The 2015-16 season was another successful one for the SUNY Potsdam men’s hockey team. The Bears posted an 11-11-4 record, including a 7-7-2 mark in SUNYAC play. Potsdam got off to a red hot start which saw them earn a national ranking for the first time in 15 years. They spent a large percentage of the season in first place in the SUNYAC and clinched their fourth playoff berth in the last five years.
The Bears said goodbye to graduating seniors Todd Thomas, Brad Campagna, Billy Pascalli, Jake Rivera and Matt Thompson as well as assistant coach Michael Callan. All played an important part in the success of the last few years and are carrying the program’s character beyond campus. Campagna and Rivera are newly minted members of the Knoxville Ice Bears of the Southern Professional Hockey League. Callan has been named the first men’s ice hockey coach at Chatham University and has tabbed Thomas as his assistant. When eighth-year Bears Head Coach Chris Bernard first arrived at Potsdam, building a program about more than winning was an important part of his vision.
“When I was fortunate enough to get hired for the job, we talked about my intent to try to make this the best comprehensive hockey program that we could,” said Bernard. “And that meant that we were going to have to surround ourselves with great people. That meant utilizing all the resources that were available to us throughout our campus and seize opportunities to work with people who were invested in supporting our program. Good teams come and go, but great programs last. Seeing guys move to coaching opportunities, continuing to play at the pro level or simply having success in the early stages in their business careers is immensely gratifying for me. It’s is a tribute to the contributions of so many people to try to help our players make the most of their time on campus and to grow and develop.”
The leadership of the outgoing senior class, especially captains Thomas and Campagna, will be missed, but three respected new leaders will carry the torch this year. Senior defenseman Nick Casacci (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./Connecticut Oilers) will serve as captain and senior forwards Alex Goodhue (Traverse City, Mich./Atlanta Jr. Knights) and Vinny Caligiuri (Shoreham, N.Y./Hartford Wolfpack) will be assistant captains.
“We are very fortunate to have excellent leadership throughout our upper classes, in particular with our seniors,” Bernard said. “Alex, Vinny and Nick are all excellent people to represent our program and its core values. They understand our standards and our objectives and work hard to make decisions that benefit our entire group’s goals.”
The hardworking culture that Bernard and his players have developed over the last several seasons is still the expectation.
“The thing we’re stressing most in the preseason is to play with a relentlessness,” said Bernard. “We want to be first to pucks. We want to limit time and space for our opposition. We want to be a team that’s blue collar. I think we have the formula in place for the identity we want to be at each and every single practice and in each and every single game. That’s a team that plays with a lot of energy, plays physical and plays with pace. We’ll skate well and pressure people. We’ll recover and demand each guy play a 200-ft. game. Those are going to be some of the hallmarks of what our group is going to look like each and every day. If we do that, I think that will qualify as a success.”
FORWARD
The graduation of four senior forwards last season will encourage the Bears’ nine returnees and six newcomers to be creative in the offensive zone.
“Offensively, we’re going to have to manufacture goals,” Bernard said. “We’re going to try to get pucks deep and funnel pucks and bodies to the net. We’d like to see a little more diversity in our scoring. Obviously Dylan, going into his junior season, is a proven point producer, but I think we’ve got a lot of guys that have the ability to really contribute in the secondary scoring. They’re team guys, so I don’t think there’s any person that is out to just prove anything as an individual. We want to have a balanced attack all the way through.”
Junior forward Dylan Vander Esch (San Jose, Calif./Hartford Wolfpack) returns after leading the program in scoring in each of his first two seasons. After being overlooked as a freshman, Vander Esch was named third team All-SUNYAC after his 17-goal, 10-assist campaign. He gets his points in bunches. He has recorded multiple point performances in 14 of his 49 career games. He has also notched four hat tricks in two seasons.
Tommy Telesca (Selden, N.Y./New York Bobcats), Caligiuri, Goodhue and Logan Brown (North Woodstock, N.H./Boston Rangers) make up the returning senior class. Telesca recorded four goals and four assists in 20 games last season and Caligiuri had six points on four goals and two assists in 17 contests. Brown played in all 26 games, contributing a goals and four helpers for five points.
Vander Esch is joined by fellow juniors Joey Gilhooly (Brooklyn, N.Y./New York Bobcats) and Jake Martin (Montreal, Quebec/Concordia). Gilhooly registered five points on two goals and three assists, while seeing time in all 26 contests last year. Martin joined the Bears during the second semester and played in eight games.
Mike Sweeney (Pittsburgh, Pa./PAL Islanders) and Ben Mariano (Harrisburg, Pa./Hartford Wolfpack) are the sophomore class of forwards. Sweeney contributed a goal and five assists, while missing just one game in 2015-16 and Mariano had a goal and an assist in 14 contests.
