By Brian O'Rourke

 

ALBANY, May 2^nd, 2007 – The 2006-2007 regular season for the Saint Rose Ice Knights club hockey team was the season they had dreamed about since the formation of the team.  It was a sensational year as the Ice Knights went 10-6 during the regular season finishing sixth in the conference which earned the team a playoff spot in the Metropolitan Collegiate Hockey Conference’s (MCHC) post-season tournament.  This is the team’s fourth year in the MCHC and also the most successful one.

            Four years ago the Ice Knights was founded and the team only had one game which was against Oneonta State.  The team struggled with a lack of talent and experience and lost the game 10-3.  This trend would continue for the next two seasons as the Ice Knights finished 1-15 and 2-14 in the following seasons.

             “We just didn’t have enough players, talent, and chemistry,” said assistant captain Matt Dickson.  It was easy to see that the team did not have the ability and stamina to skate with the other teams in the league.  The Ice Knights have always had a shorter bench than their opponents, meaning longer shifts and more work for the team. 

            The Ice Knights are also the only team in the league to have females on their roster, something they have had since the first season.  The team had as many as four female skaters on the roster at the same time but has since been reduced to two.  Megan Boucher, defense, and Abby Del Giacco, forward, have been playing most of their lives and love playing on the team.  Don’t take these chicks lightly, they can play puck with the big boys.  Del Giacco scored two goals this season, becoming the first female to record a goal in the MCHC.  Boucher is a tough competitor who takes it to her opponents in the corner, racking up hits, and starting an offensive rush. 

            Injuries and fatigue plagued the team as they entered their first round game of the playoffs against the County College of Morristown (New Jersey).  Joe Eats, Joe Champion, and Daniel Lecker were all out with injuries; which meant more work and ice time for everyone else.  The Ice Knights only carried one goalie all season and game fatigue was taking its toll on goaltender Aron Eldridge.  The knees of a butterfly-goaltender are always on constant watch, but with no back-up, Eldridge had to play every minute of every game. 

            “No matter what injury I had, I just had to keep going, there was no other way around it,” said goaltender Aron Eldridge.  The team put up a hell of a fight but lost 8-5 to a tough Morristown team. 

            So what’s next for the Ice Knights?  Graduation will takeaway three players and they will need to be replaced with incoming freshman and transfer students.  Head coach Rob Hughes takes care of all the recruiting.  He talks with his current players and finds out who might want to come to Saint Rose and then works on getting them to the school.  Another way the team recruits is on Campus Activities Awareness Day.  The team sets up a table with all the other clubs and interest groups and the team promotes themselves to everyone on campus.  Also, rumor has it that the Ice Knights will be buying new jerseys for next year.

            Through the nagging bumps and bruises, the long and tiring bus rides, the Ice Knights prevailed.  With every late-night practice and every off-ice practice, the team grew stronger.  No player will ever forget the year they had a four-game winning streak, a playoff birth, and a taste of the post-season.  It was truly a season to remember.