On Saturday, the Suffolk University Rams faced off against Johnson & Wales in an ECAC Northeast quarterfinal playoff game. The Wildcats would have home ice advantage as the No. 4 seed, while the Ram’s record was good enough to earn them the fifth.
In the first period, the Rams came out to a dominating start, out-shooting the Wildcats 8-2 in the first period. Unfortunately for the Rams, Wildcats’ goaltender Joey Ballmer denied every one.
It did not take long for the Wildcats to get on the board in the second as forward Cody Sarmiento put his team in front 1-0.
By the end of the second, the Wildcats would net three more goals past Brendon Smolarek, extending their lead to 4-0.
In the third, the Rams had to become a desperate team that resulted in taking quite a few penalties. The Wildcats would capitalize on their chances and score three power play goals in the third.
The Rams remained scoreless as they spent most of the final stanza in the penalty box, resulting in their elimination from postseason play.
The 7-0 loss is a tough one to swallow, but this season did bring out the play of some promising young talent for the Rams.
Goalie Brendon Smolarek was an honorable mention this year in ECAC awards. Also, freshman forward Simon Lehey was named the ECAC Rookie of the Year. Lehey was tied for the team lead with 19 points and was No. 1 in points scored in conference play (13).
Head Coach Chris Glionna is feeling good about what his team put out on the ice this season, along with what is in store for the future.
“It was a good season. We finished fifth in a very tough league,” said Glionna. “Lots of guys improved. We had three guys receive all-conference awards and another named ECAC Rookie of the Year.”
He discussed the tough playoff loss Saturday versus the Wildcats.
“Johnson & Wales are a really good team,” said Glionna. “They have 18 wins. Probably only three or four teams in the whole country have more. They boast the ECAC Player of the Year and one of the top goalies in the country. We dominated the first period but did not score. They pushed back in the second and capitalized on their chances. Being an elimination game when we fell behind, we had to start taking chances to get back in the game. That’s not how we play so they punished us when we made mistakes.”
This year, the Rams will say goodbye to two seniors who have been a staple of this hockey team for four years; Charlie McGinnis and Jon Stauffer. McGinnis and Stauffer both were named second team All-ECAC Northeast this season and have been vital leaders in the locker room. Glionna has high praise for the departing captains.
“They are the best. Great kids that come from great families. The Rams’ community was very lucky to have them for the last four years.”
The message for next season is all about working harder and to strive for a larger goal. The Rams this season were a very fast team and started to pick up their game in the later stages of the season. Coach Glionna feels the team needs to focus on getting stronger physically to help contend with larger teams. Speed and strength can be a deadly combination and that is one coach hopes to have in the following seasons.
“We need to get physically stronger,” said Glionna. “I think we are as fast as anyone in our league. We just need to get stronger.”
