Turnover.
That’s what Curry is experiencing early on in the season with a 1-2 record.
“We have 13 freshmen and quite a bit of turnover from last year’s team, including a new assistant coach,” said Curry head coach T.J. Manastersky. “We are going to be a team early on to be in search of our identity and establish how we are going to play.”
The freshmen have come to play so far with Dan McGinnis and James Murphy each having a goal and assist, which is tied for the lead in points along with sophomore defenseman Ryan Gay.
Tyler Vankleef, Michael Vallescuro, Ellery O’Hara and Jake Heisinger are other freshmen that have recorded a point in the team’s first three games of the season.
Goaltender Brett Sinclair picked up his first career win against Westfield State last Thursday.
Manastersky wasn’t going to rely on one or two first-year players, but will go instead with a group effort. He knows some freshmen will make an impact right away, but others will see a bigger impact later on in the season
“They all have been good, [but] I don’t if any of them completely jumped up ahead from everyone else,” Manastersky added. “I feel really good about them as a group. They are all good hockey players.”
With the influx of the new guys, Curry has a problem that all coaches would like to have.
“We are in a situation, which wasn’t the situation last year, where we are going to have some very good hockey players sitting in the stands every night, which speaks to our depth,” Manastersky said. “We are also going to spend some time figuring out who our guys are and who works well together to see how it all fits.”
Wentworth wasn’t paying attention to the preseason coaches’ poll
The ECAC Northeast coaches overwhelmingly put Wentworth College as the favorites to repeat as conference champions.
Wentworth coach R.J. Tolan didn’t pay attention to it.
“I put no stock in any preseason poll – I think it’s silly,” said Tolan. “Every year, it’s a different group of kids, a different dynamic, a different challenge. We are excited to answer the bell and answer that challenge with this year’s group of players.”
The team the conference had pick on paper is off to a slow start with a 2-3-0 record.
Salve Regina getting it done on both ends of the ice
The Seahawks are averaging 3.75 goals per game, which is tied for 14th in the nation and are 18-for-18 when it comes killing off penalties, good for first in the nation.
That’s slightly above last year’s clip of 3.63 goals per game. Only Wisconsin-Stevens Point has had more opportunities to stay perfect (28-for-28). Last year, Salve Regina’s penalty kill was at a 73.5 percent, near the bottom of Division III.
