Men's hockey prepares for inaugural playoff run

By Cecile Nguyen

The men's hockey team will be heading to their very first playoff series this Friday in Bakersfield as the No. 3 seed.

"We're going to be the No. 3 seed in the North, though at one point, we were fighting to be No. 1 or 2," captain Steve Barbieri said. "The playoffs are going to be a challenge; we're hoping to upset a team in the first round and make it as far as we can and send a few players to the All-Star Game in the process."

The Broncos finished this season -- their first official year as part of the Pacific Collegiate Hockey Association -- with an overall record of 8-10 and a 7-5 record against their North division opponents.

"For a first-year program, we are one of the better, if not the best, first-year programs in the West Coast or the nation," said Barbieri. "A lot of first-year programs have problems getting good players or a lot of talent, but we have a good group of freshmen coupled with our returning veterans."

Sophomore teammate Tom Sullivan agreed.

"I think it was a successful first season," Sullivan said. "We started out slowly, but towards the end we started to play a lot better and put together a nice win streak."

One of the team's biggest games of the season was an upset on the road of top-seeded UC Davis on Nov. 17.

"We were on a four-game losing streak at the time," said sophomore Charlie Clark. "It was a very physical game but a great win for us."

Offensively, Sullivan and freshman Ian Gonnella led the Broncos in points.

"Both those guys have been our offensive catalysts. The team feeds off what they bring to the game every night," said Barbieri.

The Broncos have also gotten a boost from goaltender Chris McNamara, who has started all of the Broncos' games in the net this season.

Despite the recent success, injuries could hamper the Broncos as they head into the playoffs. The club recently lost Sullivan to a broken collarbone for the remainder of the year.

"It's tough to not be able to play hockey, something I love," Sullivan said. "But the team's done really well since I've been out -- they're 4-2."

The team's top defenseman, Alex Nelson, also continues to play, despite battling a nagging shoulder injury.

"It's difficult to lose your star players and still try to stay positive every night, and stay in the right mindset to play hockey," Barbieri said. "But we've done a good job of it, and a few kids have stepped up and played very well."

Barbieri said the outlook for the club is very promising and hopes that the program can be a Division II team within the next five years.

"Although we lost pretty badly, one of our biggest games was against Utah State," Barbieri said, referring to the 11-0 shutout loss. "They have a program that draws kids from everywhere, from Canada and a few internationally. That team and game was sort of a barometer of where we want to be in the next five years in terms of talent."

Despite the youth of the program, Barbieri still believes that the season was a success.

"All in all, the season has gone pretty well. The guys get along extremely well, and we have a good time," said Barbieri. "We can't do much playing club hockey -- we aren't going to the NHL -- but we take it seriously."

By Cecile Nguyen at (408) 551-1918 or cnguyen5@scu.edu.