I had a lot to say about the Trailblazers back in October. Aside from my pipebomb directed at the bureaucracy that never touches the ice, I was optimistic about the potential for MCLA’s third season. As opposed to prior seasons, I only managed to have my boots on the ground for one game this season, mainly as a result of my daughter arriving the week that the Blazers started MCLA intraconference play. Despite all of the changes with the arrival of coach Glosser, somehow the script was remarkably similar for the Trailblazers: Sporadic key wins, long and dismal losing stretches, and then February magic. 

For the second consecutive season, MCLA started the year with a series against St. Michael’s. After dropping the first two on the road in 2024-25, the series was coming to North Adams for 2025-26. The opener was a great showcase for the Blazers, as they tied the Purple Knights 2-2 in a game where Josh Girard stopped 37, and newcomer Luke Fricchione scored his first goal for MCLA. Cade Herrera also found the scoresheet, which has been the most reliable constant in North Adams. In the rematch, Herrera opened the scoring, but a challenging start for Matthew Ryynanen (and the Blazers defense surrendering 18 SOG in 17 minutes) sank them in a 5-2 defeat.

Before starting MASCAC play, the Trailblazers took an adventure out to Ohio for the first time to play Hiram Terriers in their inaugural season.The first game must have been fulfilling for the veterans on the MCLA roster, after the challenges of being a new team in 2023-2024, being on the experienced team must have been fun as they cruised to a 5-2 win. Unfortunately, they also got the same experience as the teams they beat in 2023-24. Despite hammering Hiram 38-20 on the shot board, they left Ohio with a 4-0 loss.

The MASCAC opener was enough of a success for the Trailblazers and their need to shake off their loss in Ohio. This was a game for the goalies as Rocco Stolz (40 saves) was locked into an intense duel with Donovan Alfama (41 saves). Ultimately, this ended in a tie/shootout win for the Blazers after a 1-1 draw took them past extra time. Four days later, MCLA welcomed Anna Maria back to North Adams, their first meeting after their shocking upset in the MASCAC Semi-Final. Christopher Gallagher and Stolz held the Blazers in the game through twenty, but the Amcats offense broke through in the second en route to a 4-1 victory.

In their next game, the Trailblazers went on the road to Westfield State. Despite MCLA having six power plays, they were outshot 40 to 14 in the game, but a solid performance from Stolz held them in the game long enough for Sean Shifferl to tie it with eleven minutes to go in the third. Unfortunately, the Owls were resilient, and found a way to reclaim their lead with seven minutes left. Three days later, a slow start against Western New England put them in a bind, being outshot 13-4 in the first. Despite WNE getting out to an early 2-0 lead, Sam Perdion and Spencer Craig helped the Blazers battle back to a draw in the third. Unfortunately, WNE closed the game out 4-3.

With two MASCAC games ahead of the break, the Blazers locked in. In a Thursday night contest with Rivier, the Blazers executed a 4-1 victory. Sam Zis and Gallagher got MCLA out to a 2-0 lead, and after a Rivier answer, Scifferl put the game out of reach. For the second time in three games, the Trailblazers found themselves down 2-0 in their game against Framingham State. Herrera and Vukovic answered in the first and second frames before Quinn Murphy put the game away with 55 seconds left in regulation. After a rocky start, MCLA took a two game winning streak into the long winter break.

2026 started with a tough non-conference draw against UMass-Boston. Outshot 48-24 and outscored 4-2, the Blazers simply didn’t have an answer for the Beacons’ offense (Utica also had trouble with the Beacons’ offense). This defeat in the Codfish Bowl set MCLA up for a rematch with Western New England. Perdion had both goals for the Blazers in this back-and-forth tilt, but it wasn’t enough to put them over the top as WNE managed to secure the victory about three-and-a-half minutes into the overtime.

MCLA continued their non-conference slate with NE-10 foes for three of their next four contests. Schifferl, Perdion, and Herrera traded blows with Franklin Pierce through the first 45 minutes of action, but the Blazers were unable to answer Mario Paganini’s final blow just before the eleventh minute of the third on the way to a 5-3 defeat. Three days later, the Blazers hosted the future NE-10 Champions (you’re about to notice a trend), Assumption. A quick and unrelenting start for Assumption got them out to an early 2-0 lead, and despite Shane Green’s effort to halve the deficit, Brayden Ingram would not surrender another goal for a 3-1 Assumption win. MCLA’s next contest would be a home game against the future NESCAC Champions, and the Blazers almost replicated their magic from Holderness last postseason. The final shot total read 66-17, but this game ended in a tie. Easton Moore (I can’t believe it took me this long to mention him) and Herrera jetted the Blazers out to a 2-1 lead in the second. Gallagher would even the game up in the third to secure overtime, before the Ephs eventually won in a shootout. Wrapping up their non-conference adventure, MCLA hosted Post. MCLA looked comfortable in this game, getting out to a 4-0 lead in the second behind a multi-point performance from Herrera, and coasted to a 4-2 win over their final NE-10 opponent.

