MASCAC 2018-19 season preview

UMass Dartmouth forward Jonathan Ruiz, the reigning MASCAC Player of the Year. (UMass Dartmouth Athletics)

Two straight regular-season titles for Plymouth State. Two straight playoff disappointments.

Is this the season the Panthers (19-5-2) can translate their winter success to a run through the MASCAC tournament and a trip back to the NCAAs? They hope so, but they’re not standing pat.

Things look good on paper, even minus the four players who were asked not to return, for both on- and off-ice reasons. The goal is more consistent scoring and a team that will be peaking in late February.

“We return a lot from last year,” said coach Craig Russell (Northfield, Vt.). “The biggest thing we’ve done is make some major shifts in our focus and culture.”

Ryan Stevens (10-27-37) is coming off a second straight monster year and is joined up front by proven producers like Mike Volonnino (14-11-25), Ludvig Steenberg (7-16-23), JP Barone (12-10-22) and captain Quinn Carroll of Amherst, N.H.

Defensively, the pairing of Victor Bergstrom (8-15-23) and Tim Perron (Northboro, Mass.) should be one of the best in the region.

“I think they’re the two best defensemen in the league,” said Russell. “They’re both frustrating to play against because they play so hard.”

Evan Morelli (Reading, Mass.) returns for his senior season in goal after posting a 1.93 goals-against average and .929 save percentage.

Defending champion Fitchburg State (18-7-3) has a dynamite top line of Sascha Figi (21-19-40), Nick DiNicola of Wolcott, Conn. (11-36-47) and Tyler Warila of Shirley, Mass. (14-16-30) that longtime coach Dean Fuller vows he’s keeping together. If the Falcons can get the secondary scoring, they’ll be in the race to the end.

“I don’t think we have to do a lot of tweaking,” said Fuller. “We have a good nucleus coming back. They know what it takes to win a championship.”

Beyond those two are teams rebuilding on the fly. Both runner-up UMass Dartmouth (12-13-3) and perennial contender Salem State (10-12-5) graduated large senior classes.

“Plymouth is very talented,” said Fuller. “Salem is always going to be there under Billy O’Neill. And you can’t overlook some of the other teams.”

UMass Dartmouth reached the championship game in its second year under Erik Noack and returns the conference’s Player of the Year in senior forward Jonathan Ruiz, who led all of Division 3 with 27 goals, 13 of them coming on the power play.

Salem State finished three games below .500 in league play and graduated six of its eight double-digit point scorers, though defenseman Callum Hofford (7-10-17) is a player to watch at both ends of the ice.

A strong season by Worcester State (13-11-2) was marred by a first-round playoff exit, and players like leading scorer Mike Moran of Milford, Mass., (16-16-32) will try to help the Lancers take the next step.

Westfield State (10-14-1) needs to drastically reduce the 4.44 goals per game it allowed, and defenseman Carl Greco should be the centerpiece of that effort.

There’s nowhere to go but up for Framingham State (3-20-2), which enters the season with a new head coach after alum and two-year assistant Mike Bailey was promoted at the end of September.

Three stars

• Nick DiNicola (Wolcott, Conn.), sr., F, Fitchburg State– Led the nation with 36 assists and has a veteran cast around him as Falcons aim to defend conference title.
• Jonathan Ruiz, sr., F, UMass Dartmouth– The leading goal scorer in Division 3 with 27 last season, the New Jersey native was a smash hit after transferring from Johnson & Wales.
• Ryan Stevens, sr., F, Plymouth State– Rangy 6-foot-3 Texas native should eclipse the career 100-point mark in just his third season in Plymouth after transferring from Arizona State.