11

SPORTS

NU hockey gains new freshmen; seniors set as leaders

By Eric Murphy
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

The 2003-04 Men’s Hockey Team celebrates a victory. Some of the leadership will be returning this year and the the freshmen team members will look to the veterans for guidance.

After a 2-3 overtime loss in the NCAA semifinal game against rival Middlebury in March, Coach McShane and the Norwich hockey team are more determined than ever to become National Champions again. The Cadets hope to make it to the frozen four for the fourth straight year.

The hockey team lost 13 seniors from last year’s team. The Cadets are returning a few seniors from last year and 14 players overall. They have a huge new class coming in, with 12 freshmen.

“I am really looking forward to the season,” said Chase Decker, 21, a sophomore communications major from Wenatchee, Wash. “I think that we have another good shot at it; we have a real fast team, a real gritty team, and I think it’s going to be a good year.”

Having lost 13 players from last season, the Cadets will be a young team, but they are confident about the nine seniors returning and their leadership.

They have played with the 13 seniors who graduated, so they have learned and have been led by the leaders who played before them. The torch has been passed.

“We are going to be a young team, with 12 new guys coming in, but we have three experienced goalies and four of the first line coming back.” Decker said. “It depends on our goaltending and how quick the younger guys coming in adjust to the college level.”

With the 11 freshmen coming in and how young the team is going to be, McShane said that his upperclassmen are going to have to step up and help the younger players. But he adds that his Cadets will still be a hard team to beat.

“I think once we get going we will be a good club. Our goaltending is going to have to step up; teams are going to take more shots on the young players. The older guys are going to have to pick it up a notch, and the freshmen that are coming in are going to have to play like they are veterans,” McShane said.

The older and more experienced players are looking forward to the season, with new faces coming in. Even though they are going to be young, they are good, talented players, and the upperclassmen can’t wait for the young guys to develop and show what kind of impact they are going to have on the team.

“It’s going to be a good year,” said Scott Russell,19, a communications major. “It’s going to be interesting to see how the young guys react and make adjustments to their game at the college level. I’m definitely looking forward to the season.”

The 11 freshmen coming in makes it the biggest recruiting class at Norwich in four years. According to the Cadets, there is a lot of talent in this recruiting class, and as the season goes on, this class will have a big impact on the program.

“This is the largest class in four years; it looks like the way the recruiting has been set up, it seems that every four years there is going to be a large class coming in,” Russell said.

Even though the Cadets are young and not as experienced as last year, they still have high expectations to make it to the national championship game, and those expectations have not changed because of the inexperience on the team.

“The kids are challenging, and they know that the expectations are very high at this school,” McShane said. “They have to be tough enough to meet them, and we are going to work hard like heck to do that.”

McShane said that last year’s team was more physical because of age, but he adds that this year’s team can be faster and make that to their advantage.

“Last year, we were deeper in depth; I could always put someone in if someone got hurt, but this year, that is not the case,” McShane said.

The veterans are pushing the young players to work hard from here on out until the season starts.

The hockey team opens up their season on November 13 against Curry College, at Kreitzburg Arena.

The Norwich Guidon is a twice-monthly student newspaper distributed at Norwich University. It provides laboratory experience for students in the Communications program. Claims asserted by letter writers, editorials and other articles do not represent the positions of Norwich University. The Norwich Guidon welcomes signed letters to the editor. They should be no longer than 300 words. Unsigned letters will not be printed, but names may be withheld upon worthy request. All letters are subject to editing for length and good taste. Mailing address: The Norwich Guidon, Communications Center, Norwich University, 158 Harmon Dr, Northfield, VT 05663. www.norwich.edu/guidon.