The season has officially come to an end for the Suffolk University men’s hockey team. The club finished with a record of 8-16 (4-10 in the GNAC). This season proved to be a disappointing one for Head Coach Glionna and his group of puck handlers.
A sour taste will be left in the mouth of the Rams until the beginning of next season, as they dropped their final two games, including an overtime loss in the final match.
Their second-to-last match of the season came against a struggling Becker College team, who managed an eye-opening 45 shots on net.
Suffolk started things off on the right note when Robbie Donahue scored just three minutes and 23 seconds into the contest.
Then, 10 minutes later, Becker struck back with a goal from Jarrod Clark. The Rams then failed to capitalize on a late power play and entered the first intermission tied at one.
The second period was similar to the first, except this time Becker struck immediately. Eight minutes into the period, Dan Kane tallied his fourth goal of the season. Suffolk looked to pull back even, and did just that.
Chris Boyd netted the equalizer five minutes later, scoring his third goal of the season. Once again, both teams entered the intermission knotted up, this time at two apiece.
In the third period, Becker scored first and never looked back as Suffolk dropped a tough late-season match. Despite an incredible game from Captain Jeff Rose, the team’s lack of scoring came back to haunt them.
In their last game of the season, the Rams could not dig deep in overtime to salvage their final bought. Facing a weak Western New England team, Suffolk was defeated, 3-2, in the extra frame.
This game’s format was extremely similar to their previous match, as Suffolk and Western New England traded blows in the first period, and after the first 20 minutes the game was tied at one.
After a scoreless second period, Western New England grabbed a 2-1 lead halfway through the third period. That left the Rams with 10 minutes to even the score, and they did just that. In the 18th minute, Robbie Donahue tallied his third goal of the year.
When Western New England player Dan Monahan scored the decisive goal in overtime, it would be the last shot Jeff Rose would see in a Suffolk uniform, as the Rams’ season officially came to an end.
Glionna, as always, is gleaning positive results from an otherwise tough season.
“I thought the team worked very hard this year, we just did not get rewarded for our efforts in the form of wins,” he said. “We struggled to score goals all year and it ended up costing us a playoff spot. It is a good group of kids who had a lot of success [last season] and we see this as just a bump in the road.”
One player the coach will most certainly miss the most is his captain, Jeff Rose, who set an example for the younger players all season long. Rose also had a tremendous career as a member of the Rams.
“Jeff Rose was our best player almost every night,” said the coach. “He is the best goalie to ever play at Suffolk and he will be missed.”
This was a season of tough breaks for the team. They also struggled to score goals, which resulted in their defense having to help out on many occasions. When defensemen have to be relied on for offense, it takes away from their game.
“They began the season playing very well against nationally-ranked teams, but could not get a win. That strong play against teams like Colby, Bowdoin, Babson, Tufts, Utica, did not translate to wins,” said Gliona. “We joked that we led the nation in hit posts this year. Putting this season and moving on is what is most important for this squad which is loaded with young talent and experience.
“We are excited for next year. I am not sure we will ever have a team with so many returning players that have played so many career games. We have freshmen and sophomores that are very experienced. I think we need to improve our team strength. The goals will come, there is offensive talent on the roster we just need it to manifest itself next year.”
