Falcons are 'banging on the door'

Courtesy of Nick Mallard - Sentinel and Enterprise

FITCHBURG -- A shot that found iron instead of twine. A missed assignment in transition. A bounce here, a bounce there.

That's what separated the 2014-15 Fitchburg State ice hockey squad from reaching the upper echelon of MASCAC teams. The thin line between skilled with good fortune and skilled with a bit of bad luck.

Of course at the collegiate level, you make your own luck and with the work the Falcons have put in prior to this season, head coach Dean Fuller is "optimistic" that the team can compete for a league crown.

"I've got a great senior class that has worked hard and has been banging on the door to having a great season," said Fuller, entering his 32nd season at the helm of the program. "They've shown up in great shape and are motivated. Through our recruiting, we have some good, young defensemen and some forwards coming in.

"I just think, overall, this is the best depth we've had over the last three or four years. From line one to line five, we've got guys who want to contribute."

The Falcons return a solid core group of players from last season's 10-13-3 team, a group that was probably a bit better than its record would indicate. But inconsistency haunted last year's group, which ended up 8-8-2 in MASCAC play before falling in the opening round of the conference tournament.

"Last year, if we beat UMass Dartmouth in the final regular season game, we get seeded second and get a bye," Fuller recalled.

"We lost that game and we see them in the first round of the playoffs and we lose to them again. We're knocking at the door. I have a lot of confidence that these kids will put it all together and have a good year."

Fuller believes he has at least three full lines that can chip in at the offensive end, a departure from teams deep in grinders, but lacking in finishing power.

"We always roll four (lines), but the last couple years, we weren't getting much offensively on the back end of those," Fuller noted.

Coming off a separated shoulder, Leominster native John Celli is back and healthy and will play on a line with Cam Snyder, last season's leading scorer, and Nat Rojas, himself coming off wrist surgery last year. The coach also expects big things from his second line, which has captain Max Lorenzen centering freshman Michael Fretz and senior Timmy Genova.

The third line sees the unlikely group of 5-foot-7 Paul Falanga with a pair of 6-foot-4 forwards in Ryan Connolly and Jon Johannesson.

"They came on at the end of last season," Fuller said of that trio.

"They played really well together. If everyone picks up their game, we should be OK (offensively).

"We've got guys who can play, so we've got to let them loose. Along the way, we'll correct things that need correcting. We're just going to go out and have some fun.

On the back end, there's a bit of uncertainty. Senior Mike Morrison will be the leading presence on the blueline and sophomore Evan Byrnes will be looked to to contribute on defense. But from there, Fuller's looking to plug a few holes with incomind D-men.

"We've got some young guys and we're going to play some people over our three non-league games (to open the season)," Fuller said.

"We've got Mike Morrison and Evan Byrnes back and senior Ryan Bedard and some young kids we're going to take a look at. But they're big, strong kids who can move, so they should be fine.

"We should be in good shape once things get figured out."

Even more of an uncertainty for the Falcons is who will be between the pipes.

Fuller has a trio of freshmen pushing senior Corey McMahon -- a Lunenburg native -- and while he hasn't named a full-time starter just yet, the coach is pleased with the talent he's accumulated in net.

"I think those four kids are going to battle it out and that's going to push someone to do a great job for us," Fuller said. "Everybody looks pretty good in practice."

First-year netminders Quinn Wold, Kirby Saari, and Charles Jackobsson -- the program's first Swedish player -- could all assume the role of starting backstop along the way.

The team has been picked to finish third in the league in the preseason coaches' poll, earning 22 points and trailing just defending champion Plymouth State (36 points) and Salem State (30 points). 

The Falcons will see get a chance to see if that optimism is well-founded, taking part in the IC Federal Credit Union Shootout, beginning tonight.

Fitchburg State hits the Wallace Civic Center ice at 8 p.m., squaring off with Southern Maine as part of the Shootout before facing Wentworth at 4 p.m. on Saturday in its second contest of the Shootout.

"IC Federal Credit Union has supported us for several years now," Fuller said. "We appreciate that. Their support makes that happen. It's nice to open with an event like this at home. I think we'll have a good turnout and hopefully we come out and play well."