Club hockey looks to improve as new season begins

The club hockey team played its first game last Friday, losing 4-2 to Binghamton at the William O. Smith Recreation Center.The Bonnies got off to a good start, taking a 1-0 lead on an early goal. However, Binghamton scored to tie the game at one. St. Bonaventure put another puck in the back of the net to push out in front, 2-1. Binghamton, however, was resilient and would proceed to score three straight goals winning the game 4-2. Junior Vinny Judge and sophomore Josh Piegay scored for the Bonnies.

Since Binghamton had already played four games this year, the Bonnies were still adjusting to game speed. Binghamton improved its record to 3-2 as Bonaventure dropped to 0-1.

Senior captain Josh Thomas said the team is looking to improve from the performance as the season moves forward.

"We played alL right against Binghamton, a little sloppy at times but not bad for our first game," Thomas said. "Hopefully we can learn from that game and become better from our mistakes."

Junior Sean O'Neill, an alternate captain, said the difference in games played showed.

"For it being our first game, and their fifth, I felt we played really well," he said. "I'm excited about our next game."

Last year the team struggled often during the long season, losing 12 of 14 games, and missed the playoffs. They could only muster up 47 goals compared to the 96 they allowed. St. Bonaventure and Ithaca tied at the bottom of the Northeast Collegiate Hockey League, and Cornell went on to win the NECHL title. However, Piegay was named to the NECHL honorable mention team. The team lost two players after last season, making them an experienced squad this season.

This year's team hopes to improve upon what it accomplished last year.

"There is a lot of leadership on this team, and everyone is pretty vocal," O'Neill said. "We are a lot more talented this year compared to last, so I'm excited to see how we will end up doing."

The team is made up of three freshmen this season, defensemen Patrick Andres and Ed Boyczuk and forward Adam Siebert.

Thomas is confident in this year's team and expects a big turnaround.

"We have pretty high expectations. We don't have a huge team this year, but we think everyone can contribute and help us make the playoffs," Thomas said.

O'Neill said, "We pay a lot of money to play, so we're looking for a big commitment from the team. We need guys showing up to practice, and giving it all they can. It's a good group of guys, and we want to go out and have some fun. We want to win some games, and we could really use some fan support at our home games."

The team will try to get on track tomorrow night at 7:30 against Oswego, before the Penn State Berks come to town Oct. 31.

The game will be played at the William O. Smith Recreation Center, located on Eat Street and Front Street in Olean, NY. The puck will be dropped at 7:30 p.m.