It’s been years since Wright State’s memorable 2005 season when the Raiders captured the ACHA Division III National Title. But with a young team, WSU hockey is eager to get back to that level.
“This year we are expecting to make a deep playoff run and the goal is to win our league,” team captain Danny Hatfield said.
If the Raiders do make a deep playoff run, they will have earned it. Their first test on the road is against Bowling Green, followed by games with Miami (OH) and Louisville
“Our schedule this year starts off very tough. It will be a good test to see how well we are going to do this year,” Hatfield said.
The schedule includes a number of other Ohio colleges, including Toledo, Cincinnati, Xavier, Akron, Ohio and two games against Dayton, who shares a traveling trophy with WSU.
“We scheduled difficult on purpose to show where we stand,” Head Coach Chris Sands said. “Absolutely no cream puffs. We’ll know a lot about how this team is going to react from the first five minutes of the
first game.”
Sands pointed out how encouraging practice has been in the few weeks the team has been together.
“The team is listening well in practice,” Sands said. “The encouraging thing is we’ve got good character and they’ve been practicing well together. We’ve been focusing on conditioning early on and are getting into skills drills. We’ll be playing full team scenarios eventually.”
Sands isn’t set on one attacking style. Instead, he hopes his players will be able to recognize what they need to do with the puck.
“We know we can’t turn the puck over in the neutral zone and [we have to] be strong on our own end,” Sands said. “Defenders need to make good first passes and we plan on being a team that always pressures the puck. But it will be a process.”
Connor Osowski looks to be the staple for the Raiders between the pipes this season.
“He (Connor) has become one of our top players,” Hatfield said. “He should keep us in a lot of games this year.”
Other players to look out for are assistant captains Ty Hoglund and Dominic DiMuccio.
“These three did a lot last year and hope to have the same type of season and then some carried into this season,” Paul Case (So.) said.
In addition to the captains, the Raiders bring back a number of veteran players including Ryan Travoli and Ryan Shaver, who is returning to the team as a graduate student.
“We’re really looking to bring an identity back to campus this year,” Sands said.
