From Maryville Saints Athletics
ST. LOUIS – Maryville University M1 hockey added 14 newcomers for the 2023-24 campaign after their third consecutive ACHA National Tournament appearance last season.
Of the 14 student-athletes joining the program, 11 are freshmen recruits and three are transfers. The transfers joining the ranks are Hunter Floris (Iowa State), Josh Olson (Missouri State), and Kyle McNair (NCAA D3). The list of freshmen includes Brett Ursulak (BCHL), Parker Sawka (AJHL), Jack Henderson (KIJHL), Campbell McLean (KIJHL), Patrick Ferrie (KIJHL), Dylan Dekoe (GOHJL), Brodie McIntyre (GOJHL), Zach Lamotte (USPHL), Benji Rutkai (USPHL), Logan Gallaher (SIJHL), and Max Rath (SIJHL).
Additionally, 11 of the 14 newcomers are Canadian with two coming in from California. Zach Lamotte is the lone recruit hailing from Minnesota.
“We believe in what we are doing and the 16 returners embody everything good about Maryville hockey,” said Head Men’s Hockey Coach John Hogan. “With that being said, the last mile of a race is the hardest and that is where we have arrived in our evolution. Because we believe in our returners, we went all in on this group adding this incoming class. We wanted pushers and pullers top to bottom to create as competitive an environment as we have ever had. It will be a dog fight every day to make the weekend lineup.”
Maryville is coming off a 20-11 overall record in 2022-23 before qualifying for the ACHA National Tournament. They were seeded ninth and played eighth-seeded Indiana Tech in the Round of 16. The Warriors sent them to an early exit from the tournament, however, winning 7-3 on March 18.
“It did not take us long to self-reflect, self-evaluate, and come up with a plan to move forward,” said Hogan. “After several weeks of looking at ourselves in the mirror before the boys left for the summer, we had some hard conversations internally and we answered questions including what makes our program special, how we can continue to cultivate a special environment, and what small adjustments and fine-tuning must we make to accomplish our goal of winning an ACHA National Championship at Maryville.”
The official M1 Saints roster will be released on August 25. Maryville opens the season at McKendree on September 14, with the home-opener and “Black Out Game” against the Bearcats on September 15 at 7:30 p.m.
(Originally published at https://maryvillesaints.com/news/2023/8/16/acha-m1-ice-hockey-hogan-adds-14-m1-newcomers-for-the-2023-24-campaign.aspx)
