Fourteen-year veteran coach John Rolli returns 13 lettermen from last year's team that captured its third ECAC North-Central-South championship in five years and its seventh in 15 seasons.

The Corsairs finished 21-4-2 a year ago, closing out the season with a 10-0-1 record in their final 11 games. Seeded fifth in the ECAC tournament, UMass Dartmouth captured the title by taking three straight road games, the first time it had been done in ECAC history, including a 6-3 victory at defending champion Fitchburg State.

One season later, Rolli (271-57-7) has several key players back from the championship team with a couple of newcomers who will work their way into the lineup to help the Corsairs as they defend their title during the 1997-98 season.

Ironically, one of the Corsairs' projected weak spots last season has developed into a strength one season later. A year ago, Rolli was looking for a new goaltender to step into the starting lineup. The Corsairs discovered a pair of goalies, Ryan Sloper (Billerica, MA) and Louis Weimann (Burlington, VT), and both will return this season after very impressive freshman seasons.

Sloper was an ECAC and New England Hockey Writers All Star last year with an 11-3-1 record with two shutouts and a 2.55 goals against average, sixth best in Division III last year. Weimann finished the season in goal for the Corsairs and backboned the three straight road victories in the ECAC Tournament. He had a 10-1-1 record with one shutout , a 2.59 goals against average and was ranked second in Division III winning percentage for goalies and 10th in GAA.

"They will just battle back and forth throughout the season," said Rolli . "It's a very healthy situation for both players."

The Corsairs outscored their opponents 166-71 and finished second in Division III in scoring offense (6.15/game) last season and appear to have plenty of offensive weapons back again this year. UMass Dartmouth's top scoring line will consist of returners Jarrod DiBona (Weymouth, MA), captain Steve Bartkus (Quincy, MA) and Pat Schultz (Wareham, MA).

Jarrod DiBona has been one of the Corsairs' top forward for the last two seasons, including his sophomore year when he led the country in scoring. A New England Hockey Writer's All-Star last year, DiBona scored 19 goals and 29 assists to lead UMass Dartmouth with 48 points and was sixth nationally in scoring with 2.24 goals/game. His seven goals and 18 assists within the ECAC Central put him fourth in the conference scoring race and he earned Championship Game MVP honors for his two goals and two assists in the title game.

Skating alongside DiBona will be Bartkus , who is returning after a knee injury last season and Schultz, who joined the Corsairs at mid-season a year ago. In 12 games last year, Bartkus scored nine goals and seven assists for 16 points, while Schultz added six goals and ten assists in 17 games.

"Our front line should be one of the premier lines in the ECAC," Rolli said.

On the Corsairs' second line will be the combination of Jamie DiBona (Weymouth, MA), Chris O'Reilly (Belmont, MA) and John DeFazio (Cranston, RI), all returners from last year. Jamie DiBona had nine goals and 24 assists for 33 points, while DeFazio (6-3-9) and O'Reilly (9-12-21) also had some scoring success.

Anchoring the Corsairs' third line will be assistant captain Mike Doherty (Stoneham, MA), who led UMass Dartmouth in goal scoring with 22 plus his 14 assists for 36 points. Doherty will be joined by newcomers Shawn Alles (Brockton, MA) and Jim Eagan (Billerica, MA), a transfer from UMass Lowell.

The backline on defense should also be solid for the Corsairs as Rolli will be counting on several returning veterans, especially Assistant Captain Kayne Beaudry (Melrose, MA), an ECAC Central All-Star last year. Joining Beaudry on defense will be Jon Ruel (Mattapoisett, MA) (2-11-13) along with Mark Aguiar (Fairhaven, MA) (1-4-5) and Brian Keaveney (West Roxbury, MA) (1-12-13), a pair of transplanted forwards from a year ago. Newcomer Bill Aufiero (Winchester, MA) will join Bob Marrone (Winchester, MA) in the defensive rotation as well. UMass Dartmouth led Division III last year with the top penalty killing percentage (16 goals on 155 attempts, 89.7%)

UMass Dartmouth will also get a boost in the second semester with the return of Jeremy DiBona (Weymouth, MA). A member of the last three Corsairs' ECAC championship teams, DiBona could be the first Corsair to play for four championship teams.

Competing in the ECAC Central after finishing third last year with a 10-2-2 mark, Rolli expects Bentley and St. Michael's to be strong again this year. Rolli also said Fitchburg State and Skidmore appear as favorites in the ECAC North and South, respectively.

"We find ourselves in a similar situation again this season in the ECAC Central," Rolli said. "How we do in our division will determine if we get home ice in the playoffs."

The 1997 season will provide the Corsairs with a change of home ice venues. UMass Dartmouth will play their home games at Driscoll Rink in Fall River while repairs are underway at Hetland Arena in New Bedford.

UMass Dartmouth has a rough early schedule after opening with Johnson and Wales on November 15. The Corsairs have back-to-back games at Fitchburg State and Bentley College in the first two weeks of the season. After the holiday break, UMass Dartmouth will open the second half of its schedule January 9 and 10 with a pair of games at Alabama-Huntsville, a perennial Division II powerhouse. After playing nine of their first 12 games on the road, the Corsairs will return to Driscoll Rink and play seven of their last 10 games of the regular season at home prior to what they hope will be a return trip to the ECAC tournament.