seniors, a junior, a sophomore and two freshmen.
“It’s a veteran presence,” Bernard said. “Those guys fully understand what’s going to be asked of them. They’re going to have some real autonomy from me to go out and execute the job. I feel really fortunate to have the guys we have back there.”
This year the Bears’ blue liners will be expected to play more two-way hockey.
“We need those guys to contribute more offensively,” added Bernard. “They need to jump up in the play and be opportunistic. They need to make it a point of emphasis to get more pucks to the net in the offensive zone. That starts with how I structure things in practice to give them that chance.”
A steady defenseman and a constant scoring threat, Erick Ware(Huntsville, Ala./Kenai River Brown Bears) is back for his senior season. An all-rookie and All-SUNYAC selection as a freshman, the Alabamian had two goals and 11 assists for 13 points in 21 games last season. Seniors Dan McCamey (Dayton, Ohio/Minnesota Flying Aces) (3-3-6) and Max Fogel (Williamsville, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres) (2-4-6) return after seeing ice time in 21 and 22 games, respectively. Kevin O’Connor (Ann Arbor, Mich./New Mexico Mustangs) gives Potsdam another experienced presence at the point.
Campagna, who recorded two goals and two assists for four points in all 25 contests, is the lone junior on defense. Sophomore Nick Casacci (Ft. Lauderdale, Florida) played in 13 games during his debut season.
Two freshmen look to bolster the defense for Potsdam in 2014-15.Kyle Thacker (Mississauga, Ontario/North York Rangers) joins the Bears from the North York Rangers and Sean Kacerosky (Kendall Park, N.J./New York Bobcats) comes from the New York Bobcats.
Goal
For the third season in a row, the Bears will have the three-headed monster of senior Shane Talarico (Greensburg, Pa./Elmira College) and juniors Jon Hall (Dexter, N.Y./Stouffville Spirit) and Austin Keiser (Dunwoody, Ga./Boston Bulldogs) between the pipes. Last season, the trio combined to allow just 88 goals (opponents scored three empty-netters), the third lowest single-season total in program history.
“In goal, it’s going to be an everyday competition from three quality people as to who’s going to get the start on any given night,” said Bernard. “I know as a staff and as a team, we have confidence in all three guys to get the job done.”
Talarico went 5-5 with a 3.28 goals-against-average and a .894 save percentage last year. His back-to-back victories over Saint Anselm on Jan. 3-4 earned him SUNYAC Goalie of the Week honors. Hall was 3-4-2 with a 3.51 g.a.a. and a .898 save percentage. Hall put together a 3-0-2 stretch late in the season to keep the Bears in the playoff hunt. On Feb. 1, the 6-foot-4-inch goaltender made 28 saves to hand eventual national semifinalist Geneseo its only conference loss at home. Keiser posted a 1-5 mark with a 3.80 g.a.a and a .880 save percentage. All three have proven they can handle the starting job over the last two seasons.
Schedule
The SUNYAC schedule will be no lighter this year. The Bears will play four games against Oswego and Genseso, teams that made up half of last season’s Frozen Four, not to mention two more against dangerous North Country rival Plattsburgh. Potsdam will need to capitalize on every opportunity that comes its way in conference play as they close the season with a brutal six-game stretch on the road.
Outside the conference, the Bears will face a mixture of familiar and new opponents. ECAC West powerhouse Hobart comes to Potsdam on Nov. 1. Route 11 rival Canton is in town on Nov. 21, and is followed by Curry on Dec. 12. Former Potsdam coaches Aaron Saul and Tim Crowley bring their Elmira squad to Maxcy onJan. 13, and Western New England rounds out the home nonconference matchups on Jan. 17. The Bears will continue their new rivalry with Potsdam Hall of Famer Ed Seney’s Saint Anselm Hawks on Jan. 2, before heading to Portland, Maine looking for revenge against the University of New England the following afternoon. Potsdam then travels to Providence, R.I. to face Johnson & Wales on Jan. 9, before finishing an early spring semester road trip at Skidmore on Jan. 10.
The Bears open the season on Halloween, when the Plattsburgh Cardinals invade a raucous and packed Maxcy Ice Arena for a 7 p.m. showdown.
