It’s November at Wesleyan and the end of daylight savings is the calling card of the Wesleyan men’s ice hockey team, signaling the return of the Cardinals to Spurrier-Snyder Arena. 2024-25 is all about fresh starts. The Cardinals’ fresh start comes in the form of an impressive, 14-man incoming freshman class as head coach Chris Potter returns 18 including the 2023 points leader, captain Owen Sweet ‘25. Opening the season at home, the Cardinals will face Tufts on Friday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m.
The 2023-24 Cardinals closed the season with two losses to No. 6 Trinity. Going 5-18-1 overall with a 3-14-1 NESCAC record, the Cardinals made the most of the weekend finale, the defense and senior goalkeepers Eric Voloshin ’24 and Marc Smith ‘24 holding the Bantams to only three goals on 102 total shots.
Highlighting last season, the Cardinals clawed to a 5-4 overtime victory over the Jumbos in their second game of the season. The Jumbos, finishing third in the NESCAC, scored four consecutive goals despite the Cardinals taking an early two-goal lead thanks to Zach Stimeling ’27 and Sweet. Tying the game in the third period, Patrick Morrissey ’25 and Jack Marottolo ’26 each sunk a goal to send the game to an extra period. Playing nearly three and a half minutes of three-on-three hockey, Morrissey scored the game winner from the top of the crease.
While the Cardinals graduated out DJ Dixon ’24 and goaltenders Voloshin and Smith, they still returned nine goal scorers, six of whom tallied multiple goals last season.
Captain Owen Sweet returns as last season’s points leader, racking up 18 points with seven goals and 11 assists. Sweet finished second in scoring to Dixon, but managed to net two power-play goals, two short-handed goals, and two game-winning goals. Both game winners were scored against Conn. College.
Marking 13 assists last season, Ethan Davidson ‘26, the lone NESCAC Player of the Week honoree, returns for his junior season. Davidson ranked 10th in the NESCAC in total assists and assists per game with a .54. Davidson earned the conference’s weekly honor after a pair of games saw the forward notch four assists in wins over the Camels and Jumbos.
Emerging as a top scorer for the Cardinals as a freshman was Connor Sutherland ’27. Sutherland finished the season with four goals and two assists for six points, claiming a power-play goal in the process.
Stimeling and Marottolo recorded identical stats down the stretch, scoring three goals apiece and assisting on another. Marottolo was good for two goals on the Cardinals’ power play.
On the faceoff, Potter has several replacements for Dixon in the lineup. Danny Judge ’26 was second in faceoff wins to Dixon, going 113-153 from the circle. Hayden Hanes ’27 finished the regular season with 84 wins for the Cardinals.
The Cardinals boast a solid returning defensive core led by Morrissey and Jack Bosco ‘26. Morrissey, one of four captains named this season, was able to help drive the Cardinals’ offensive chances, recording two goals and five assists, notably the game winner against Tufts. Morrissey logged 11 blocks. Bosco leads the returning defensemen with 23 blocks last season, assisting on four goals. Daniel Lurie ’26 follows Bosco with two assists and 20 blocked shots in front of Voloshin and Smith. Jack Kane ’25, another captain, in his own right scored a goal and assisted on another for the defense.
A highly anticipated freshman class boasts several double-digit goal scorers now added to the Wesleyan roster. Jon Groth ’28 joins the Cardinals after spending last season with the Eastern Hockey League’s Seacoast Spartans. Groth assisted on 43 goals while scoring 23 of his own during his stint with the Spartans. At the time of his commitment to Wesleyan, Groth ranked second in the league in scoring.
Danny Markham ’28 joins the Cardinals after helping the Navan Grads win their first Central Canadian Hockey League title. Through last season, Markham recorded 20 assists and scored 10 goals. The Grads won the Bogart Cup in May of this year. After winning the Eastern Ontario men’s junior A’ league title, the Grads went on to compete for the national junior ‘A’ championship in the Centennial Cup.
Fellow EHL players Robert Martiniello ‘28 and Connor Hagness ’28 join Groth from the New Hampshire Avalanche. Hagness scored 17 goals, assisting his teammates on 20. Hailing from Deerfield Academy, Jakub Kohn ’28 was responsible for 16 goals last season and 13 assists.
After saying goodbye to Voloshin and Smith, the Cardinals welcome freshmen goaltending tandem, Patrick McDevitt ‘28 and Ethan Fehrenbaker ‘28. A recipient of the Andrew M. Hunt award for exemplary leadership and dedication to team, McDevitt cleared his senior season with Portsmouth Abbey making 955 saves in 29 games. McDevitt finished with a .919 save percentage.
Competing in goal for the Hartford Jr. Wolfpack U18 team, Fehrenbaker went 7-5-1 overall with a .908 save percentage and 2.57 goals against. While playing for Trinity-Pawling, Fehrenbaker made 277 saves, recording a .908 save percentage.
Head coach Chris Potter enters his 22nd season heading the men’s hockey program. Winning the NESCAC title in 2020, Potter has been named NESCAC Coach of the Year four times. Potter’s 2019-20 team won a program record 15 games on their way to the NESCAC final. In 22 seasons, Potter has coached three NESCAC Rookie of the Year honorees and three Player of the Year selections. Potter holds a standing 184-249-58 overall record and has coached the Cardinals to 14 NESCAC tournament appearances.
Potter is joined this season by assistant coach Craig Height in his first season with the Cardinals. Height, a 2009 graduate of Central Connecticut State University, spent the last several seasons as a volunteer assistant coach at Sacred Heart University men’s ice hockey.