While last year’s varsity hockey team got along well off the ice, their season was derailed by egos and weak chemistry.

This year, one of the team’s leaders Brendan Fitzgerald hopes to change that.

Fitzgerald believes a stronger culture could be the key to a championship run.

“Last year, we had too many egos on the team,” Fitzgerald said. “It just drove us to not be a good team. I think this year we’ll be more of a family, and we will put our egos to the side.”

Along with changing the team culture, Fitzgerald said the part of his game he is most focused on improving is leadership.

“I feel that it’s the heart of a championship team,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s something we have lacked in recent years.”

Fitzgerald is not the only player aiming to elevate his game this season.

On the offensive side of the ice, senior left wing Tucker Reynolds wants to provide more scoring to help push the team forward. Reynolds relies on his speed and edge work to protect the puck and create scoring opportunities.

“I’m just trying to keep my head up and use my feet to take advantage of my speed,” Reynolds said. “I’ll be looking for where my teammates are and trying to hit them back door for a goal.”

While Reynolds focuses on offense, others are working to shut opponents down defensively.

Sophomore defenseman Austin Callahan looks to strengthen the blue line with physical play and strong positioning. He said staying in the right spot allows him to break up passes and clear the puck out of the defensive zone.

“I always try to keep my body in the right position,” Callahan said. “So if someone tries to make a pass, I’m going to tip it off or put it to the wall so I can get the puck out of our zone.”

Callahan also emphasized the importance of skating backward and controlling the blue line to keep plays in front of him.

“[Skating backward] lets me face the play,” he said. “You need to be able to skate backwards or else the offense will just blow past you.”

 Behind the defense, junior goaltender Justin Doyle hopes to lead from the crease.

Doyle said communication and calmness are key parts of his role and help keep the team confident throughout games.

“I’d say my process after letting in a tough goal is not letting it bother me,” Doyle said. “After five or ten seconds of thinking about what I could have done better, I just move on right away.”

Doyle believes strong communication with his defense can prevent goals before they happen.

“When I communicate to my defense, they know what I see and where the offense might go,” Doyle said. “They’ll have it in the back of their mind.”

He wants to focus on being centered in the net and focused on where the puck is.

“I’ve been working on staying calm on the net and not being all over the place,” Doyle said. “Trying to make a simple save rather than a big one.”

Doyle’s saves are exactly what Brendan Fitzgerald hopes will push them to the next level. Also, he said if they can skate past defenders and play lock down defense, all the goals they set should happen this season.

“We want to be in the postseason, and then just have a chance to hoist the trophy,” Fitzgerald said. “I think it’s just a good goal to have as a team from where we were last year.”