2008-09 Season Recap

 

The Bullets entered the 2008-09 season with a young team and great expectations after their MDCHA title the previous year. Gone were six seniors who had formed the core of the team since their first year as freshmen, including all three captains. But coming in was a fresh batch of young talent, and a solid group of veteran upperclassmen looked to prove they could continue the recent alumni's legacy.

 

Gettysburg started off the year white-hot, easily rolling through their first seven opponents and rising as high as 12th in the ACHA rankings. Senior goaltender Cory Waldron, spending most of his first three seasons as a backup, seemed to settle in as the starting goaltender. The team received new leadership from new assistant captains, junior Mark Bouchard and sophomore Matt Simeoni. Senior Phil Deyette, Gettysburg's unofficial all-time leading scorer, assumed the captaincy and proved that he could continue his elite production without long-time linemate Luke Archambault. 5th-year seniors Dave Frascarelli and Tom Swon provided veteran leadership and helped stabilize a young team until graduating in December.

 

Gettysburg hit a rough patch at the end of the first semester that continued into the second, but they turned it on in time to end the season with a sweep of a surging Dickinson team on the night of the second annual Alumni Game. They would face the Red Devils again in the first round of the MDCHA playoffs, and they pulled away with a hard-fought 4-2 win. However, they wasted perhaps too much energy in the divisional round, as they were unable to hold on to an early lead and fell in the semifinals to eventual champion, Catholic University.

 

Despite the season ending one game too early, the Bullets made the transition to a younger team and built a strong core that hopes to continue to perform at a high level for years to come. In addition to Frascarelli, Swon, Deyette, and Waldron, Head Coach Eric Esser also decided it was time to move on. The 2004 graduate of Gettysburg and former player was instrumental in molding the Gettysburg Hockey program into what it is today. He had a thankless job and will surely be missed as the team heads forward.

 

MDCHA Semifinalists
Overall Record: 12-7-2 (8-4-0)