By Brooke Killgore, Head Beat Writer
SYRACUSE, NY — The Syracuse Men’s Hockey program has released its official roster for the 2024-25 season. After a three-day tryout last week, the Orange selected 32 players. Of the total number, eight newcomers will join 24 returners on the ice this fall.
The 19 forwards for SU this season are as follows:
Jack Alecia – Junior – Fairfield, CT
Brock Alvers – Senior – River Forest, IL
Isaac Arnold – Junior – Halifax, NS
Tanner Cole – Freshman – Falmouth, ME
Kade Cook – Sophomore – Fort Covington, NY
Brendan Duffy – Sophomore – Queensbury, NY
Aiden Emery – Freshman – West Hartford, CT
Cam Gaffney – Freshman – East Greenwich, RI
Max Gargurevich – Senior – Natick, MA
Dylan Goldfarb – Sophomore – Summit, NJ
Sam Hutchinson (C) – Graduate Student – Dorchester, MA
Gabe La Porta – Sophomore – Niskayuna, NY
Anthony Larkin – Senior – Canton, MA
Jack McCormick – Freshman – Baiting Hollow, NY
Eli Pendergrass – Freshman – Saco, ME
Conor Rolston – Freshman – Los Angeles, CA
Anthony Solt – Senior – Broomfield, CO
Evan Vassilovski – Senior – Wayland, MA
Jack Wren – Sophomore – Saratoga, NY
The 10 defensemen for SU this season are as follows:
Jake Brown – Sophomore – St. Louis, MO
Sean Caddo – Junior – Chester, NJ
Connor Chesner (A) – Junior – Aspen, CO
Dan McCarthy – Sophomore – Ridgewood, NJ
Carter Rugg – Sophomore – Hingham, MA
Lucas Skolnick – Senior – Millburn, NJ
Ryan Thomas – Freshman – Chicago, IL
Jared Topf – Senior – Montclair, NJ
Jacob VonTersch – Junior – Luverne, MN
Ryan Williams – Sophomore – Denver, CO
The three goaltenders for SU this season are as follows:
John Angelino – Junior – Marblehead, MA
A.J. Finta – Junior – Brantford, CT
Chris Spano – Senior – Yonkers, NY
Indicates new player.
For the full roster and player bios click here.
Head Coach Chris Timmons is ready for his fourth season behind the SU bench. He will bring back a familiar staff for the upcoming season. Jordan Alhart and Jon Lauer will serve as the team’s assistant coaches and Allison Small will return as the team’s Goaltending Coach.
Overview
The men’s program welcomes back a bout of familiar faces, with the addition of six new forwards and 2 new defenseman. Eight seniors will play their final season in orange and blue.
Oh Captain, My Captain
To start, the star-studded first line of Hutchinson–Alvers–Alecia is back for their final skate. Hutchinson, retaining his “C,” looks to hit the 100-point mark in his fourth season with the team. The Dorchester native is no stranger to the achievement: the forward etched his name into Boston Latin High School’s record books with over 100 career points in high school.
Last season, Hutchinson, Alvers and Alecia led the team with the most points, 78 combined. Between the three, Hutchinson held the highest number with 32 points (16 goals and 16 assists). Alecia followed with 25 points (14 goals and 11 assists) and Alvers sealed the deal with 21 (7 goals and 14 assists).
Fresh Princes of Tennity
While SU’s first line is back this season, the Orange unfortunately lost its second-best trio. Sophomore forwards Brett Edgren, Matt Mahoney and Evan Applegate are not returning for the 2024-2025 season. Edgren was named to the Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League’s (ESCHL) All-Conference Rookie Team last spring. The Massachusetts native was SU’s second-highest scorer with 26 points (11 goals and 15 assists).
However, the Orange added eight new skaters.
In mid-July, SU announced that freshman defenseman Ryan Thomas committed to the program. The righty from Chicago most recently skated for the St. Cloud Norseman in the North American Hockey League (NAHL) and finished with 2 goals and five assists in 25 games played. Thomas joins recently selected sophomore, Ryan Williams, as the new faces in the defensive zone.
On the forward side, the Orange welcome; Tanner Cole; Aiden Emery; Cam Gaffney; Jack McCormick; Eli Pendergrass and Conor Rolston.
Crease-Keeping
Timmons and the coaching staff kept the goaltending unit familiar this season, with Chris Spano, A.J. Finta and John Angelino all returning to their respective roles.
Last season, Spano took on seven games, finishing with a positive 4-3 record overall. With 400 minutes under his belt, the Yonkers native saved 195 of 225 shots, ending the season with a .871 SV%. In 2023, Spano played eight games, going 1-7 with 29 goals allowed and turning away 208 shots on 237 attempts, for a .878 SV%.
In turn, Finta was the starting goaltender for 18 of the 28 games, where he went 6-10-2. After 1,088 minutes of play, the Connecticut native allowed 67 goals, 3.69 GAA, 575 saves off 642 shots, and finished with a .896 SV%. In 2022-23, Finta sat under former goaltender Nikolaos Manousos and only played eight games and went 1-7 with 29 goals allowed, defending 208 saves off 237 shots, with a .878 SV%.
Angelino solidified himself as a steady goaltender in his first collegiate season. Taking the ice for the first time against Oswego State, the sophomore defended 31 of 32 shots and recorded a .969 SV% in 60 minutes. Overall, Angelino finished 2-1 after three games with 10 goals allowed and saved 74 of 84 shots alongside a .881 SV%
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The SU Men’s ACHA program is set to return on Friday, September 20 and Saturday, September 21 with an exhibition series against ACHA DII opponent, Clarkson. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. respectively.
The season will kick off the following weekend at Tennity against Robert Morris on Friday, September 27th and Saturday September 28th.
All home games are played at the Tennity Ice Pavilion on Syracuse University’s campus and are free to attend for students and the general public. Home games are also broadcast live for free on the SU Hockey Network.
Contact me:
X: @BKillgore13
Email: bnkillgo@syr.edu
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