College Hockey:

This Week in the ECAC Northeast

People hadnt even carved their turkeys yet this year when the Johnson & Wales University hockey team had earned their fourth win.

Last year, folks were making New Years Eve plans when the Wildcats finally garnered win number four. With his team 4-0 in league play, and 4-0-1 overall, coach Eric Noack cant help but to be pleased so far.

I think its just simply getting the bounces right now and weve gotten some solid goaltending from J.R. Woodland, he said. Thats really all it is. Weve got some young guys who are really trying and really skating hard, and weve got some bounces.

Thats the big difference between this year and last year. Last year, we just couldnt buy it. There was nothing we could do at times to get those wins. Weve got some pretty good freshmen, but certainly, the big thing is that were getting some fortunate bounces and fortunate calls.

In the last two Wildcat wins, fortuitous calls late in each game led to opportunistic power play game winners. Against Southern New Hampshire University on November 22, a Penmen penalty in overtime led to a Kevin Marchesi game winner with 36 seconds left in the game.

Two nights prior to that in Boston, Suffolk University took a penalty late in the game and Joe Simeone notched the game winner with eight seconds remaining. These wins have helped Johnson & Wales stay tied for second, along with Wentworth and UMass-Dartmouth.

Are we creating those penalties? Noack wondered. I dont know. Maybe we are, maybe because its were skating hard, who knows? But thats really it. There are no secret systems, no secret recruiting. I dont think its the coaching, I really dont. Im not doing anything differently than I did last year.

One of the freshmen that Noack is pleased with is Jeremiah Ketts.

Hes done a real nice job, hes got a good set of hands and he sees the ice pretty well. Hes been doing pretty well for us on the power play, also.

Ketts leads the squad so far with one goal and six assists through the first five games. Fellow freshmen classmates Luke Van Asch, Joe Sullivan, and Shane Viola have wasted little time in getting on the score sheet as well.

A couple of veterans who are off to hot starts are forwards Joe Simeone and Kevin Marchesi. Simeone, a sophomore, already has equaled his output of five goals from last year and Marchesi is already halfway to his 10 points registered a season ago, with three goals and two assists so far.

On defense, freshman Tony Gallante and Domenic Recchia have impressed Noack so far, and Jimmy Van Asch, who transferred from Hamline University, has caught his coachs eye.

Hes logging a lot of minutes and doing a nice job. Noack said of Van Asch.

Noack knows he can also count on the experience of junior Shane Poulin, and seniors Tyler Bickford and Mike OMalley, with the latter averaging a point per game right now.

Still, there is plenty of hockey ahead.

We just have a nice mix right now, Noack said. The one thing I keep telling the guys is Hey, its four games. Were playing 25 this year. We could end up 4-21 pretty easily.

The sixth year coach is also optimistic that the fast start in November could lead to more hockey in March.

Were just looking to find a way into the playoffs somehow. Were really not trying to look into why [they are off to a fast start] but what were trying to embrace is Hey, lets keep this thing going. Lets really embrace it, ride it a little bit, and see where it takes us. Lets not try to figure it out and then recreate it again. Lets just go with it, and hopefully itll take us where we want to go.

I think the important thing is that if it doesnt continue through Christmas, or through whenever, not to get frustrated. If we lose a game before Christmas, hey, just keep plugging away. We have a good thing going here, but were not going to go undefeated, thats for sure.

In their three games prior to the Christmas break, the Wildcats will take on Stonehill, Westfield State, and Franklin Pierce.

Noack is also in a solid position off the ice as well.

He serves as the universitys community outreach coordinator, as well as the CHAMPS Life Skills Coordinator, which is an NCAA initiative designed to reach each student-athlete based on his or her individual needs. The CHAMPS program focuses on the individual as a whole: academically, athletically, and personally. It also focuses on the changing needs and skills needed in the years during and after college.

Were a big community service university here, explained Noack about some of his outreach duties. Alan Sean Feinstein [a Rhode Island philanthropist] donates money to the university, and all of our student athletes are mandated to do some form of community service, upwards to 15-20 hours per person, every year. Im out in the community and I find projects for them, whether its with Special Olympics, or a local youth hockey program. We do things at elementary schools, also.

One of Noacks off-ice colleagues at Johnson & Wales is also a coaching rival. Lou Izzi, head coach of Nichols College, serves as the Compliance Officer at J&W.

We talk hockey a lot, Noack said. Hes a great guy and obviously has a good program.