AIC Hockey Looks To Strong Second Half

January 14, 2004

Courtesy of AIC Sports Information Department

Written by Greg Royce

After the first 10 games this season things didn’t look very good for the American International College hockey team. Following a 7-4 loss at Connecticut on November 15, the Yellow Jackets were 0-9-1, the lone tie coming the night before at home against the Huskies.

Since then, things have gotten better for veteran coach Gary Wright’s club, going 3-4-1 over the last eight games, including a 3-2 win over 2003 NCAA tournament participant Wayne State on December 12. Wright is cautiously optimistic about the way things are headed for the Yellow Jackets as the second half of the season begins.

“Clearly we have experienced more success of late,” said Wright, now in his 20th season. “In particular, our goaltending has stabilized, our specialty teams are more productive and our overall play reflects a skill upgrade.”

Taking a look at the 2003-04 stat sheet, one of the things that jumps out is the youth the Yellow Jackets possess. Six of the top seven scorers this season for AIC are freshmen or sophomores, with senior and team scoring leader Guillaume Caron being the only upperclassman among the top seven.

Caron, a four-year letterwinner who graduated last spring and is working on his MBA, has notched 11 goals and 11 assists this season and enters the upcoming weekend series with Mercyhurst just one point shy of reaching the century mark in career scoring, the first AIC player to do so since Craig Pitman reached the 100-point plateau in 1995-96.

“Guillaume’s always been an outstanding player for us, but I think he’s really upgraded his game this year,” Wright said. “One thing as coaches that we always like to see are players that finish with strong senior years, and he’s certainly doing that. He’s had a lot of good years, but thus far all indications are this will be his best, and his play on the ice will continue to be critical to our success.”

Caron’s linemate all season on AIC’s top line has been freshman Jeremy Leroux. Leroux, who played for the Cornwall Colts of the CJHL last season, has handed out a team-high 12 assists this season and has also struck for six goals while centering the first line in all 18 games. His point-per-game average places him first in Atlantic Hockey and seventh nationally among freshmen in points per game.

“Jeremy and Guillaume have certainly complemented each other well,” said Wright. “Jeremy sees the ice real well. It’s a big adjustment no matter how good a league you come from to the college level and Jeremy has certainly made that adjustment nicely.”

“We’ve been pleased, certainly, with the point production from that line. We’re looking for more, as we go on, particularly from our second and third lines,” added Wright.

Five sophomores, CJ McConnell, Andy Walbert, Jeff Valdes, Preston Cicchine and Ryan Robin occupy the next five spots on the stat sheet. McConnell has recorded nine goals and 14 points and has all three of the Jackets game-winning goals. The sophomore class comprises just over 41% of AIC’s point production this season.

Splitting time in goal have been Chad Davis and Frank Novello. Davis recently won Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Week honors after stopping 43 of 45 shots in the win over Wayne State, while Novello had 39 saves in his most recent outing, a 2-2 tie with Army, and is ranked ninth in the nation in save percentage (.923) while going 2-0-2 over his last four appearances.

“Frank’s been playing great of late and we’ve certainly gotten some good performances from Chad as well recently, especially against Wayne State,” said Wright.

“We need to bring our “A” game every night in this league because the makeup of our team is such that we have little margin for error. The challenge is for us to compete, and I mean compete, every shift, every period, every game,” said Wright.

“I’m pleased with the progress we’ve been demonstrating, but obviously a little disappointed with the overall record. We’re just trying to get as many wins as we can, with the residual effect of that a higher seed in the playoffs.”