The incoming freshmen class consists of four New Yorkers, one Pennsylvanian and one Quebec native. Bryce Ferrell (East Amherst, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres) and Anthony Merante (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Thorold Blackhawks) hail from Western New York. Nate Zweig (Binghamton, N.Y./Syracuse Stars) is from the Southern Tier and Tyler Young (Massena, N.Y./Kanata Lasers) is from just up Route 56 in Massena. They are joined by Holland, Pa. native Nick Keck (Holland, Pa./Odessa Jackalopes) and Vinny Guimond (Sorel-Tracy, Quebec/Gloucester Rangers) of Quebec.
DEFENSE
“Defensively, we return a lot of guys,” said Bernard. “We carried nine defensemen last year and we return eight of them. I think that shows that we have depth and diversity. We’ve got some guys who are puck movers. Some guys who are steady stay at home physical type defensemen and we’ve got some guys with some offensive flair. The keyword there is balance and that’s something we’re really excited about.”
Casacci and Jake Butler (Atlanta, Ga./Smith Falls Bears) are the lone seniors among the eight veteran blue liners. Casacci played in 20 games and assisted on three goals. After making the transition from forward, Butler has proven to be a sturdy, physical defenseman that can provide some offense as well. He scored the game-winner against Fredonia last November and provided another seven assists for an eight-point season.
Kyle Thacker (Mississauga, Ontario/North York Rangers) is the most experienced of the three returning juniors. He scored the decisive goal at Morrisville last Halloween to go with seven assists on the season. After seeing action in just four games as a freshman two years ago, Sean Kacerosky (Kendall Park, N.J./New York Bobcats) played in all 26 last season, racking up two goals and three assists along the way. Dom Horvath (Toledo, Ohio/Brantford 99ers) played in 23 games last year and recorded a goal and four assists.
Three sophomore defensemen are back as well. Trevor Dennis (Rochester, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres) had an assist in eight contests. Norfolk native Brandon Short (Norfolk, N.Y./Syracuse Stars) played in five games last season and North Carolinian John Ryan (Wake Forest, N.C./Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights) played in one contest.
Sean Winikates (Scottsdale, Ariz./Philadelphia Jr. Flyers) is the lone freshman to join the defensive corps this year. He makes his way to the North Country from Scottsdale, Ariz.
GOAL
“In my opinion, we probably have the most depth in goal of any team in college hockey,” Bernard said. “I think all three goalies have proven that they can play and win at this level and in big situations. It’s a tribute to who they are as people that they are good teammates for each other. They push each other every single day. That’s only going to help them get better as individuals and be the backbone of our team throughout the entire season.”
Between the pipes the Bears return three goaltenders that combined to allow just 79 goals last season, the second fewest in the program’s 40 seasons. Their .907 save percentage was also second best and the 3.00 goals-against-average they compiled is third best.
Junior Brendan McMenimen (Merrimac, Mass./Islanders Hockey Club) filled in admirably for the departed All-SUNYAC first teamer Jon Hall. McMenimen was 9-9-2 overall, earning a SUNYAC Goalie of the Week and a D3Hockey.com Team of the Week honor along the way. He also registered a .908 save percentage and a 2.97 goals-against-average, the second best single-season marks by a Bears starting goaltender.
Sophomore Nate Skidmore (Syracuse, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres) was 2-1-1 in six games last season with four starts. His first collegiate victory, a 4-3 win over Johnson & Wales on Dec. 11, earned him SUNYAC Rookie of the Week honors. Skidmore had a stellar 2.52 goals-against-average and a .917 save percentage in his 286 minutes between the pipes. Fellow sophomore Trever Ralph (Middletown, N.J./New Jersey Titans) was 0-1-1 in four contests with a .892 save percentage and a 3.69 goals-against-average.
SCHEDULE
Potsdam was picked to finish sixth in the SUNYAC Preseason Poll, but a playoff run will probably come down the final weekend as it did last season.
“The SUNYAC is just so much a battle, year in and year out,” said Bernard. “I’m going into my eighth season and it comes down to the last two weekends of the year every year. You really have to make sure that your guys are prepared to perform week in and week out. There are no easy nights. If you don’t work hard and you don’t execute, you’re going to get beat.”
The Bears open conference play at Morrisville on Nov. 4, at 7 p.m. to begin a home-and-home series. Potsdam faces a lot of familiar teams during its nonconference slate. They battle well known foes Saint Michael’s, Castleton, Elmira and Canton at home. The Bears also travel to Canton and Utica this season. They have first time meetings with Nazareth on Jan. 6-7, with the four-year old Golden Flyers. Potsdam also hosts Stevenson on Jan. 20, during the Mustang’s inaugural season.
The puck drops on the Bears’ 2016-17 campaign this Friday night as they host Saint Michael’s College at 7 p.m.
