By Brian Horner
Suffolk University’s hockey team had its first game of the regular season on Saturday against Assumption College.
“Getting the first win under the belt is always a nice feeling,” said Rams’ goaltender Brandon Smolarek. “Regarding the game, although the power play wasn’t 100 percent, it looked very good.”
Although coming away with a close 3-2 win, there are many concerns based on this result.
Last year, the Rams beat Assumption 3-1 with a strong performance that still did not make a big difference in their season. Although starting off both seasons with a win, the hockey team will have to hope for a season unlike the last.
Suffolk did not prove themselves a better team this year, given the point spread was a goal lower than last season’s game against Assumption. During the season, the Rams had only a .380 win rate. Teams that want to make playoffs cannot reach their goal with below a .500 winning percentage.
With the lack of a strong scoring force last year, the Rams will need improvements this season. Last season, the highest scorer for a total of 10 goals in 25 games was senior Charlie McGinnis, who graduated.
Simon Leahy, sophomore, and Tim Sprague, senior, both came close to McGinnis’ totals with nine and eight goals respectively. With many of their past season games ending in high scoring defeats, the Rams are going to need to bring a lot more scoring.
If Leahy and Sprague can top McGinnis’ goals from the 2013-14 season, and other players step up their scoring, it would help the cause. If the offense does not come together, the Rams will have to rely on Smolarek, who stopped a total of 29 shots on goal for the win on Saturday.
With a save percentage of .907, the Rams will be able to rely on their goaltending for close games.
However, this isn’t necessarily the best way to win games, as the goalie should be the last line of defense, not making up for a low scoring offense.
With a stronger defensive core made up of veterans and three new freshman, they will have a big task to keep Smolarek within 25 to 30 shots on goal.
“I feel that the defense, as a unit, is stronger,” said Smolarek. “We had a lot of new defensemen last season that have developed quite a bit.”
Which is what they will need to do to minimize scoring if the offense cannot capitalize on the other end of the ice. We should get a better picture of the team, and where the scoring will be coming from, after the next few games this season.
