Buffalo State never had a men’s hockey team with expectations, let alone a winning season.
Since the program’s inception in 1993, the Bengals had won just 120 games over 17 seasons.
Needless to say, expectations weren’t very high as the team headed into 2010-11 following a 6-18-1 finish the previous year.
How could Buffalo State compete in a conference shared by Division III hockey powerhouses like Plattsburgh and Oswego, who’ve combined to win 12 of the past 16 conference championships?
Head coach Nick Carriere didn’t let his team live down to expectations.
“I’ve always thought we’ve matched up really well against the Plattsburgh’s and Oswego’s,” he said. “Being ranked below them year after year just adds fuel to our fire. We know we can go out and beat those teams.”
With the odds stacked heavily against them, Carriere and the Bengals proceeded to prove everyone wrong.
They defeated bitter-rival Fredonia in overtime for the team’s first win of the season, and after a convincing 6-2 victory over Plattsburgh early last November, doubters began to believe in Buffalo State hockey.
“Going into the season, we didn’t really know what to expect,” said sophomore goalie Kevin Carr, who set school records for wins (11), save percentage (.921), goals-against average (2.66) and shutouts (3) in his freshman season, “but we knew what we had as a team. We just stayed together all season long, played our game and it worked out pretty good for us in the end.”
The Bengals finished 12-11-3 last year and qualified for the SUNYAC playoffs for just the fifth time ever. Their playoff run was brief, though, as they fell to Fredonia, 3-2, in the tournament’s first round.
Senior forward and team captain James Durham said he thinks the program won’t ever have to worry about the lack of expectations again.
“This season we’re going in with our heads high,” he said. “A lot of us worked together in the off season and that helped to build up a little camaraderie. We’re going to come out in top form, and I think we can beat anybody playing like that.”
It might not be all smooth sailing for the Bengals to start the year, though.
The team lost four seniors to graduation, one of which was Nick Petriello, the program’s all-time leading point scorer whose 30 points (9 g, 21 a) led all Bengals last season and now plays for the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads.
“We’ll miss Nick a lot,” said Carriere. “He was a special player who did a lot for this team, not only offensively, but he always took care of the little things. He leaves big shoes to be filled.”
Those who will be counted upon to fill the void left by Petriello on offense are senior forward Justin Knee, who finished last year with 22 points (7 g, 15 a) and junior forward Trevor McKinney, who tied for the conference lead in goals with 17 last season.
Durham said he expects the team to take on more of a committee role when it comes to putting the puck in the net.
“We have a pretty deep team all around this season,” he said. “I think we’ll focus on featuring more of a balanced attack. We have three, maybe four, solid lines that can score at any time.”
Carriere said he thinks a few of the incoming freshman can make a contribution to the stat sheet, as well.
“Elijah Cohen is a guy we really like. He’s a speedy player who we’ll look to provide some energy for our offense,” he said. “Tyler Nelson is another guy I think will help out a lot. He’s a puck-moving defenseman who should be able to step in right away and help our power play.”
A few other new additions to keep an eye on will be freshman forward Nick Melligan, who led the Buffalo Junior Sabres in scoring last season with 55 points in 47 games, and junior transfer Matt Bessing, who joins the Bengals after two seasons at forward for Plattsburgh.
While the Bengals’ offense looks promising, Carriere said the team needs to focus on the little things that hurt the team last season, such as their special teams, which ranked towards the bottom of the conference in both power-play (17 percent) and penalty-kill (78 percent) efficiency.
Whatever the team lacks in special teams, though, they’ll look to make up for with their solid defensive play. The defense looks to be a big strength, returning every member of their starting-six last season, and is highlighted by Carr, who will look to build off his impressive freshman season.
“It’s a whole different year now,” Carr said. “I hope to have an even better year than I did last season, but I still need to work hard in practice and keep pushing myself to get better.”
The team will kick off their season this weekend as part of a three-game road trip, beginning with a game against Geneseo on Friday before heading to Brockport to square off against the Golden Eagles on Saturday.
The Bengals are in for some tough competition this year as conference rivals Oswego (No. 2), Plattsburgh (No. 5) and Geneseo (No. 12) are all ranked in the top-15 nationally in the USCHO.com Pre-Season Division III Poll.
Despite being heavy underdogs to take home a conference title this season, excitement surrounds the Bengals more than ever. Carriere said he expects another record season for his squad.
“This is a program that has never made it passed the first round of the (SUNYAC) playoffs, so we definitely plan to surpass that watermark,” he said.
Carr took his season prediction even further.
“Our goal is plain and simple: We want to win a National Championship,” he said, “and this year, I think we’ve got the guys to do it.”
Dunham, Carr and Carriere all agreed on one ultimate goal for the season, though: To get more people excited about Buffalo State hockey.
“There’s going to be some exciting hockey games played at the Buffalo State Ice Arena,” Carriere said. “It’ll be in everyone’s best interest to make sure they don’t miss out.”
Brandon Schlager can be reached by email at schlager.record@live.com.