(LEBANON, Ill., Sept. 21) – The McKendree University men's D3 hockey team will open its season at home in a series against Northern Illinois University. The teams are set to take the ice on Friday at 5 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. at the McKendree Metro Rec Plex.
The Bearcats are coming off a tough season, in which they had a record of 4-12. However, this season the team has some key returners along with adding 12 new players.
Brett DeNap has been named as the head coach for the men's D3 hockey program for the Bearcats. DeNap takes over for
Derek Pallardy, who now serves as the head coach of the McKendree women's hockey program. Last season DeNap served as the head coach for Marian University's D2 program, which won the Northern Collegiate Hockey League Championship and earned a bid to the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Central Regionals in its inaugural season.
This season McKendree's schedule includes 22 games coming against several Mid-America Collegiate Hockey Association MACHA opponents. The Bearcats are set to play their first full season in the McKendree Metro Rec Plex, which includes 14 home contests.
McKendree has several key returners this season including three of the team's top five scorers. Some of the returning players include
Brett Maggio (Collinsville, IL/O'Fallon),
Ethan Gremminger (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt North),
Nick Gay (Pinedale, WY/Tri City Outlaws),
Michael Weedman (O'Fallon, MO/St. Peters Spirit),
Trevor Rieck (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon Township HS), and Zach Allen. The Bearcats also bolstered the roster with 12 new student athletes in the 2017-18 recruiting class. These athletes include
Jacob Scrum (Maryville, IL/Collinsville High School),
Adam Dempski (St. Charles, MO/Francis Howell North HS),
Tony Grasso (O'Fallon, MO/De Smet Jesuit High School),
Nick Nelson (St. Charles, MO/Francis Howell),
Derek Northrop (St. Louis, MO/De Smet Jesuit High School),
Christian Blandina (Glen Carbon, IL/Edwardsville High School),
Dalton Wolfe (Pekin, IL/Pekin Community High School),
Garrett Poole (Columbia, IL/Columbia High School),
Zack Miceli (Glen Ellyn, IL/Glenbard West High School),
Riley Brown (Granite City, IL/Granite City High School), and
Dalton Kress (St. Peters, MO/Fort Zumwalt South High School).
"We're all excited for the season to start," said coach DeNap. "I'm thrilled to have this great group of young talent, and have some high expectations for the group. Our goal this season is to win the conference (MACHA – Bronze) and to earn a bid to the ACHA National Championships, and with the depth and skill that we have in our locker room, we definitely have the opportunity to do that."
