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the second season
Coming off the success of our inaugural season, our team has a lot of confidence and expectations going into the 2019-2020 campaign. We have an amazing group of returners and five newcomers who are all expected to make immediate impacts on the ice, so we feel we are in a good spot to build on last year and have another successful season. With a tough loss to UMass Boston in the NEHC quarterfinals last February, our girls are more motivated than ever to come in and establish themselves as a top team in our conference and make a run at the NEHC championship this year. -- Taylor Waysik, head coach
COACH'S BOX
Taylor Wasylk returns to lead Suffolk for its second season.
The first and only coach of Suffolk women's hockey, Wasylk led Suffolk to a successful inaugural season that saw the Rams go 15-9-2 overall and 10-4-2 in league play to pick up New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) coach of the Year honors, while nine Rams received all-league recognition in the opening season as well.
Wasylk has brought in Bridget O'Brien to help her lead as an assistant coach as well as Tess Adams, who traded her stick in after completing her eligibility in blue-and-gold last season, for a whistle as a volunteer assistant.
SCHEDULE SYNOPSIS
Suffolk has put together a 25-game schedule surrounded by 16 NEHC conference games. Rams fans will see the the blue-and-gold suit up 11 times at Louis E. Porrazzo Memorial Skating Rink.
We will play a very competitive schedule this season. In conference, we are looking forward to some very competitive games with nationally ranked Norwich as well as UMass Boston, who ended our season last year. Out of conference, we begin our season with Nazareth, who I expect to be a top 10 nationally ranked team this season, so those will be two very tough games to open our season with. We will also have some tough NESCAC opponents in Amherst, Trinity, Connecticut College and Wesleyan. I expect all of these games to be tough and competitive in hopes of preparing us for playoff hockey come February.
OPENING ACT
- Suffolk will open the campaign against Nazareth in the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
- The blue-and-gold's trip to Nazareth will mark the first time the women's hockey program will play a game outside of New England.
- The Rams opened its first season with a loss to Nichols, 5-2, October 26, 2018. It was the first of a home-and-home series for the Rams, with the Bison winning both.
RAMS ROSTER
Nineteen members of the inaugural roster return with five new faces in the mix to make the second edition of Suffolk women's hockey a 24-skater squad.
- 2 - Halle Usseglio | G | Jr. | Wethersfield, Conn.
- 3 - Madison Scheinberg | F | So. | Plantation, Fla.
- 4 - Cassidy Gruning | F | Fr. | Tewksbury, Mass.
- 5 - Madison Duff | D | So. | Novi, Mich.
- 7 - Meagan MacNeil | D | Jr. | Weymouth, Mass.
- 8 - Stephanie Moy | D | So. | Burnaby, British Columia
- 9 - Molly Hitchens | D | So. | Traverse City, Mich.
- 11 -Maddy Burton | F | Jr. | Auroa, Ill.
- 12 - Haley Poloskey | F | So. | Mattawan, Mich.
- 15 - Molly Dowd | F | So. | Lakeville, Conn.
- 16 - Izzy Hendry | D | So. | Holladay, Utah
- 18 - Sydney Tietz| F | So. | East Gull Lake, Minn.
- 20 - Shana Cote | F | So. | Broomfield, Colo.
- 21 - Natasha Savage | D | So. | Warwick, R.I.
- 22- Payton Dockus | F | So. | St. Clair Shores, Mich.
- 24 - Jesse Kennedy | F | So. | Southworld, Ontario
- 27 - Emily Johnston | F | So. | Surrey, British Columbia
- 29 - Kristen Caporusso | G | Jr. | Stouffville, Ontario
- 31 - Abbey Weisrock | G | Jr. | Delevan, Wis.
- 33 - Julia McLellan | G | Fr. | Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.
- 34 - Julia Volpe | F | So. | Littleton, Colo.
- 45 - Grace Scholz | D | So. | Lake Bluff, Ill.
- 54 - Kiley Searles | D | So. | San Jose, Calif.
- 77 - Madison Ricardo | F | Fr. | Nobleton, Ontario
BACK IN BLUE-AND-GOLD
Leading assist maker Shana Cote returns after setting up 17 goals last season, along with eight of her own for 25 points.
We are very excited to see what Shana Cote will do this season. As last year’s NEHC Rookie of the Year, she is more determined than ever heading into this season so we are really looking forward to her having another standout season.
JR Kennedy joins Cote as one of our teams heavily relied upon centerman, so we are really looking forward to JR getting back at it this year and putting up a lot of points for us.
Jesse Kennedy was a crucial scoring threat last season with an 18-point collegiate debut on eight markers and 10 set-ups.
Defensively, Kristen Caporusso stood tall between the pipes for the blue-and-gold through its first season on the ice. She returns to the crease for her junior season after building a 1.72 GAA and a .929 save percentage a year ago.
Kristen Caporusso did extremely well for us in goal last season, we are excited to see her back in action this year and with more competition in the form of freshman Julia McLellan, I think we are going to see her game grow immensely.
Madison Duff was a force for us on defense last year so this season I expect to see her put up a few more points while simultaneously stepping into a leadership position within the team.
Madison Duff rejoins her teammates at the blue line after sniping shots and setting up the offense as a scoring defender with 15 points in her initial collegiate camping.
All of our returners played an integral role in our success from last season, I cannot express how excited we are to get back on the ice with this group!
geography 101
Suffolk's women's hockey team has one of the most unique geographical footprints in the department with 11 states covered as well as two Canadian Provinces.
Michigan has the most natives with five, with a duo coming from each Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Minnesota. California, Florida, Rhode Island, Utah and Wisconsin are represented by one Ram each.
Canada wise, three hail from Ontario with a pair trekking to Beantown from British Columbia.
BAY STATE SKATERS
The first-ever Suffolk women's hockey roster was absent of a Bay State skater, but the second recruiting class features a pair of Massachusetts players: Cassidy Gruning and Meagan MacNeil.
class ranks
The bulk of the Rams' 24-player roster hails from Suffolk's Class of 2022 in 16 sophomores. Five juniors comprise the line-up with a trio of true freshman.
PUCK POSITIONS
The 24 Rams are broken down into 12 forwards, eight skaters on the blue line and a four-headed contingent in net.
rams rookies
Five incoming student-athletes joined the program for second season.
The group features two transfers in juniors Maddy Burton and Meagan MacNeil and a trio of three freshmen Cassidy Gruning, Julia McLellan and Madison Ricardo.
I am very excited about our newcomers this year.
TRANSITION TRANSFERS
The Rams capitalized on a pair of stealthy Division I transfers. Maddy Burton comes to Beantown from Merrimack and Meagan MacNeil switched to skate at Suffolk from Saint Anselm's.
Maddy (Burton) and Meagan (MacNeil) are expected to make positive contributors this season. Coming from DI Merrimack I expect Maddy to have an immediate impact on our offense and special teams. Meagan also comes from a great program in DI-Independent Saint Anselm, so she will add some great depth to our strong defense core and I expect her to contribute a lot offensively as well.
FRESH SKATES
Taylor Wasylk has a knack for transforming first-year players into standout sensations as proved by last year's 23-skater squad built up primary of freshman. This year, she brought in a trio of true rookies to add to the mix.
Julia (McLellan) will add some great competition to our goaltending position, while I expect Cassidy (Gruning) and Madison(Ricardo) to make immediate impacts on our offense. All three freshmen come from great programs and we are excited to see them in the blue-and-gold this season.
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