From Washington Square News
By Sydney Barragan
The NYU men’s hockey team honored 11 members of its 25-man roster at senior night on Feb. 10 at the Chelsea Piers Sky Rink. The Violets (10-6-4) were defeated 1-2 by the University of Rhode Island during both the Friday and Saturday games.
The 11 players include forwards Joe Solovey, Tommy He, James Orne, Videep Vemulapalli, Adam Svoboda, defenseman Josh Stich and goalies Chris Cataldo and Ryan Füeg, as well as forwards Theo Hembre and Alex Chernyavskiy, and goalie Daniel Onatsky, who graduated in December.
Currently sixth in the Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League, the Violets went into their Saturday evening game looking to redeem themselves after a 1-2 loss to Rhode Island, the first ranked team in the ESCHL, the previous evening.
Rhode Island Rams jumped to an early lead on Saturday, scoring their first goal within minutes of the game’s start. A goal from NYU team captain Svoboda tied the game early in the second period, but the Rams reclaimed the lead only a few minutes later. Despite several more attempts, the Violets were unable to score again.
“We played against one of the top programs out there, and I think that we really left it all out there,” Svoboda said. “Hopefully next weekend we’ll top the season off with two wins.”
This season will be the first and last year Svoboda will share the ice with his brother, first-year Alex Svoboda, who began his collegiate career this season as a defenseman.
“It’s great because I get to show him a program that has meant so much to me over the past three years,” Svoboda said. “For him to get to be best friends with my best friends, it’s really something to cherish.”
The seniors have been part of the effort to rebuild the team, which has struggled since the beginning of the pandemic three years ago. The club has had to deal with a canceled season, limited practice due to citywide restrictions and three new coaching staffs in as many years.
“The seniors have been amazing,” Head Coach Dustin Good said. “Anything that still exists in a way that looks something like it did before the pandemic is a testament to the people that are involved.”
Like Alex Svoboda, James Orne joined the program after watching his older brother, Jack Orne, play for the Violets. In 2017, Jack Orne helped bring the Violets to the Division II American Collegiate Hockey Association’s national championship.
Members of the championship roster were in attendance at senior night to cheer on their former teammates and new Violets alike.
James Orne said that there was a lot of uncertainty regarding the team’s new recruits early this season. But he said that every member of the roster stepped up this year, surpassing everyone’s expectations and making it a special year for the graduating class.
“I can’t thank the younger guys enough,” Orne said. “I really couldn’t be prouder of them. I think it’s really headed in the right track, back to those national championship days.”
The Violets final home game and penultimate game of the season is scheduled for this Friday Feb. 16 at 9 p.m. at the Chelsea Pier Sky Rink.
(Originally published at https://nyunews.com/sports/2024/02/12/hockey-senior-night/)
