Although the Lake Forest College Men’s Hockey team has experienced a rocky start, the team and coaching staff are hopeful that they can establish an upwards trend as the season goes on. “We are determined to have a strong second half and work toward our goal of taking home a national championship,” said Head Coach Patrick Kelliher.
After the team’s season came to an end in the National College Hockey Association Harris Cup quarterfinals last year, Kelliher believes his team will have to take a different approach to this year’s tournament, which includes “a path of steady growth.”
With only 18 returners and 15 first year players for the Foresters, it is safe to say that the team is fairly young. Kelliher said, “With so many young guys we find ourselves doing more teaching than we have in the past.” During extra day-time practice sessions, Assistant Coach Sean O’Malley works with many of the players to bring them up to speed.
“The best way for our guys to learn about the game is to go out there and experience it,” said Coach Kelliher. Coach Kelliher believes that seniors Ian Pichel ‘16, Robert Wiener ’16, and Alec DeAngelo ’16 can guide the team as role models as they have been involved in the Forester Men’s Hockey program for the past four years.
Assistant Captain Wiener thinks the recipe for success is to “create an atmosphere where players are focusing and routinely working together to achieve success.” Top performers for the team this year are Jack Lewis ’17, who has been a consistent offensive player, and Mark Esshaki ’17, who Coach Kelliher believes can be one of the best defensive players in the conference if he stays healthy.
All American goalkeeper Leo Podolsky ’16 also returns after his banner season this past year. Additionally, Kelliher mentioned the duo of Billy Kent ’18 and Shawn Nelson ’18, who seem to effortlessly find each other on the ice and compliment their abilities to put the puck in the back of the net.
Kent, who currently leads the team in goal scoring, believes that consistency is one of the biggest challenges facing the Foresters right now. “Everyone needs to develop a sense of discipline on the ice in order to play a full 60 minute game without losing the focus needed to become a winning team,” said Kent. He believes this can be remedied through proper preparation before games.
Off the ice, Coach Kelliher expects his athletes to be good citizens, to perform well in the classroom, and to contribute to the community here at Lake Forest College. Since the Men’s Hockey team has the highest GPA of a men’s team at Lake Forest College, Kelliher hopes his student- athletes continue their success in the classroom as well as on the ice.
