Expectations raised for Dayton Boys Ice Hockey

Prior to last season, the Dayton Boys Ice Hockey team had six wins over the previous two years.

Last season, with new coach Andrew Trimble and a new attitude, Dayton finished the season with nine victories.

Now that the foundation has been built, this season expectations and the team's confidence are higher for the Bulldawgs, who open their 2010-11 season this afternoon versus J.F. Kennedy-Iselin at Union Sports Arena in Union. Opening faceoff is set for 5 p.m.

Dayton will visit Summit on Friday (4:10 p.m.) and host Westfield on Sunday (8:25 p.m.), with both games being held at Union Sports Arena.

"I think we established a standard last year," said second-year head coach Trimble. " The goal is to improve upon what we started to build. We posted nine wins last year and were very competitive with some of the better teams in our league. We lost our top two scorers in Brian Camp and Mike Tarantula and also lost our starting goaltender Dan DuBeau, an All-Union County selection and who currently plays at Montclair State."

Senior defenseman Matt Neubauer, one of six seniors on the squad, is the team's leader. Neubauer posted six goals and 12 assists last season for Dayton (9-13-1), which lost in the first round of the county tournament to finalist Westfield.

"We expect senior forward Jake Kozlenko to put up some nice scoring numbers for us,  along with senior forwards Mark Vax and Bobby Houston. Kozlenko scored 14 goals  goals last season and is usually paired with Vax on our power play opportunities.  Freshman forward Will Francis should also get some opportunities to contribute," Trimble said.

Goaltending will feature sophomore Josh Trinker and freshman Bailey Rudolph competing to replace DuBeau in net.

"We implemented a lot of the system last year that will make our team consistently successful. Our kids made a commitment over the summer to improve themselves in the weight room, through clinics and camps, and our summer 'Training Camp Sessions.'  Our goal is to make the State Tournament and increase our win total in the Union County Conference," Trimble added.

2010-11 Dayton Boys Ice Hockey Roster

Seniors (6): Mark Vax (F), Jake Kozlenko (F), Matt Neubauer (D), Jesse Krumholz (D), Bobby Houston (F), Sean Berkowitz (F).

Juniors (2): Jake Rudolph (F), John Stern-Charles (D).

Sophomores (4): Tyler Reinertsen (F), Robert Fiorilli (D), Josh Trinker (G), Josh Gutkin (F).

Freshmen (6): Zachary Samansky (D), Jason Hoehn (F), Jeremy Glennon (F), William Francis (F), Bailey Rudolph (G), Andrew Sack (F).

For more info on the Dayton Boys Ice Hockey team, visit www.daytonbulldawgshockey.com and www.SpringfieldPatch.com all season long for the latest game schedule, news and information.