It was a game the Bengals weren’t supposed to win.
The team was trapped in the middle of a nine-game losing streak, set to host an Elmira squad that had won two National Championships and was runner up for two more since the 2001-02 season.
The Soaring Eagles arrived with a 16-5-2 overall record and a spotless 25-0-0 mark all-time against the Bengals.
Bengals’ forward Kailyn Murray scored with less than two minutes to play in overtime to give the Bengals their first victory over the hockey powerhouse in program’s history.
“It was a storybook weekend,” Burke said, noting the magnitude of the win and the effect it had on himself and his players. “We focused on that victory for the rest of the season. Now we have a good core group in place who all have that great taste (of the win) in their mouth.”
That core group of players remains relatively intact as the Bengals head into their 2011-12 season after returning nearly every member of last season’s starting squad.
One major difference, though, comes in the form of depth.
The Bengals will have a much shorter bench this season after cuts trimmed the roster from 24 players to just 16 in a move Burke said will ultimately be beneficial to the team.
“We wanted to consolidate things,” he said. “I felt it would be better to take the ‘less is more’ approach. It’s a small roster, but it’s a roster we believe in.”
Despite the short roster, Burke said he noticed a lot of progress in many of his players down the stretch last year and expects that, along with the contribution of transfers from other programs, to help the team towards a successful campaign.
One of the transfers Burke said he’ll look towards this season is sophomore goaltender Jordan Lee, who joins the Bengals after posting a 2.76 goals allowed average and a .904 save percentage in eight wins for the University of Southern Maine.
“Jordan has some big skates to fill,” Burke said referring to the play of former goalie Alyssa Koniar, who started in net for the Bengals the past three seasons. “She has a lot of potential. She’s our future in goal.”
In addition to having Lee in net, the Bengals will have to find a way to boost their offense, which ranked eighth in the East Coast Athletic Conference West last year.
Senior forward Christine Williams will be looked upon in that regard after leading the Bengals with 16 points (10 g, 6 a) and the entire nation in shorthanded goals (4).
Also figuring into the scoring will be fellow senior Brianna Murphy, who tallied 13 points last year, and sophomore forward Melissa Ash, who Burke said has made huge strides in the offseason but will miss the beginning of the season with an undisclosed injury.
“I think we have a really good, well-rounded team this season,” Williams said. “We have a few holes we’ll need to fill, but all our young players gained so much experience last year.”
On defense, junior Jen Seguin will lead a corps of blue-liners that features fellow junior Lauren Mallo and senior Leah Knott.
The Bengals opened up their season last weekend, splitting a pair of home games against the University of Massachusetts-Boston, winning 3-1 on Friday before falling to the Beacons, 4-2, on Saturday.
“We were hoping to take both games against UMass but overall it was a good start to our year,” Burke said. “We have a good schedule ahead of us. The future is so hard to predict but we have a great chance of getting to .500 this season.”
Knott shared those expectations, but said she’s already put last weekend behind her in preparation to this week’s home games against Potsdam on Friday and Saturday.
“We’ve been working really hard in practice (since the loss),” she said. “We let one get away but now we’re focused on Potsdam. We’re looking to take both games this weekend.”
Burke’s goal to hit the .500-mark on the season would be a big accomplishment but is realistic given that the team finished with a 9-14-1 record for the second straight season and has never been .500 since joining the ECAC West in 2001.
The ECAC has traditionally been a tough conference for the Bengals, as it is home to powerhouses such as the Rochester Institute of Technology, who is ranked No. 2 in Division III, Plattsburgh, Oswego and Elmira. The Bengals have a 7-72-2 record against the four throughout the program’s history.
Despite being considered underdogs for the conference title, Burke said he’d be satisfied with a playoff berth.
“We’ve never made the playoffs so that’s a good place to start,” he said. “We’re not favored, but that’s why games aren’t played on paper.
“We’re just going to go out there and play the best brand of hockey possible,” he continued. “The wins and losses will be a byproduct of that.”
Brandon Schlager can be reached by email at schlager.record@live.com.