Men’s Hockey Starts Season with Albertus Magnus, Salem State

SUFFOLK vs. ALBERTUS MAGNUS
Date Time Venue Video Stats Program Series	Friday, Oct. 27 4:00 PM Porrazzo Rink East Boston, Mass. Suffolk Playsight GoSuffolkRams.com Digital Program First-Meeting

SUFFOLK vs. SALEM STATE
Date Time Venue Video Stats Program Series Last Meeting Last Suffolk Win Streak	Saturday, Oct. 28 2:50 PM Porrazzo Rink East Boston, Mass. Suffolk Playsight GoSuffolkRams.com Digital Program 3-2-2 Jan. 10, 2023, W, 3-2 Same W3

BOSTON – Suffolk men's hockey has an action-packed opening weekend with Albertus Magnus and Salem State set to stop by Louis E. Porrazzo Memorial Skating Rink. The Rams will face the Falcons in their season opener Friday, Oct. 27 at 4 p.m., before battling the Vikings Saturday, Oct. 28 at 2:50 p.m.

SOCIAL SAYINGS
Ram Nation has a chance to keep up with all the latest news and notes on Suffolk Athletics, its student-athletes and teams by following the Rams on  Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Fans are encouraged to use the hashtag #RamNation a behind-the-scene look at Suffolk Athletics.

WELCOME BACK
Although there are just 14 Rams returners back in blue-and-gold this season. The skaters that are back on Suffolk's squad were responsible for 55.3 percent of the team's 46-offense last season. 

Ryan Webb, last season's leader in assists (9) and points (14) is one of three returning skaters who found the back of the net five times a year ago along with Devin Lowe (5g, 5a) and Cole Scott (5g, 3a).

Phil Decresce (3g, 3a), Will MacNeil (1g, 4a), Kyle Valiquette (3g, 2a), Samuel Rand (4a), Tyler Anastasi (1g, 2a), PJ Donahue (3a), Olle Akermark (2a), Thomas Dempsey (2a) and Tyler Borys (1g), Adam McNabney and Alex Pratt added depth to last season's line chart and look to the same this season.

RAMS ROOKIES
Shawn McEachern, head coach of Suffolk men's hockey, has announced 15 new members have joined the Rams' ranks for the 2023-24 campaign. The group, one of the largest recruiting classes in recent history, features 14 true freshmen and one sophomore transfer.   

MORE READING: Rams Rookies: 15 to Join Men's Hockey in 2023-24 

GEOGRPAHY 101
Suffolk's 29-man roster is comprised of national and international student-athletes.

U.S. natives are mainly Bay State locals with 11 Rams calling Massachusetts home. A quartet hails from New Jersey. Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, and Rhode Island see two natives apiece on the Rams' roster, while California, Colorado, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia are all represented by one student-athlete each.

The international skates flew in from the Sweden in senior captain Olle Akermark.

CLASS RANKS
Suffolk's squad is newcomer heavy with 10 true freshmen and nine members of the sophomore class. Three seniors, a pair of juniors and one graduate student make up the upperclassmen.  

PUCK POSITIONS
When broken down by position, Suffolk has 15 forwards, a dozen defensemen and two netminders.  

RAMS RINGLEADERS
Men's hockey coach Shawn McEachern has unveiled that the upperclassmen twosome of Olle Akermark and Devin Lowe will don the "C" on their Suffolk sweaters for the 2023-24 campaign.  

MORE READING: Akermark, Lowe Return as Men's Hockey Captains in 2023-24 

COACH'S BOX
Long-time NHLer Shawn McEachern begins his second season as the Rams head coach. A year ago, the Stanley Cup Champion became the first-ever full-time head coach in Suffolk men's hockey history. 

McEachern will be aided by second-year Assistant Coaches Nick Roberto and Steve Sheridan. Ed Walsh joined the fold as a Goaltending Coach this season, while Cody Ferreiro volunteers his time as the Rams' Strength & Conditioning Coach. 

