After starting the season 8-0-1, new head coach Peter Roundy saw his Colonels drop their final two games before the semester break to Endicott and Salve Regina on the road. Despite the losses to end the first half, there is a lot to be excited about with the Curry program in a very competitive Commonwealth Coast Conference.
“This has been a great group to coach,” said Roundy. “We have a veteran group that comes to work hard every time they step out on the ice. It has been a lot of fun with this group, and I still think there is a lot of upside for us to get better in the second half.”
With junior Timmy Kent (10-6-16) leading the team in goals and points, there are a host of players including Alex Ochterbeck, Michael Snow and Mark Zhukov that have shown signs of finding their offensive game for the Colonels. Add in proven point-getter Danny Eruzione (Graduate transfer from Salve Regina) who was just getting healthy at the semester break, and Roundy feels his squad is poised for a big second half of the season.
“Danny really has been battling back into form after missing a lot of time,” stated Roundy. “We have seen some flashes of his form in recent games and expect that he will really start to contribute as he rounds into game shape and gains more familiarity with his teammates on the ice. He has been more of a puck distributor in his time at Salve [Regina] where he produced 101 points and 71 assists in just 81 games. He also scored thirty goals, so we expect he is going to help add some scoring depth when we get back to action in the New Year.”
It hasn’t been all about the offensive game for the Colonels who despite averaging over 40 shots per contest and scoring nearly four goals per game, have been very disciplined and stingy in the defensive end in front of netminders Reid Cooper and Roland Polasek. Cooper has surrendered just eleven goals in his six starts, posting a 1.81 goals-against average and a 5-0-1 record. Polasek has chipped in with three wins including a 34 save effort over Endicott in the front end of a home-and-home series with the Gulls.
“We really like our goaltending tandem,” noted Roundy. “The team has great confidence playing in front of both of them and we can keep both guys fresh without one or the other shouldering the back-to-back game action. This conference is very competitive so depth will be very important in the second half along with experience and I think this roster has both.”
After the break, the Colonels will travel to face Amherst and then the No. 2 ranked Utica Pioneers to open the first week of January. While going unbeaten at home in the first half at 6-0-0, Curry was just 2-2-1 on the road and will be looking to improve their play as the visitors before recommencing conference play with a two-game set against Wentworth on January 14-15.
“It is always a challenge to come back from a break,” said Roundy. “We have a pair of very challenging road games against two very good teams in Amherst and Utica. It will be a good test for our squad and hopefully will help us build some positive momentum heading into CCC action where we face the University of New England and Salve Regina after the Wentworth games. There were lots of positives to take from the first half and a chance to play better in the second half – I know this group will be in the hunt.”