Returning to MASCAC play, MCLA faced off against Fitchburg State for the first time since the 2024-2025 Conference Championship game. The Falcons’ soaring offense connected three times in the first period, and Freddy Soderberg only allowed the Blazers one goal back the rest of the way for a 3-1 Fitchburg State victory. At the only MCLA game I attended later in the season, I had a conversation with Moore about this game, and he felt confident that they would play the Falcons differently in the rematch (I’m once again foreshadowing). MCLA would follow this up with an exciting first match of the season with Salem State. The Vikings got out to an early 2-0 lead (This was a trend this season and our EIC loved it), but Zis and Perdion found the back of the net to bring the score back to even. This was short lived as Eric Whitelaw put the Vikings ahead with just over ten minutes to go, and Will Nepveu wouldn’t falter again. With another quick turnaround to end January, the Blazers were in Worcester State for a rematch of their intraconference season opener. Anders Grongstad and Moore traded goals in the first, and Bryce Grandbois traded two barbs with Herrera and Perdion in the second to carry a 3-3 tie into the third. The Trailblazers outshot the Lancers 14-11 in the third period, but Alfama outlasted Stolz this time as the Lancers won 5-3.

As the calendar flipped to February, MCLA would visit Anna Maria for their (regular season) final meeting of the season. MCLA chased this game once the Amcats got their lead just past the halfway point in the first period, and were never able to catch them on the scoreboard. Herrera recorded another multi-point night as the Blazers fell 6-3. Without a chance to lick their wounds, they welcomed Westfield State two days later. Fricchione started the scoring before the Owls got up 2-1, but Herrera had the equalizer within a minute of the second period. The Owls broke the game open after that to finish the game 5-2. 

At this point, I finally made it to a game in local Nashua, NH, to see if the Trailblazers would turn their season around in their rematch with Rivier. After surrendering the opening goal, and surviving a 5-minute penalty kill, MCLA never looked back. 5 unanswered goals, and multi-point nights from Craig, Moore, and Luke Rhoss propelled them to a 5-1 win. They carried that momentum straight into the rematch with Framingham State to have their best offensive output in a game since the program returned in 2023. Moore, Gallagher, and Cody White each recorded three points in the game, while Rhoss and Zis also added multi-point outings in their 7-2 victory. This was the most complete game they played all season to that point (the next one was a shade better).

Sean Neu picked a great time to score his first of the season, as it started the scoring in their rematch against Fitchburg State. Moore, White, and Gallagher would follow suit over the next two periods, while Stolz went 30-for-30 in net to secure the 4-0 shutout win.There wasn’t much time to celebrate this win, as MCLA was right back at Salem State on Saturday in a game that they very quickly forgot.The defense wasn’t there, and the offense got going far too late on the way to a 5-2 loss, setting them for a rematch against the same team in the same building in 5 days.

Salem State had been hot since the turn of the New Year, and had handily beaten MCLA twice in that stretch, but based on what happened last postseason, the Trailblazers felt inevitable. Moore answered a goal from Ryan Barrett in the second, ensuring that this game would be decided in the third period or later. Carson Whitman put Salem State out to a 2-1 lead early in the third, putting the Vikings in a familiar position, but the Blazers threw their best at them, and Herrera created the equalizer. With less than three minutes left, Zis uncorked a wonky short range wrister that found its way past Nepveu, and the Vikings were suddenly facing their elimination. In the dying minute Landon Greatorex threw a diamond of a chance at Stolz that was ruled to have not crossed the line, and Blazers were on their way to their second straight MACAC Semi-Final.

In a perfect circle, the Trailblazers would once again visit Anna Maria in the MASCAC semi-final, hoping to recreate the miraculous upset from a year ago. Perdion started the story off with a first period goal that put MCLA ahead, and that lead would stand for almost thirty minutes of game clock before Pearce Baker equalized it. Murphy didn’t let Anna Maria have hope for long as he reclaimed the lead for MCLA less than four minutes later. The Blazers controlled play until Nolan Ring bit them with seven minutes to go, once again bringing the score to even. Neither team would find the answer in regulation. I hunkered down in my dilapidated office chair once my daughter was asleep, expecting a long overtime, but my efforts were fruitless. Off an offensive zone faceoff less than two minutes into the extra frame, a tremendous solo effort from Nolan Ring led to a goal that propelled the Amcats to their first MASCAC Championship game in program history.

I took some time to process the ending to the playoff game, built some analytics models, and reviewed the season that was for the men in North Adams. I took a lot of notes, went back to my past work and coverage of this program, and racked my brain about how to perceive the story I just told. I have a lot of love and respect for the guys on the team as they completed another season, and as captain Connor Nagy completed his career. 

Back in October, I said that another single-digit win total felt unacceptable for this group, and as a brand that’s focused on building strong, positive, and constructive narratives, it’s difficult to look at an 8-win season (program record since 2023). This team won more than any year prior, their losses were much less ugly than some of the blowouts in the Ketts-era, and they were one goal away from returning to the MASCAC championship game. These are inalienable facts that this program is taking more steps in the right direction. It’s also true that 16 of their 23 skaters will be seniors in the fall.

In our production model, MCLA only had two players reach the Star tier of production in Moore and Herrera. Perdion and Zis were bright spots among the underclassmen, but didn’t quite reach into the 75th percentile (National) this year. Stolz’s GSAA was 15.15 this season, putting him in the 95th percentile Nationally. The Trailblazers did have their best regular season in 2025-26, but this program has had elite goaltending for three years. Coach Glosser’s first full offseason behind the bench will be critical for turning the corner for this program in pursuit of hosting a playoff game, and potentially winning a MASCAC title in 2026-2027.