I get what you mean about the season being a disappointment, but I don't agree. Yes they went further last year, and were obviously hot at the right time last year vs cooling this year. I think the league was better as a whole this year. Only one of the top four teams managed to advance to Rochester! One out of the four teams with home ice was able to close the deal. That alone screams how much more parity there was in the league. Last season Sacred Heart, Army, and AIC were guaranteed points. This year all of those teams were improved. Army was much better than their record, evidenced by their run at the end of the year. My other question is, was the team better? Segalla, Nichols, and Norris were all steady contributors. I know Koonas had points, but he is very much a work in progress. Skated well, but made lots of mistakes. Seemed to get lost out there, and not always prepared for the physical play of North American hockey. Gaffney and Skibba were non existenent. Skibba could fly and looked like someone to be excited about early on, but had what 4 points? Disappointment. While I think Segalla was an improvement on Janosz, Koonas was a big step down from Gerke. I don't think the freshmen forwards point totals combined were equal to Ambrosie last year. Not to mention Carriere was a great two way gritty grinder forward.
So in the end I think they missed those seniors more than expected and their losses weren't completely plugged. In the end the team still won more games than last year despite scoring less goals, beat a top 10 for the first time, and even clinched a first round bye still. Not the ending we wanted as fans, not the ending they wanted as a team, but still a lot to be proud of. They were a tough resilient husky team that was hard to break, a great foundation to start building on as we move to Hockey East.
