BY RANDY SCHULTZ –
Wayne Wilson is now in his silver anniversary season as head coach of RIT’s men’s hockey program. One would think that after 25 seasons with the same team, things might get a bit boring.
But not for Wilson. Every year always presents a new challenge for the RIT men’s head coach.
“You are always looking forward to a lot of things with the hockey season,” said Wilson. “It’s exciting for everyone involved.
“We have a great group of guys back. We like our freshmen, but there’s always the unknown with them.
“You have high hopes for them because you recruited them. They work their way into the lineup.
“But it is the returners that really drive everything. We also have a new leadership group here. We’ll see what they bring to the table.”
Wilson knows what this year’s team has on the roster. And, as he has done in past seasons, the RIT men’s head hockey coach looks first to the veterans.
“The easy ones to pick out would be Tommy Scarfone, who was first team all-league,” answered Wilson. Aiden Hansen-Bukata and Gianfranco Cassaro are two first-team all-league defensemen who are returning.
“There is Carter Wilkie was MVP and leading scorer in the league last year. Cody Laskosky, who was defensive player of the year in our league, is also a good offensive threat.
“Those are the easy guys to identify on the team.”
As he has done in the past, Wilson also looks at last year’s freshmen players and what they may contribute this year.
“There is Simon Isabelle has made some big strides since last year’s freshman year,” commented Wilson. “There’s Xavier Lapointe, who has learned a lot from his freshman year.
“Finally there are a handful of last year’s sophomore class who are now juniors and have two seasons of experience behind them. You always hope that as players move up in class each year, they will develop a little more.
“It seems to be working.”
Is there a magic formula that Wilson uses to motivate his players every year?
“For me and this team it comes down to one word: ‘Playoffs,’” answered Wilson. “You saw what happened last year.
“We have a very good league that we are in. Last year Canisius fought hard down the stretch just to make the playoffs.
“The beat us and went on to the NCAA’s. When you see and experience something like that it fuels confidence and excitement for the next year.
“We had a regular season championship team last year. But losing to Canisius has given us the motivation we need for this season.
“Regular season championships are nice, but winning the playoffs and getting an NCAA bid would have been nicer.
“And that’s what we’re shooting for again this year.”
(Photo by Janet Schultz Photography/NY Hockey OnLine)
