WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The Wilkes University men's ice hockey team is set to begin its 2025-26 season on Friday, Oct. 31 against Manhattanville University at the Toyota SportsPlex. Head coach Tyler Hynes is behind the bench once again for his seventh season with the Colonels, who will be looking to pick up right where they left off after a 17-8-2 campaign last season.

"We're pumped, not just the players but also our coaching staff," Hynes said when asked about the excitement level of getting the season started. 

"This is a really exciting year. We have a new look to our team, and we have a lot of guys who have stepped in and shown us that they can help us win hockey games. We also have a lot of veteran guys that are excited to be the leaders, and show these young guys what it means to be a Wilkes hockey player."

The Colonels welcome 13 first year players as well as one transfer to the program this season. The newcomers in the forward core are Bryan Weissler (Floral Park, NY), Caiden Mech (San Clemente, CA), Owen House (Plymouth, MN), Connor Movalli (Frisco, TX), Owen Penny (Livonia, MI), Justin Filipelli (Massapequa, NY), Cooper Owens (Colorado Springs, CO), and transfer student Jack Lee (Naperville, IL). The defensive core welcomes first years Liam O'Donoghue (Canonsburg, PA), Ryan Dann (Windham, NH), Trevor Belak (Pittsburgh, PA), and Brennan Lashomb (Malone, NY). Lastly, two first year goaltenders join the program in Ryan Hacker (Elgin, IL) and Jeffrey Fillion (Chicoutimi, QC).

"I'm excited about all the newcomers that we have. We put a lot of work into this recruiting class, we've spent a lot of time already, and to their credit it hasn't taken much to show them what it means to be a Wilkes hockey player. They are the right people for this opportunity," Hynes said. 

The remainder of the roster consists of 15 returning players that look to step into crucial roles and fill the shoes of the players who graduated. The sophomore class has four returners with three forwards and one defensemen. Jake Kloss (Hershey, PA/), Nick Del Gaizo (Basking Ridge, NJ/), and Easton Stafford (Broomfield, CO/Colorado Connections Academy) represent the forwards with Tyler Boudreau (Edmonton, AB/) at defense. 

Five juniors are also returning for the Colonels. Nate Terski (North Grafton, MA/) and Cam Perez (West Hartford, CT/) return to the defensive core, Miles Harrington (McDonough, GA/) and Daniel Nau (Wake Forest, NC/) return at forward, and Duncan Rolleman (New Hamburg, ON/) as the team's lone returning goaltender.

Six returners and the aforementioned Lee make up the senior class for Wilkes. Mason Vonk (West Olive, MI/) returns as the only senior defensemen, while Matt Carlson (Delmar, NY/), Cam Lowe (Lancaster, MA/), Carter Jordan (Fort Collins, CO/), Christian Blomquist (Wauwatosa, WI/), and Patrick Roginski (Shelby Twp., MI/) return at forward.

"A lot of the returners are ready to step into more prominent roles," Hynes said. "The guys that left ate up a lot of minutes, and deservedly so. They were great players and legends for this program, but we have some guys that I think have been waiting in the wings, waiting for their opportunity, and now they've got it."

The team's leading goal scorer last season, Nick Swain (Jackson, NJ/), graduated last Spring, but Roginski, Lowe, and Jordan were tied for second on the team in that category. Both Roginski and Lowe were named All-MAC Honorable Mentions last season for their play. Another substantial loss was goalkeeper Jack Perna (Sykesville, MD/), who started in 18 games last season with a 10-7-1 record, a .934 save percentage, and a 2.13 goals against average. Rolleman started the other nine games going 7-1-1 with a .924 save percentage and 2.28 goals against average, and will look to continue that level of production in a starting role.

The season begins at home on Halloween against Manhattanville, and the next day the Colonels take on No. 3 SUNY Geneseo. Those games headline a strong non-conference schedule that includes Elmira and Cortland as well. However, Hynes has confidence in his team to compete with the best Division III has to offer.

"We want to play the best teams we can play, and we're fortunate that those schools see us as a worthy opponent they want to compete against. You need to play quality teams to get that quality bonus in the NPI. We want to test ourselves against the best. Playing the best teams exposes our flaws for later in the season, so we can correct those things and get better at them."