College Hockey:

This Week in the ECAC Northeast

As the boys in the ECAC NE get ready to shut it down for the holiday break, well take a look this week at perhaps the biggest surprise of the first half: the Westfield State Owls.

Winners of their last six games, the Owls own a 7-1-1 overall record and are tied for third place in the conference with a 5-1-1 mark.

First year coach Jerry Keefe is not totally surprised that this relatively green squad (this is their first year in the conference) is off to the start they are.

Things have gone well so far, Keefe noted. Coming in, you never know on that first night whats going to happen, but weve got some good ability on our team, and weve got some great leadership.

One of the leaders is the only senior on the team, forward Jeff Chillson, who Keefe feels plays the role of captain beautifully. Chillson also has 16 points in the first nine games, with four goals and 12 assists.

Chillson has a couple of younger players on the first line with him that Keefe is very fond of:

Dennis Zak is off to a great start. Hes got 12 goals in nine games, and hes a pretty talented hockey player, hes got great skills. Patrick Nelson is a freshman whos really come on now, and hes a real skilled forward.

Zak, a New Jersey native, is coming off of a week in which he scored four goals and tallied an assist in Westfield’s 7-2 victory that knocked Johnson & Wales from the unbeaten ranks in the conference, earning him ECAC NE Player of the Week honors. He currently has 12 goals and 11 assists for 23 points in just nine games. Nelson leads the team with 14 assists, along with seven goals. Five of those goals came in the 10-4 win over Framingham State this week.

Although the first line is lighting it up offensively, Keefe knows hes getting what he needs from the others.

Even guys that arent scoring right now for us are doing a good job, he said. Everyones trying to buy into what were trying to do. Were having success right now, and guys arent really concerned about their individual stuff, theyre more concerned about winning hockey games.

One of the unsung players so far is junior assistant captain Mile Muolo.

Hes been a little bit snake-bitten, his coach said of him. Hes played pretty well, hes the guy that goes out and blocks shots and wins face-offs, and wins the little battles for you. He does all of the little things that dont show up in the box score, but helps you win hockey games.

A couple of rookies making their presence felt are forwards A.J. Shiverdecker and Benni Shennach. Both are averaging nearly a point-per-game so far. Keefe sees a bright future for the pair.

I really feel that they can be two of the top freshmen in our league. Sometimes, as a freshman, it takes a few games to adjust and I think theyre starting to figure it out. Theyre probably not scoring as much as theyd like to score right now, but again, theyre doing all the little things to be successful. I think with those two guys, the scorings going to come.

After an opening night tie against Franklin Pierce, the Owls won their next contest against Plymouth state, then suffered their only loss to Nichols. Since then, they have gone 6-0, outscoring their opponents 38-16 along the way.

Freshman goalie Ian Wilson and sophomore Ray Monroe have been consistently good all year long, both splitting playing time almost equally. Their combined goals against average is 2.42 with an impressive cumulative save percentage of .916 — which is even more impressive when you look at the youth of the defense.

We dress three freshmen defensemen, two sophomores, and a junior, so were pretty young on the back end, Keefe said of his blue line corps. Theyve all been doing a great job for us, too.

Keefe has had a mantra since camp opened.

Ive been stressing with my guys, every day, were going to get better, he said. We really have kind of bought into that a little bit. Every kid out there is playing for me for the first time. Twenty eight guys, and everythings new to them. When youre doing things in practice, and working on teaching points, everythings new to them.

Each week, at the end of the week, we look back and say We had a good week in practice, we got better at this, we got better on our special teams. Just doing the little things, its all helped. It makes it a lot easier when youre winning, too, because guys tend to listen a little bit more when you having success.

The first year coach has an impressive hockey rsum. A four year player at Providence College from 1996-2000, he led the Friars in scoring in the 1998-99 season with 16 goals, 36 assists, and 52 points in just 35 games. He then played professionally for five years, before beginning his coaching career. He was an assistant coach at University of Massachusetts-Boston last season, and also coached the U.S. Select Under-17 team at the National Festival in St. Cloud, Minn., and Team New England at the USA Hockey Festival.

So far, Keefe is truly enjoying his position in western Massachusetts.

Its even better than I imagined, to be honest with you. Coachings something that I always wanted to do when I was finished playing. I love teaching the little parts of the game. I was fortunate as a player to have played for some really good coaches. Paul Pooley at Providence, Mike Hastings at Omaha, Dave Peters whos at Dartmouth now but was at Providence.

With guys like that, you learn so much from them. I felt like Paul Pooley is one of the smartest hockey guys youd ever speak to. I had an opportunity to play four years for him, and I think he really helped prepare his players for thinking about the game. You get an appreciation of the details of the game of hockey.

Pooley is now an associate coach under Jeff Jackson at top-ranked Notre Dame, and he is glad to see his former player do well so far.

Hes very passionate about the game of hockey, and I think thats what drives him to always be learning and being involved with the game, Pooley said. As a player he was very intelligent, he understood the game and understood the situations. I think he had a coaching mind when he was at Providence, and always dissected the game. When youd talk with him, he knew what you were talking about.

Pooley said he and Keefe still stay in touch.

Weve talked a few times over the last couple of weeks, and the last few years, since hes gotten into coaching. Its been good. Its nice as a coach to develop a relationship with one of your former players whos gotten into coaching. Its very rewarding.

Keefe realizes that he has help off of the ice as well.

The administration here has been phenomenal. They want us to have success, and theyve really worked with us on that. Its been fun so far, but again, you got to move forward. Weve had success in the first eight games, but weve got to play a certain way to win.