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Morrisville State men to open 2018-19 season Friday on the road<\/h3>\nMorrisville State men to open 2018-19 season Friday on the road<\/h3>\nThe Morrisville State men\u2019s ice hockey team has been busy preparing for the 2018-19 season opener, scheduled for Friday night on the road at Lebanon Valley College, and rightfully so, the coaching staff is looking forward to what the upcoming season brings.<\/p>\n
During the off-season the Mustangs have added several new faces to their roster for 2018-19, returning another 17 who over the course of their careers have gained valuable experience that will lend to the success on and off the ice this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve added a sizable freshmen class this year that will contribute in a variety of different areas,\u201d seventh year head coach Kevin Krogol said. \u201cCoupled with the experience of our returners and a great senior leadership group, we have high hopes of noticeable improvement this coming season.\u201d<\/p>\n
Krogol pointed to the leadership in Captains Ian Wood (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and assistants CJ Stubbs (Pleasant Valley, Utah) and Jimmy Philbin (Chicago, Ill.) who says \u201cwill set the tone for the younger group and entire locker room\u201d.<\/p>\n
Eleven new faces will don the Mustang jersey this season, a class that Krogol said not only adds speed and grit, but scoring ability along with size and strength.<\/p>\n
Most pointed to the addition of newcomer Jesse Anderson (Wasaga Beach, ON), a prolific scorer that hails from the Minnesota Moose out of the USPHL. Anderson collected 60 points on the forward line after netting a combined 26 goals and 34 assists last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith a large group of young players, we will need our veterans to step up and lead the way,\u201d Krogol stated.<\/p>\n
Of that veteran group, Morrisville State returns all five of its leading scorers from a year ago, including the tri-captains, along with Nick DeVito (Averill Park) and Ryan Bochert (Denver, Colo.), who combined for more than half of the Mustang scoring a year ago. DeVito and Stubbs lead the way with 24 points on the year, followed by Philbin with 15, Wood 12 and Bochert 11.<\/p>\n
Morrisville State will also look to its veterans on the blue lines to boast a successful battle in front of the goaltending unit. Aidan Conolly (Rochester) was instrumental for the unit last season, contributing not only on the defensive end of the ice, but offensively as well with 10 points on two scores and eight assists.<\/p>\n
Thus far in preseason, leadership has fallen to Christian Vella (Rochester) to boost the Mustangs special team\u2019s play, in particular the penalty kill, as they look to up their kill percentage from a year ago.<\/p>\n
A trio of netminders will compete for the starting role as goaltender, including Sal Stalteri (Woodbridge, ON), Jared Young (Pueblo West, Colo.) and newcomer Jorgen Johnson (Waterford, MI).<\/p>\n
Young made 23 starts in net a year ago, collecting a .901 save percentage across the year behind his massive 758 save season.<\/p>\n
Morrisville State, who is looking to get jump on the season with two non-conference outings to open the year, will take the ice for their first contest tonight at Lebanon Valley College at 7 p.m. They follow with a second road battle at Stevenson on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n
Both contests will prep the Mustangs for their State University of New York Athletic Conference opener Nov. 2\u00a0as they host Plattsburgh for a double on their ice, followed by Cortland on the 9th\u00a0and 10th\u00a0in another home conference battle.<\/p>\n
A duo at SUNY Geneseo on the 16th\u00a0and 17th\u00a0will lead the Mustangs into two additional non-conference outings, the first a home contest against Chatham on the 20th, followed by a road trip to Anna Maria on the 30th.<\/p>\n
Morrisville State heads down the thruway Dec. 7\u00a0and 8\u00a0to Buffalo State, before wrapping up the first half of the season with a home match against Bryn Athyn College on the 15th.<\/p>\n
January sees the Mustangs taking the ice for the first time in the new year on the 11th\u00a0at Salve Regina, returning to their home IcePlex on the 12th\u00a0for a bout with the University of New England.<\/p>\n
Back-to-back road trips at Potsdam on the 18\/19 and Oswego on the 25\/26 will see the Mustangs into February where they will play five out of six contests on their home ice.<\/p>\n
Morrisville State meets Brockport on the 1st\u00a0and 2nd, before hitting the road up north to Canton on the 8th.<\/p>\n
Canton rolls into town on the 9th, followed by Fredonia on the 15th\u00a0and 16th\u00a0for the Mustangs regular season finale.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal is to be the hardest working and hardest team to play against in the country,\u201d Krogol said.<\/p>\n