The UMass Dartmouth Corsairs look to 2023-24 as a crossroads to return to past successes or continue their recent slide of losing seasons. Seventh year head coach Erik Noack was looking like a Kingmaker for the Corsairs prior to the pandemic, but the team has not been able to make a run to the MASCAC conference title game since the mask mandate was lifted. Luckily for Noack, the team will see several of its best players return as Graduate students this season, and even the most casual of hockey observers can’t underestimate the value of on-ice chemistry, especially in a league that plays less than 30 games per season.

              Breaking free from the “Core Four” concept that I’ve clung to for the last two months; UMass Dartmouth has five returning upperclassmen that I feel obligated to look at. First off is returning starter Daniel Davidson. Up until the official roster dropped, I was mulling whether Connecticut Chiefs standout Marshall McKallip or East Coast Wizards Product Pat Aalto would be helming the ship between the pipes this year, admittedly unsure who would give this group their best chance at winning. Luckily for coach Noack, Davidson, with his 25 starts from a year ago will be holding down the fort for the team this season. In those starts, Davidson posted a 3.30 GAA against a 0.914 save percentage, which indicates that he respectably held down the fort last season, even though the Corsairs’ defense was overwhelmed often. In the forward group, two significant returning pieces are Tyler Stewart and Michael Mania. Stewart was fantastic on offense last season, scoring 23 points in 26 games, which set the pace for the rest of the team. Mania, despite his diminutive stature of 5’8” and 155lbs, continued to buck the trend about hockey players needing to be big to be productive by posting 18 points in 26 games while also recording a +4 on a team that finished with a winning percentage of 35%. Cade Hanley should be a bigger factor for this team than he was last season, where he registered 8 points in 26 games from the blueline. Look for Hanley to continue improving his ability to connect from zone to zone to improve UMass Dartmouth’s two-way game. Of course, the team’s best player from a year ago, Jake Maynard, returning is the key to this team having a winning season. Maynard, who will captain the team this season, is a gifted defenseman whose high hockey IQ in both zones can very quickly reverse a bad situation to a scoring opportunity. After scoring 21 points in 26 games last season, with the enhanced chemistry of this team, he could very well push his total closer to 30 points in 2023-24.

Looking at this year’s recruiting class, I admit that I was not overwhelmed by this group, but there are two players who have a chance (in my estimation) to make a big impact for UMass Dartmouth this season. Connor Little, of the EHL champion Boston Jr. Rangers, is a great fundamental two-way player who can make a big impact in both zones for the Corsairs. The big headliner is Florida Eels standout Collin Patterson who scored 70 points in 42 games in the USPHL Premier last season. I have said this extensively in past articles, and will continue to say it extensively in every new article: It is very difficult, especially at the Division 3 level, to find players who score close to a point-per-game rate, and if a player like Patterson can jump up to the game speed of the NCAA quickly, he can make a massive impact for his team.

              Overall, UMass Dartmouth was not a very good team last season, which is a theme for a few of the teams in the MASCAC that I will be covering moving forward. With the additions, as well as the anticipated development of their returning players, the Corsairs could have a winning season in 2023-24, but it comes down to what coach Noack can do with this group. If Maynard can elevate his play to a new level this season, and the rest of the blueline can tighten up in front of Davidson this year, UMass Dartmouth will be a great hockey team. If they can’t do that, I don’t know where this team will finish in the pecking order of the MASCAC this season.