The University of New England carried the CCC banner all the way to the Frozen Four last season but will face strong challenges from the other teams in the conference. New coaches at Nichols (Alex Gacek) and Suffolk (Shawn McEachern) will bring new depth and excitement to this season’s battle for the conference championship.
“I think it is a really good league,” said Suffolk head coach Shawn McEachern. “I am new to the league but know we are going to need to play a disciplined, aggressive and fast game to compete and win in the CCC. I am lucky to have inherited a quality group from Chris Glionna and they have been very committed to working hard and learning our systems for how we can best play and compete in the league.”
The Favorites
UNE has progressed every year in advancing beyond the conference on the national stage including last season’s run to the Frozen Four. Captain Daniel Winslow, Jared Christy and Jake Fuss lead a strong group of forwards while goaltender Billy Girard IV has emerged as one of the best goaltenders in the league. Building the blueline back from key losses to graduation will be important to the Nor’easters run to repeat as conference champions.
Endicott has been a contender in the conference since joining the CCC but face their first season without All-American goaltender Conor O’Brien. The group is experienced and returns key players including forwards Zach Mazur, Connor Beatty, Andrew Kurapov, Svet Kuchynski and Noah Strawn.
The Dark Horses
Curry had a very successful season with coach Peter Roundy and saw some breakout performances from forward Timmy Kent and goaltender Roland Polasek. This year’s team will need to see the next jump in production for returning players who showed they were competitive with everyone and especially on home ice.
Salve Regina is always in the mix and returning forwards Mitch Walinski and Cayden Kraus will provide some offensive firepower for the Seahawks.
Players to watch:
Curry: Roland Polasek – goaltender; Timmy Kent – forward
Endicott: Andrew Kurapov – forward; Conor Beatty – forward
Nichols: Alex Gacek – coach; Conor Leonard – forward
Salve Regina: Mitch Walinski – forward; Cayden Kraus – forward
Suffolk: Sean McEachern – coach; Cal Wilcox – goaltender
University of New England: Billy Girard IV – goaltender; Jake Fuss – forward
Wentworth: Connor Carbo – goaltender; Kevin Obssuth – forward
Western New England: Sam Mitchell – forward; Shane Miller – defense
USCHO Predicted finish
- University of New England
- Endicott
- Curry
- Salve Regina
- Suffolk
- Wentworth
- Nichols
- Western New England
McEachern’s Rams will benchmark where they are in the league quickly as their schedule includes two-game series each with Salve Regina, Endicott and UNE in their first ten games before the semester break.
