WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes University Colonels enter their fifth season of competition for the 2022-23 year looking to continue their impressive run from last season. The Colonels reached the finals of the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) tournament for the second time in four seasons and earned their second Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) championship in the same span. Head coach Tyler Hynes enters his fourth season for the Colonels, looking to continue the success the team has progressed with over the past few years.

Wilkes returns to the ice after accumulating a 20-5-1 season, with their 20 wins being the most by the team since the program was first introduced in 2018. The Colonels are ranked in a tie for 11th in the USCHO.com national preseason poll after finishing last season ranked 10th. Hynes is excited for the new start with the team.

"We got a lot of new guys, graduated a large class last year," Hynes said. "It's been a new exciting experience for everyone. We have really strong leadership this year. It's tough to lead within a class of 19 guys this year. There's a hierarchy that has been beneficial through these first three weeks, going back to the captains skates and workouts before that."

After graduating a big class, Hynes is focused not on what the team once had but the 17 players who will return to continue the same success and drive as in previous seasons.

"Our culture runs through them," Hynes said of the returners. "When you walk into the locker room and look to the left and you have McGrath sitting there, a culture carrier sitting there. He's down in the weight room when no one is watching and doing the right things in the dark. You look straight ahead and you got Erickson and Mueller to steer the ship in the right direction."

Hynes is happy to see new players be observant of the culture around them, and happy that the returners who were observant are the ones now cultivating that same environment for the team.

The Colonels bring back four graduate students from their first recruiting class, as forwards Phil Erickson (Eau Claire, WI), Ben Stefanini (Framingham, MA), and Ryan Galvin (Atlanta, GA), return along with defender Scott Mueller (Nashville, TN) to play their final season in the Navy and Gold. Erickson comes back for Wilkes as he returns from a campaign where he scored 14 goals and 12 assists, earning 50 faceoff wins from 97 faceoffs. Stefanini had five goals and an assist last season, also going 34-69 on faceoffs. Galvin and Mueller both tallied six assists last season, with Mueller scoring goal against King's College last season. 

Seniors Nick Godfrey (Cedar Run, NJ) and Billy Berry (Redding, CT) return in the forward position while Michael Paterson-Jones (Baldwinsville, NY) comes back in the goaltender spot for Wilkes. Godfrey comes back tailing two goals and eight assists last season, while Berry notched six assists and one goal. Paterson-Jones looks to continue his presence in the goalie spot, starting in 15 of the 18 games he played in and recording 333 saves on the year.

The junior class is led by forward Jimmy O'Kane (Chicago, IL/Notre Dame Prep), who finished the 2021-22 season with six goals and nine assists. Goaltender Luc Fox (Valencia, CA) enters his junior campaign with 31 saves last season. Forward John Barrett (Charlotte, NC) rounds out the returning juniors for Wilkes. 

After tasting their first bit of collegiate experience, eight sophomores look to take the next step on the ice for the Colonels. Nick Swain (Jackson, NJ), Max Cocchi (Ludlow, MA), and Lorenzo Marcolin (Saratoga Springs, NY) come in as the forwards for the sophomore class. Swain had three goals on the season while Cocchi earned one, with both players tailing five assists apiece. Marcolin had one assist on the year while he earned five faceoff wins in as many attempts. Cole Jungwirth (Bloomington, MN) comes back in the defense with two goals and six assists in that position. Joe Johnson (Midland, MI) had two goals and three assists last year, while Judson McGrath (Dallas, TX) had two of his own assists. Goaltender Jack Perna (Sykesville, MD) comes back with 15 saves in his first year with the Colonels.

Coming into the program for Wilkes is senior transfer goaltender Garrett Nieto (Yorba Linda, CA). Nieto comes from Union College, where he saved 42 shots during his time with the Dutchmen. Sophomore transfer Luke Dobles (Spencerport, NY) comes from Finlandia University to join the forward group.

He is happy to see the new players have started to keep up with the playing style of collegiate hockey, knowing the game picks up its speed, size, and intensity after going from junior hockey to college level. 

"I like that we have guys that, in those battles, bite down on the mouth guard and want to compete, they don't want to shy away," Hynes said. "That's kind of our mindset and I'm happy they have that enate compete level already."

Wilkes brings nine first years to the team, as Christian Blomquist (Wauwatosa, WI), Patrick Roginski (ShelbyTwp, MI), Christopher Paige (Massena, NY), Matt Carlson (Delmar, NY), Cam Lowe (Lancaster, MA), Carter Jordan (Fort Collins, CO), and Kyle Mandleur (East Brunswick, NJ) are added to the forward position while Mason Vonk (West Olive, MI) and Steven Spetz (Oak Ridge, NJ) fill into the defensive unit for Wilkes.

Hynes looks forward to the non-conference games, as they looked for the best teams to compete with to not only matchup against, but how valuable it is to go against tough matchups throughout the season as it helps with the level of play the Colonels will look forward to in UCHC action.

"We know it is going to be a battle every night, it is tough in this league." Hynes said. "It seems like we get every teams best and that's what we want. We want to be sharpening our iron late in the season so we can accomplish the goals that we're here for now. The league has gotten stronger, seeing the recruiting class from other teams that are up is impressive. Al ot of good coaches in this league, so we got our work cut out for us."

The Colonels will begin their season with back to back home games this weekend. They first start off on Saturday, October 29 as they host SUNY Cortland at 3:30 p.m. at the Toyota Sportsplex. They will return to the venue the next day on October 30 at 3:30 p.m. as they begin UCHC competition against King's College.