by Jim Mullins
Assistant Director
Sports Information

UMass Dartmouth ice hockey team enters 25th season ranked #1 in pre-season poll

The newly realigned ECAC Division III ice hockey league has a new name -ECAC Northeast- but UMass Dartmouth finds itself in a familiar position. Coach John Rolli's Corsairs, winners of three out of the last four ECAC North-Central-South Division championships, enter the 1998-99 season ranked #1 in the ECAC Northeast coaches' pre-season poll.

"We are excited about the selection, although we have never won a championship at the start of the season," said Rolli, who enters his 15th season at UMass Dartmouth with a career mark of 293-62-7.. "I think the coaches voted for us as a reflection of winning the North-Central-South three of the last four years. Everyone in the Northeast is looking forward to the new set-up and new opposition. I think there will be great parity and an exciting playoff."

The Corsairs picked up 13 out of 18 first-place votes for 318 points in the poll, while Fitchburg State was second with four first-place votes and 306 points. Rounding out the top five were St. Michael's College, Wentworth Institute and New Hampshire College

UMass Dartmouth ice hockey enters its 25th season with a rich tradition established through the years. The Corsairs have won eight ECAC championships with each graduating class since 1983 having at least one title. Only Cornell, in 36 seasons, has more ECAC championships than UMass Dartmouth.

The Corsairs' most recent title came last season when they were seeded fourth in the ECAC North-Central-South tournament and took three straight games for the title. After beating Bentley College, 9-6, in the quarterfinal round, UMass Dartmouth knocked of the tournament's top seed, Fitchburg State with a 5-4 overtime in the semi-finals. The Corsairs clinched the championship with a 4-2 victory at second-seeded St. Michael's College. The championship was the Corsairs' (22-5-0) second in a row and third in the last four years.

Defending their title in the new 18-team division will not be easy for the Corsairs, who will return 12 veterans this season, the fewest number in recent memory. With seven forwards, three defensemen and both goaltenders back for the 1998-99 season, Rolli said he will be looking at as many as eight freshman to make contributions this season.

UMass Dartmouth will be led by forwards junior Jim Egan (Billerica, MA) (21-21-42), the Corsairs' second-leading scorer last year, senior Jamie DiBona (Weymouth, MA) (20-17-37), ranked third in team scoring, and sophomore Shawn Alles (Brockton, MA) (9-16-25). On defense, senior captain Jon Ruel (Mattapoisett, MA) (2-28-30) is the lone returner.

The Corsairs should be strong in goal again this year with juniors Ryan Sloper (Billerica, MA) and Louis Weimann (Burlington, VT) returning for their third season as UMass Dartmouth's goaltending tandem. Sloper had an 11-3 record with a 3.80 goals against average, a .892 saves percentage and one shutout. Weimann was 10-2 in 12 games with a 3.87 goals against average and a .880 saves percentage.

Among the other returning lettermen Rolli will be using are forwards junior Chris O'Reilly (Belmont, MA), sophomore Derek Cappella (Billerica, MA), junior Chris Cunningham (Brockton, MA) and junior John DeFazio (Cranston, RI). Senior Mark Aguiar (Fairhaven, MA) and sophomore Nick Siciliano (W. Springfield, MA) will shore up the defensive unit.

With so few returning players this season, Rolli will be looking at a group of first-year players to break into the starting lineup. Forwards Chris Carboneau (Falmouth, MA), Gerry Turcotte (Woonsocket, RI), T.J. Brown (Framingham, MA), Dave Osis (Braintree, MA) and Nick Slatkavitz (Franklin, MA) will be among the freshman who will play up front. Joining the defense will be Chris Sullivan (Warwick, RI) and Bruce Warren (Framingham, MA).

UMass Dartmouth will play 19 games against ECAC Northeast teams and will compete in the Babson Thanksgiving Invitational tournament on November 28-29. UMass Dartmouth has also upgraded its regular season schedule by adding ECAC East teams, Norwich, New England College, Amherst College and Trinity.

The Corsairs have appeared in 16 consecutive ECAC tournaments and played in ten championship games. Among the team's accomplishments are eight ECAC Division III championships, an ECAC North title and four ECAC Central crows, including four in a row from 1993-96. UMass Dartmouth holds two ECAC ice hockey records for all three divisions, including a 38-game consecutive win streak and playing 311 games without a shutout from Feb. 1978 to December 1991.

The Corsairs open the 1998-99 season on Saturday, November 14 by hosting Lebanon Valley of the ECAC Northeast at 4:30 p.m. All of UMass Dartmouth's home games will return to Hetland Arena in New Bedford.