Men's Ice Hockey | 10/25/2018 1:43:00 PM

FREDONIA, N.Y. – Fredonia men's hockey opens its 2018-19 season Friday against the Chatham Cougars in Steele Hall. Game time is 7 p.m.

The Blue Devils were 13-11-4 last season and advanced to the SUNYAC championship game, where they lost to Geneseo after playoff wins over Plattsburgh and Oswego. Fredonia played all three post-season games on the road. Jeff Meredith returns for his 31^st season as head coach. He is the reigning SUNYAC Coach of the Year.

The Blue Devils return 21 players: 13 forwards, 6 defensemen, and 2 goaltenders. There are 10 newcomers, including 8 freshmen, 1 sophomore, and 1 junior.

The Blue Devils hail from 10 states (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania), three Canadian provinces (Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec), and one European country (Sweden). California, New York and Pennsylvania have the most representation with four players each.

Not a single Blue Devil made the 2017-18 SUNYAC All-Conference Team.

MEREDITH MUSINGS – Head Coach Jeff Meredith on season outlook: "Very excited to get going. Last March's SUNYAC Championship game left us with a 'hunger' that motivated us in the spring, summer and rolling into this fall." … Getting off to a good start: "Two orders of business this weekend. One is to establish our identity immediately on Friday and the second which goes along with that is to have a fast start and get that first goal." ... Playing at home: "Steele Hall is one of the smaller ice surfaces in the league and we want to play physical in that smaller confines." … Playing Saturday at Chatham: "Once Friday is over, we will have another conversation about being successful on the road which we did in two playoff games last year, but not as much during the season. We have to fix that in order to be a top team in our league." … Weight-room returns?: "We had several players have very good summers in strength training and conditioning and are excited to see them compete with that added advantage."

10 WITH 10 -- Last year's leading scorer, Sam Wilbur, was one of four seniors on the 2017-18 roster. Wilbur had 29 points (12 g/17 a), followed by 10 returners with 10 points or more. Jacob Haynes had 18 points, Victor Tracy and Jimmy Morgan 17 each, Ryan Dunn 16, Mike Freeman 13, Ryan Dunner 12, Todd Schauss 11, and Bobby Polachek and Josh Biasillo 10 each ... Haynes was chosen to the 2018 SUNYAC All-Tournament Team.

VETS ON DEFENSE -- Freeman was the top scorer among last year's returning defensemen. He and Tommy Martyn appeared in 26 games each, while Sean Leonard (22 games), Brandon Spognardi (21 games), and Max Blitz (17 games) saw the next-most duty among the blue-liners.

ROSEN BLOOMED -- In goal, Anton Rosen appeared in 19 games and posted a 11-4-2 record with a 2.77 goals against average. He's 14-6-3 over two seasons with a 2.95 GAA ... Eric Bogart appeared in 13 games last year and in 45 games over three seasons (16-22-2 record; 3.03 GAA). 

NEWBIES -- The class of newcomers includes 4 forwards, 5 defensemen, and 1 goaltender. One of the defenseman, junior Charlie Manley, played previously at RPI.  

LEADERSHIP -- Freeman is this year's team captain. Morgan and Jelinski are alternate captains ... Freeman won the 2018 SUNYAC Elite 20 Award for having the highest grade-point average among all players at the championship site.

BLUE BUNTING -- Pre-game introductions Friday will include a spotlight, a smoke machine, and an appearance by Freddy the Blue Devil … a mini-game featuring Northern Chautauqua County Youth Hockey Association players is scheduled for the first intermission … Chuck-a-Puck is back this year after an absence of several seasons. Sales will take place until just before the second intermission …Also back is the P-Dubs pizza giveaway … The Blue Devil Booster Club Player of Game will be announced this season after each home game. The chosen player will be announced after the handshake line and will receive a commemorative puck.

BOOSTER PASSES -- Fredonia Blue Devil Booster Club members will be able to pick up their season passes at the Steele Hall ticket office, which opens 6 p.m. Friday and will remain open through the end of the first period. Booster Club memberships forms will also be available upon request or by visiting https://give-to-fredonia.formstack.com/forms/bluedevils … Single-game admission prices are $5 for adults, $2 for children. Students with a valid SUNY Fredonia ID card are admitted free.

GAME COVERAGE -- Friday's game and all home games will be webcast on Blue Devil TV (click HERE) via Boxcast. There is a $5 charge for high-definition video. Standard definition is free … Friday's game will be broadcast locally on campus & community station WCVF (88.9 FM) and simulcast on the Fredonia Radio Systems web page (www.fredoniaradio.com) … Get home game live stats all season at http://www.fredonia.edu/athletics/xlive/hockey/xlive.htm.

THE OPPONENT -- Chatham, located in Pittsburgh, Pa., is in only its second season as a NCAA varsity program and a member of the United College Hockey Conference … The Cougars were 2-20-3 in their inaugural season, including a 2-2 tie at Steele Hall on Nov. 11, 2017 … Head Coach Michael Callan dressed 22 freshmen last season, of which 18 return as sophomores. There are eight more freshmen on this year's roster … Top scorers last year were three players with 10 points each, among them two returners: Chris Lutz and Clay Plyler … In goal, Matt Calas appeared in 7 games and Trever Ralph in 10 games last season. Calas posted a 2-2-2 mark with a 3.24 GAA.

MOST RECENT MEETING -- One of Lutz's six goals came with 1:47 left in the Nov. 11 game and stood as the game-tying tally. Meanwhile, Calas stopped 59 of 61 shots. He allowed goals by Biasillo and Colin Valentine, while 2017-18 Devil senior goalie Nick Harper made 26 saves. The game was scoreless after the first period. Each team had one goal in the second period, one goal in the third.

NEXT MEETING -- The Blue Devils and Cougars will complete their home-and-home series Saturday night at Chatham, also a 7 p.m. start.