2008 Woodie Awards
Gonzo's Gongshow: Hockey ready to do work for future
Matt Chandik
Issue date: 9/17/07 Section: Sports
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Coming off the heels of the most successful season in school history, one might think the Golden Rams' hockey team would rest on their laurels and enjoy the fruits of their labor. On the contrary, the Rams have been hard at work this off-season in order to replicate their 25-8-1 dream season which included a final nunber seven national ranking, a conference regular season championship and numerous wins over top 10 opponents including Penn State, Iowa State, Delaware and Rhode Island.
Coach Mark Gonsalves has the team hard at work in practice, using some unorthodox training methods including alligator crawls, butt scooches and a variety of sprints to ensure the team's conditioning is at its peak when they open up against Delaware on Homecoming Weekend.
The Rams return a lot of firepower on offense this season. second-year player Jim Gehring returns after shattering the WCU single season goals record with 42 despite missing a few games due to injury. Gehring has an outside shot at scoring 50 goals this season, assuming he stays healthy.
Fourth-year player Eddie Devine will also be back, and is arguably the best playmaker in the conference. He tied the school single season record for most assists in a season with 39 helpers and also set a school record for the best plus/minus ratio with an astounding +31.
Third-year player Robert Bushman is the third member of this dynamic line and he will look to improve upon his excellent 53-point performance from last season. This line can go toe-to-toe with any other line in the country in terms of pure talent.
Third-year player Pat Johnson, a talented Canadian forward with incredible hands, joined the team last season in the second semester, and added 20 points in only 12 games. He figures to tally around 50-60 points this season, and will bring some scoring balance to a team that struggled to find consistent complimentary scoring last season.
Second-year player rookie Mike Longo figures to see plenty of ice time and will be looking to help fill the void of departed senior captain Rob Troxell. Troxell tallied 40 points last season and the team will need someone to step up to fill his spot.
Coach Mark Gonsalves has the team hard at work in practice, using some unorthodox training methods including alligator crawls, butt scooches and a variety of sprints to ensure the team's conditioning is at its peak when they open up against Delaware on Homecoming Weekend.
The Rams return a lot of firepower on offense this season. second-year player Jim Gehring returns after shattering the WCU single season goals record with 42 despite missing a few games due to injury. Gehring has an outside shot at scoring 50 goals this season, assuming he stays healthy.
Fourth-year player Eddie Devine will also be back, and is arguably the best playmaker in the conference. He tied the school single season record for most assists in a season with 39 helpers and also set a school record for the best plus/minus ratio with an astounding +31.
Third-year player Robert Bushman is the third member of this dynamic line and he will look to improve upon his excellent 53-point performance from last season. This line can go toe-to-toe with any other line in the country in terms of pure talent.
Third-year player Pat Johnson, a talented Canadian forward with incredible hands, joined the team last season in the second semester, and added 20 points in only 12 games. He figures to tally around 50-60 points this season, and will bring some scoring balance to a team that struggled to find consistent complimentary scoring last season.
Second-year player rookie Mike Longo figures to see plenty of ice time and will be looking to help fill the void of departed senior captain Rob Troxell. Troxell tallied 40 points last season and the team will need someone to step up to fill his spot.
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