Following Arcadia’s impressive sweep of Stevenson in a pair of one-goal games on home ice before Thanksgiving, the Knights have just a weekend series remaining with Lebanon Valley College to close out the first half. A successful weekend would send the Knights into the break at 6-3-2 overall and 5-2-2 in league play which puts them right in the mix of a very competitive first season for the MAC hockey conference that includes a NCAA auto-bid to the national championship tournament.
“It was a great weekend for us against Stevenson,” said first-year head coach Ryan Heickert. “At practice before the Thanksgiving break, I told the team that it doesn’t mean anything if we go out an lose to LVC. We are trying to change the culture here with ethic and hard work becoming the standard. As we have introduced new systems, our execution and consistency in execution are the foundation of success on the ice. The season goes by quickly and we need to take advantage of the opportunities right in front of us if we want to compete for a championship. I think we let some opportunities get away in the ties with Misericordia and Neumann and even the overtime loss against Wilkes. Improving our consistency should help us to be focused against LVC and then being ready to go in the second half.”
Heickert takes over a Knights team having been a player and coach at Neumann where he played for Dominick Dawes and was a teammate and roommate with current Black Knight coach, Mike Heddon. While Arcadia’s proximity geographically in Pennsylvania was certainly an attraction to taking the job, so too was the opportunity to build a successful program at school where ice hockey is still a relatively new sport.
“I learned from coach Dawes that being even-keeled means having a big ability to stay calm and focused when things are not necessarily either,” stated Heickert. “He also said you never really know about your talent and the team until you get them on the ice in their first game. I think we are still a work in progress but getting better every practice and every game with the chance to end the first half of the season on a very positive run.”
Ironically, Arcadia’s only two home games of the first half schedule were the two 4-3 wins over Stevenson prior to Thanksgiving. While the home record is unblemished on the small sample size, there is room for improvement on the road where the Knights are 1-3-2 so far this season.
“It certainly is an unbalanced schedule when you look at the first half and our home vs. road games,” noted Heickert. “I think one of the keys for us after the semester break will be the first five games where we play four in a row at home against two SUNYAC opponents in Morrisville and Buffalo State before getting back to MAC play against Alvernia and then a mid-week game at Wilkes before coming home to face King’s. Just the five MAC games in a 10-day window will be really impactful on our record and trajectory in the conference. The part of the schedule is about 20% of the total so we want to be ready to play and get results to close the semester and then be in good shape to compete after the holidays.”
So far this season, the Knights have been getting contributions from several key players on the roster including senior defenseman Jake Frankenfield (5G – 1A – 6Pts), senior forward Donnie Feldman (5G – 4A – 9 Pts) and junior forward Drew Iannucci (4G – 3A – 7 Pts) along with solid goaltending from junior Ryan Burgess (2.78 GAA – .915 SP). While the upper classmen have been key contributors some of the first-year players are making a mark and earning key minutes of ice time as well through their solid play.
“We compete hard in practice and the players know it is an opportunity to show-up well and work hard to earn playing time,” said Heickert. “I think some of our young players have stepped into some quality ice time and important minutes and are developing well for us, particularly on the defensive end with players like Ryan Cunningham, Zach Garnsey, and Wes Sweitzer all working in with our more experienced defensive players. I don’t know that we have found our every-game lineup yet but as the team continues to work hard we have options with our roster that gives us flexibility for the remainder of the season.”
The Knights look to end the first half on a high note when they face the Flying Dutchmen for two games on Friday and Saturday that could send the team off to the break with a lot of positive momentum. Arcadia returns to action after the New Year when they host Morrisville and Buffalo State in their final non-conference games on the schedule.
