Team will be the third-seed, open the tournament with a home game

Article by: Alex Mellion

“I think that the team’s play of late will give us confidence going into Sunday. Playing at our home rink in front of our friends and family will be a great motivator.”

The Suffolk men’s hockey team completed their regular season on Sunday with a 3-2 victory over Western New England College. Their latest win was their fifth in a row and the team is hoping to keep the momentum going as they head into the ECAC playoffs, which start on Sunday.

The team hasn’t lost a game since Jan. 30, is 5-0-1 in their last six games and is outscoring opponents 24-13 in that span. Two of the five wins were upsets against 17th ranked Curry College (3-2 in overtime) and 13th ranked Wentworth (4-2).

“I think that the team’s play of late will give us confidence going into Sunday,” said head coach Chris Glionna. “Playing at our home rink in front of our friends and family will be a great motivator.”

An 8-4-2 conference record was good enough for a third place finish and guarantees the Rams at least one home playoff game.

The Rams didn’t exactly get off to a hot start, and were just 2-6-2 through their first 10 games.  The turning point in their season was winning their first-ever Cod Fish Bowl tournament title and allowed them to turn the corner.

“We had a very young team playing a very tough schedule,” Glionna said. “However, that experience had us ready for the league play in the second semester.”

Since winning the Cod Fish Bowl on Dec. 30, the Rams have gone 7-4-1.

A big part of the team’s success has been because of the superb play of goalie Jeff Rose.  Rose finished the regular season with a .919 save percentage and a goals against average of 2.66.  With numbers like that, Gilonna thinks that Rose deserves “All-American consideration.”

The coach also noted that his most improved players this season have been seniors Pat Welch (team-leading 13 assists and 24 points) and Niles Moore (team-leading 14 goals and team-leading 25 points).  In order to keep up the current hot streak, Moore and Welch have to continue to contribute offensively and Rose has to keep up his solid play in net.

Glionna thinks that the road to an ECAC Championship may be a bit bumpy, but isn’t counting the Rams out just yet.

“All the teams in the playoffs are good,” he said. “This is one of the best leagues in the country and you need to play well every night.”

The Rams have had little trouble with the top-two teams in the ECAC, sporting a 1-0-1 record against Curry (second place) and a 1-1-0 record against Wentworth (first place).

If the Rams can continue their torrid pace, then they are poised to make a run at an ECAC championship.

The ECAC playoff pairings haven’t been announced yet, and will be released later this week.