 "Photo: Courtesy of Sue Collini")
Heading into the weekend, the No. 7-ranked Delaware ice hockey team boasted a 7-1 record before losing back-to-back games to the No. 10-ranked Rhode Island team. Despite the setback, head coach Mike DeAngelis is satisfied with his team’s start.
“We’ve come out of the starting gate with some momentum, so it’s good,” he said. “I’m probably one of the few coaches who like being on the road early to build some team chemistry and really throw ourselves into the fire early on. You can see what you’ve got and kind of set a game plan from that point on.”
However, DeAngelis said that now is the time the Hens need to fine tune their team and work out any kinks in the system as the season moves forward.
Senior Jackie Lankelis understands the importance of giving a full effort each and every game.
“We’ll come out and play two great periods. We’ll just dominate a team, but then we’ll come out a little slow in the third period,” he said. “Every week we come out and it’s do or die. If you lose both games in a weekend, you can drop in the rankings.”
Lankelis believes that despite some of the team’s early inconsistency, the Hens have a legitimate shot at capturing a national title.
“Our team’s got a lot of promise this year. I think it’s one of the best we’ve had in the past few years,” he said. “We’ve had two teams that have gone to the final four, and last year we got upset in the final eight of the national tournament, but I think this year is our chance to really win it.”
DeAngelis also has his eyes on the national crown, but is focused on winning the Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League title first. Delaware came in second for the trophy the past two years.
Sophomore Andre Menard expressed similar sentiments.
“Obviously for the team, the expectation is a national championship,” he said. "It always has been since I’ve been here, and we want to win the Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League too, which is our division."
Last year, Delaware fell to Penn State in the ESCHL championship game in March. If the Hens are to accomplish their goals of a division and national championship, one piece of the puzzle will be their goaltending. For the first time in years, the team has two goaltenders splitting the starting role.
“Our goaltending situation is fantastic,” DeAngelis said. “We picked up S.J. Broadt, a 20-year-old freshman, and he’s the real deal. Then we have our senior coming back in Kurt Pflumm. We don’t know really who our number one goalie is.”
Pflumm said that despite having to share the number-one role, having two capable goalies is a good thing for the team. He said that his Broadt, his counterpart, has played well when he is not in the game.
Pflumm said that while his goal is to post a solid save percentage this season, the success of the team is much more important than any of the personal statistics he could work toward.
Besides goaltending, DeAngelis said the team is also great defensively.
Defenseman Chris Galgano returned from a nearly career-ending head injury this season, and the Hens hope he is a vital part of their success.
“Chris is probably one of the best stay-at-home defensemen in the country and I think he’s really brought our team to a whole new level,” DeAngelis said. “We’re a defensive system really, for the most part, and having him come back has just been tremendous. We were good anyway but now that he’s on top of his game it’s been a big help.”
On offense, the team has added a few solid goal scorers in addition to the already strong lineup of returning players.
While Menard gave praise to his returning players, he said the addition of freshmen Connor Moore, Ryan McDonald and Kyle Curley have had an instant Impact on the team. Each have already scored goals this season.
Of all the new forwards, DeAngelis has been most impressed with McDonald.
“Ryan McDonald, a freshman out of Virginia, has definitely been a real charmer,” he said.
“He’s a fun player to watch. He has a lot of speed out on the ice and he brings a lot of excitement to the offense so I think that’s really been a big key for us.”
Besides the team’s offensive stars, DeAngelis also likes what he sees from the Delaware role-players.
“Another guy that rounds us out is Rocky Romanella,” he said. “He’s got a tremendous amount of energy. He’s what we call a ‘grinder’ in hockey and he really brings intensity on and off the ice that’s unparalleled, and I think that’s a contagious thing.”
No matter how effective of a team Delaware has out on the ice, Lankelis believes the team’s greatest strength is the bond they share with one another.
“We’re pretty much together every minute of every day we possibly could be, and I think that’s huge when it comes down to it,” he said. “When you’re battling in the corner or somewhere in the game, you don’t want to just win for yourself, you want to win for the guy next to you, and I think that’s something that our team has that a lot of other sports don’t have.”
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