OPENING ACT

• The Rams are 10-12-1 in season debuts back to 1999. 
• Suffolk looks for its first season-opening win since lifting the lid on the 2020-21 campaign with a 5-3 triumph over Nichols Feb. 28, 2021. 
• The Rams will put the curtain back on their schedule as the home team for the fourth consecutive campaign. 
• Suffolk is 7-7-0 in front of its home crowd in the first game of the season.
• The blue-and-gold has yet to win a season opener in the Shawn McEachern era or when it lifted the lid on its campaign at Louis E. Porrazzo Memorial Skating Rink. 

PRESEASON POSITION
Two days away from puck drop of the 2023-24 season debut, Suffolk men's hockey was projected to finish seventh in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Preseason Poll, in a vote by the league's eight head coaches.

MORE READING: Men's Hockey Selected Seventh in CCC Preseason Poll

FALCONS FACTS
Albertus Magnus is a young program in just its fourth varsity season. The Falcons are coming off a 17-7 year.  

Although AMC lost its top scorer to graduation, a pair of 20-plus point producers in Tim Manning (11g, 10a) and Sam Anderson (11g, 9a) are back for the Falcons. 

The Falcons goalies have a wealth of experience as both Logan Bateman and Lucas Ehrlich opted in for fifth years. Bateman compiled a 1.97 GAA and .932 save percentage last season with a 13-4-0 record as the usual starter.   

INSIDE THE SERIES

• Suffolk and Albertus Magnus will tangle in a regular-season contest for the first time.
• The Rams and Falcons have matched up in exhibition outings before. 

EYES ON THE GAME
 

VIKINGS VIEW
Salem State is under new leadership for the first time since 1981 as Vikings' alum Chris MacInnis took over the program from Bill O'Neill.  

The team's three leading point producers from last season return in all-region and all-conference performer Eric Larsson (17g, 16), Keagan O'Donoghue (11g, 20a) and 2023 MASCAC Rookie of the Year Zack Dill (13g, 17a), as well as fifth-year senior captain Luke Pepin (1g, 6a). 

Three of the Vikings four goaltenders from a year are back including Aaron Mercer (4.02 GAA, .891 save percentage), Dean Hahn (3.95 GAA, .889 save percentage) and Hunter Thomas (5.20 GAA, .873 save percentage). 

INSIDE THE SERIES

• The Suffolk, Salem State series is fairly new, with the Rams and Vikings meeting seven times over the last nine years. 
• The Rams have won three games in a row over the Vikings to move to 3-2-2 all-time against SSU. 
• Suffolk defeated Salem State in the last meeting, 3-2, Jan. 10, 2023, to be unbeaten versus the Vikings under Shawn McEachern's guidance.
• The blue-and-gold and Vikings have gone into overtime twice. Both OT outings in the series ended in a stalemate. 
• The last time Suffolk and Salem State went into overtime was Jan. 3, 2018. That game finished in a 2-2 draw. 
• At home, Suffolk is 2-1-1 versus SSU. 
• Suffolk will host Salem State for the first time under McEachern's guidance and first since Dec. 10, 2019, a 4-3 Rams' win.
• On the road, the Rams boast a 1-0-1 ledger against the Vikings. 
• Suffolk and SSU met on a neutral ice once, the first-ever meeting, Jan. 2, 2015. The Rams fell in that game, 4-1. 
• There has never been a shutout in a game between Suffolk and Salem State. 

MORE INFO: Suffolk vs. Salem State – All-Time Series 

EYES ON THE GAME
 

SUFFOLK'S SCHEDULE
Suffolk gets its Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) calendar underway next weekend, Nov. 3-4 with a home-and-home series versus Salve Regina. The Rams will first visit the Seahawks Friday for a 7 p.m. battle, before hosting SRU Saturday at 2:50 p.m.