Dayton first-year hockey coach Andrew Trimble came into this season with two simple goals: a new direction and a new attitude.
Mission accomplished.
Trimble, a former NCAA Division III player at SUNY-Buffalo State and who last season coached Columbia's women's hockey team of the Ivy League, had a tough task ahead of him.
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The Bulldogs finished 3-17-1 last year and recorded only six victories in its last two seasons.
Trimble's reward: a 9-13-1 overall record, winning six of its last eight games and qualified for "at-large" state tournament berth consideration.
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"The kids gave a consistent effort all year and did what was asked of them, especially the off-ice skill development activities that they had never considered before, and their effort was rewarded as we learned how to win as a team," Trimble said.
Senior goaltender and tri-captain Dan Dubeau (689 saves, 87.7 save percentage), who helped lead Dayton's football team to a state tournament berth this fall, was selected first team all-conference for the Union County Interscholastic Hockey League (UCIHL) and senior forward tri-captain Mike Tarantula, the team's leading scorer (19 goals, 12 assists for 31 points), was named to a spot on the UCIHL Honorable Mention team.
Senior forward tri-captain Brian Camp, the team's third-leading scorer, also helped Dayton's improvement with 12 goals and 15 assists for 27 points.
"We graduate seven seniors, but have a strong freshman class coming in and will look to compete for first place in the conference next year," Trimble said.
Dayton returns defenseman and alternate captain Matt Neubauer (six goals, 12 assists, 18 points) and forward Jake Kozlenko, the team's second leading scorer this season (13 goals, six assists, 19 points).
"Everyone is excited about next season. Our off-season conditioning program is the best in the conference, and the landscape changes for every team as a tremendous amount of senior talent is graduated off each program," Trimble added.
For the latest up-to-date information on the Dayton hockey team, visit the site www.daytonbulldawgshockey.com.
