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Printer-Friendly ModeNew season, new faces for defending champions
HOCKEY
September 21, 2009 —
If the SVSU club hockey team hopes to repeat its performance of last year, it will have to do so with some new faces.
A year after wining the division three national championship, the Cardinals find themselves full of new players, along with a new coach.
Gone is last season’s head coach, Ken Bayne.
Gone is the starting goaltender from last season, Jake Chaillier. Also gone is Chaillier’s backup, Matt Sutton.
With so many new faces on the team, defending the championship it worked so hard to earn last season will be a tough task.
Although there are many new members, first year head coach Bob Leibinger, along with assistant coach Ron Miller, has players that fans will remember from last season’s championship campaign.
Senior forward Jon Tibaudo, the Cardinals’ leading scorer, will again be a key member of the offense. Last season Tibaudo was named MVP of the championship game, along with being named to the M3 All Tournament First Team.
Sophomore defenseman Steve Pelky also is back. Pelky also received many post-season awards along with Tibaudo. Like Tibaudo, Pelky was named to the M3 All Tournament First Team. While a defenseman’s main job usually is to try and shut down the opposition’s offense, Pelky was counted on to score for the Cardinals. He finished the season as the Cardinals fourth leading scorer with 20 goals and 24 assists.
Tibaudo looks to continue where he left off last season, after scoring 62 goals along with 39 points in 35 games. The 101 total points was 40 more points than the Cardinals’ next leading scorer, sophomore forward Ben Welch. Welch also returns for another hopeful run to a championship.
The Cardinals opened the season on Friday at home to Michigan State with the Spartans coming out on top, 6-2.
After winning a national championship, the next year is typically one in which team’s have a bullseye, so to speak, on the champion from the previous year. The Cardinals perhaps found that out in their opening loss to MSU.