News Detail

Men's Hockey 2009-10 Season Preview

10.23.09

With a new coaching staff set to take the helm this season, the men’s hockey team will feature some new faces along with some familiar ones. The 2008-09 Bears finished 9-12-5 overall while going 6-6-4 in the SUNYAC. Potsdam qualified for the playoffs for the second straight year where they fell to Brockport in the quarterfinals.

Chris Bernard takes over as the head coach this season. Bernard was previously at Western New England College where he led the Golden Bears for the last three seasons. Prior to that he was an assistant coach at Canisius for the 2005-06 season. He played college hockey at nearby Clarkson for four seasons where he was the goalie and had a .964 winning percentage and was 13-0-1 in his senior year. During his tenure there, the Golden Knights won two ECAC regular season championship titles and participated in four NCAA tournaments.

Coach Bernard brings with him assistant coach Tim Crowley, a 2009 graduate of SUNY Brockport and a 4 year letter-winner. He was an assistant captain his senior year and was a SUNYAC All-Academic while also receiving the Bob Petersen Coaches award and the Brockport Seventh Man Award.

Among those returning this year are team captain Connor Treacy (20 G, 20 A) who led the Bears in scoring last year and will be looked to do the same again this year. Also returning this season is forward Fraser Smith (16 G, 9 A) who was second on the team in goals last season and will add another scoring punch.

Seven freshmen and three sophomores join the team this year. “We have guys that can play anywhere from the first to the fourth line,” Bernard observed. “They can take on a number of roles and give us some versatility and depth.” 

On the defensive side, juniors Kyle Green and Patrick Choules will play veteran roles. Both are assistant captains this season.  Sophomores Hunter Syryduik and Matt Rymer will look to contribute also.

In goal, the Bears are returning junior Travis Crickard (.856 SV %) and sophomore Trevor O’Neil (.859 SV%) and have gained two new goaltenders, sophomore Kevin Mcfarland and freshman Andy Groulx.

Bernard sees a lot of good things in his team. “There is a strong team attitude and environment. Everyone is positive toward each other and practices are always highly competitive.”

Like any program, Bernard’s goals and expectations for the team are the same. “We want to put forth consistent effort and execution and ultimately win a SUNYAC title,” he said.

Potsdam defeated SUNY Canton 3-1 in an exhibition on Tuesday night. The Bears will open their regular season at home against SUNYAC rival Brockport next Friday at 7 pm.