Despite going 1-24-1 and not winning a conference game last season, first year head coach Andy Boschetto was pleasantly surprised with what he found upon taking over at Salve Regina.
“We’re not in a bad spot,” he said. “I like what I see. I thought their psyche would be down, but they’re ready to go and win now.”
Boschetto comes to the Seahawks with a degree of familiarity with the league, having been an assistant at Curry last year, and he spent the final year of his college career at Suffolk, where he graduated in 2005.
While leading scorer and all-conference honorable mention Patrick Bamberry (16-11) was lost to graduation, the Seahawks return a wealth of experience with 12 seniors.
Senior captain Bryan Russell (5-4) and his gritty style of play return up front.
“He has that lunch-pail mentality,” Boschetto said. “He’s always blocking shots and is great on the PK.”
Also back are senior forwards Joe Colaianni (5-7), who “sees the ice really well,” and Billy Sabia (4-9). Sophomore forward Jonathan Cox (0-3) has a lot of potential and Boschetto said he “really could surprise some people.”
The trio of senior Kevin Sullivan and juniors Eric Spalt and Sean Ryan return on defense.
Just who they’ll be playing in front of remains to be seen, as the Seahawks currently have five players competing for three spots at goalie.
“No one really has a leg up on anyone,” Boschetto said of his goalie rotation.
However, rebuilding Salve Regina is more then just X’s and O’s on the ice. The Seahawks spent a good deal of time together off the ice, helping out with community service project and youth hockey in Newport.
“We’ve been doing things as a program, trying to start feeling like a family,” he said.
