By Will Gilson, Currier Times Staff///

This past season both Curry’s men’s and women’s ice hockey programs had historic runs.

MEN’S HOCKEY:

For the men’s team, they ended their regular season with a 20-4-1 record and a Commonwealth Coast Conference record of 15-3-0. They entered the CCC playoffs, but were defeated in the semifinal round by Salve Regina with a final score of 7-2. However, the team was able to secure an at-large spot in the NCAA Tournament, where they pulled off a 3-0 win against The State University of New York College at Geneseo, advancing them to the Elite Eight.

They played the defending National Champions, Hobart–the team that ousted them last yearr–and made history, even though they came up short 4-3. The game went into four overtimes, making it the second longest game in Division 3 History. In addition, Curry goalie, Shane Soderwall, tied an NCAA D3 record for most saves in a game, an astonishing 98 saves.

Peter Roundy, the men’s Head Hockey Coach, is proud of the run the team had this season.

“We have officially solidified ourselves amongst the best teams in the country at the D3 level,” Roundy said. “As a group, we wanted to gain national recognition, but we knew that we had to earn it and I believe we did that with our performance this season.”

Players on the team share the same feelings as Roundy. Forward Sophomore, Killian Rowlee, an Accounting major, has noticed the team’s strength during his time on the team.

“What we have accomplished in the past two seasons has been great,” Rowlee said. “It is exciting to see where we will be able to take Curry hockey in the upcoming seasons.”

Roundy also mentions the leadership contributed to the Colonels’ run.

“I think the leadership combined with our depth at all three positions,” Roundy said. “We were able to roll four lines on a nightly basis, along with seven defensemen and we had great goaltending.”

But one of the key stats of the season has been the sensational play of goaltender, Shane Soderwall, a first-year Business Administration major. Soderwall’s biggest night on the ice was his performance during the overtimes in the Hobart game.

“After the second overtime, I was basically running on instinct,” Soderwall said. “You don’t even realize how long you have been playing or how many saves you’ve made when you are so focused on the present.”

Soderwall made numerous saves in the net throughout the season, but his NCAA record-tying 98 saves during the Hobart game was the icing on top.

“It’s definitely pretty cool,” Soderwall said. “Like I said before, you aren’t focused on those kinds of things during the game.”

The freshman was also named Rookie and Goaltender of the Year during his first year with the Colonels. “It is definitely a testament to how well we did as a whole this year,” Soderwall said. “Without team success, there cannot be individual success, so I am grateful to be a part of such a great group of guys.”

Other team members also believe the team bond is strong. Freshman forward, Wilhelm Patriksson, a Business major, mentions the off-the-ice relationship as a key strength.

“I think our biggest strengths is the guys we have in our locker room,” Patriksson said. “This is the tightest teams I’ve been on and everyone wants to play for the guy next to you which is more important than skill in my book.”

Roundy is optimistic the Men’s Ice Hockey program will keep improving in the future.

“The talent, commitment, and drive from the team is in place,” Roundy said. “Also, we proved we can play with the best teams in the country, and I am excited for the future of the program.”

WOMEN’S HOCKEY

This past season saw the Curry College Women’s Ice Hockey team make it to the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship for the first time, after an upset against nationally ranked Endicott College. They faced Western New England University with the Golden Bears coming away with a 5-3 win over the Colonels. However, this was huge for the only three-year-old varsity athletic program.

Head Coach Kelly Rider, also the Senior Woman Administrator (SWA) and Academic Liaison for the team, says that despite the loss, it was great to see the team make it so far.

“It was exciting to make it to the Championship game in just our third season,” Rider said. “The loss still stings, but we return the majority of our team and we will come back even stronger and with more experience next season.”

Rider also says that the age and maturity of the players is the biggest difference this season compared to the past two.

“We were a team of all first years the first season, and it’s hard to make up for the difference in physical strength, experience, and maturity compared to teams that had five classes,” Rider said. “Each year we’ve added great people to our program.”

Players believe this to be a major strength for the team as well. Left Wing, Grayson Goolgasian, a junior Public Relations major, anticipates this growth impacting the team next season.

“With only losing two grad students, we basically still have our whole team from this year,” Goolgasian said. “Each season will get harder and harder because other teams are also building their programs too, but we know what we need to get done next year.”

Rider also mentions the team demonstrated a lot of resilience and grit over the course of the season, especially towards the end.

“The last weekend of the regular season we tied a game with 9 seconds left to stay alive and then tied the #11 team in the country to knock out the defending CCC Champions and clinch a playoff spot,” Rider said. “We then shutout two teams, including the regular season champions, on the road in playoffs on our way to the Championship game.”

Various team members also have moments that show the teamwork and resilience the team had this season. Center Hannah Berkowitz, a junior Psychology major, says that the win over nationally ranked #13 Endicott was her biggest highlight.

“We played our best game of the season and as a team we could just feel all our hard work paying off for us and I think for many of us it brought to light our reason why we love the sport so much,” Berkowitz said. “We came together and worked as hard as we could finding our grit, and to get the win out of it is something I won’t forget.”

Rider is also optimistic about what next season will bring. “The thing that we are looking for most next season is to continue to build from where we left off and apply all the lessons we learned and experience we gained,” Rider said.

The team also shares Rider’s hopes for the future. Goalie Soleil Archambeault, a graduate student with a Master’s of Business Administration, says that the team will continue to improve.

“Every year we have consistently gotten better and it has shown not only with how we play but with our stats,” Archambeault said. “While I won’t be at Curry next year I’m looking forward to watching the team play from wherever I end up.”

The Women’s Ice Hockey varsity athletics program was established in the fall of 2021. Curry joined CCC members Western New England, University of New England, Suffolk University, Endicott College, Nichols College, and Salve Regina University to feature a Division three Women’s Ice Hockey program. The Colonels ended the 2023-2024 season with a record of 11 wins, 12 losses, and 5 ties.