For the Suffolk men’s hockey team, this season has not exactly played out according to plan. However, with the second half of the season coming up, they hope to improve upon that underwhelming record.

Coach Glionna, for one, is putting a positive light on part two of their campaign.

“The second half is when we play the bulk of our league schedule,” he said. “To prepare for that [stretch of games] we have played some very strong non-conference teams with the hopes that it will make us more successful in league play.”

Since returning from winter break on January 11, the Rams have dropped four of their last five games.

In a hard fought 3-1 loss to Babson, the Rams were in it for the whole game, but tallied only one goal, the second of the year for Andrew Flynn. Their next contest came against an extremely talented Utica team. The difference between the two squads showed. The Rams lost, 6-1, with the only tally of the game coming from Andrew Monesi.

There was a bright spot in the midst of this ugly loss. Jeff Rose, the team’s captain, saved a career-high 55 shots.

A strong Tufts team squared off against the Rams on Jan. 18. The Rams pulled out a 4-3, overtime victory against Tufts with a game-winning goal by Andrew Monesi in overtime.

The other goal scorers were Charlie McGinnis, Jon Stauffer and Dan Fayock. This was an extremely uplifting win for the Rams as they felt their hard work had finally paid off.

At this point, Coach Glionna is very pleased with their efforts during a stretch of tough games. When asked how he felt his team played in recent weeks, he sounded pleased with the overall tenor of the squad.

“I think we have played well. The competition has been fierce,” said the coach. “We lost our leading scorer, Max Barron, to an injury but others have stepped up.  Playing traditional powers like Babson, Utica [No. 10 in the country] and Tufts has been a great experience. The win over Tufts was our first since 1994.”

Even a thrilling overtime win could not carry the magic over to the next contest against Western New England. The team dropped the bought, 6-5, with goals being scored by Stauffer, Chris Boyd, David Seidel and Zach Barron.

In the next match against Nichols College on January 22, they found themselves in the loss column with a 4-1 final. The solo goal scorer was Jon Stauffer, who tallied his team-leading sixth goal of the year. Jeff Rose also chipped in with an impressive 41-save total.

If the men want any chance of a playoff berth, now would be the time to capitalize on it. Of the eight remaining games on their schedule, all are conference games.

According to Coach Gliona, the upperclassmen have the responsibility of getting the team prepared and in the right mindset.

“Our seniors have continued to provide great leadership,” he said. “Senior captains Jeff Rose, Paul Weisser and Tom Coulstring have the boys prepared to work hard every day.”

While we are all waiting for the most important stretch of the season, the boys will be hard at work every day to try and scratch and claw their way back into contention.

When asked what he was most excited about in the second half of the year, Coach Glionna talked about the importance of games within the conference.

“I look forward to the league games,” he explained. “Top to bottom, the league is very deep. Every game will be a challenge. If we can meet our goal of going back to the playoffs then it will be rewarding.”