Joe Herman of Morrisville fights for the puck at a home game during the season.               Photo by Jim Trask, '08

The Mustang ice hockey team finished out the 2007-08 season with an overall record of 5-20-0, with a conference record of 1-15. Morrisville’s only win against a SUNYAC opponent came Jan. 19 at SUNY Brockport, where the Mustangs outscored the Golden Eagles 3-1.

“I think you look at our record,” said head coach Brian Grady, “and you’d be crazy not to be disappointed.”  He admits the team came up short a majority of the time, but said being as competitive as they were bodes well for the future. “You can’t help but be optimistic with the development we saw this year,” he said. “The progress we made as a team was phenomenal.”

Grady, who just finished his first year with the Mustangs, said a number of factors, such as the team’s jump to NCAA Division III, their relative youth and a new coaching staff, all contributed to the Mustangs’ performance, or lack of, this season.

  However, Grady also said he was impressed with the individual performances of several of his players and that overall the team made a lot of headway toward being a better and tougher squad. He said Rob Sgarbossa had a phenomenal freshman year.  Sgarbossa led the team in points and finished in the top five in SUNYAC for freshman scoring. Grady said Sgarbossa will be at the foundation of the program as the team builds over the next few years. Similarly, Grady said Caylin Relkoff had an outstanding year in goal for the Mustangs and that he will be a “go-to guy” for the entirety of his career at Morrisville.

 According to the Morrisville website, out of 20 total losses, 12 of them, including their Dec. 8 match against defending national champions Oswego State, were by only 1 goal. “We battled game in and game out,” said Grady, who added that, with the exception of one or two games, the Mustangs gave every team “a run for their money.”

Defenseman Kyle Roberts, a sophomore from Whitesboro, NY, echoed Grady’s stance. “It’s better when you’re winning,” he said, “but we played tough every game.” Roberts, who said he’s been playing hockey since he was about four years old, said the season could have went better but that it was a great learning experience. He also said that Coach Grady is doing great things with the team.

  Grady said a major part of turning the team’s fortune around will center around why they play in the first place – the fans. He said he’d like to see the stands filled for every home game which will hopefully propel the team and give them “that extra boost.”

 Grady said students should be looking for the team to do a lot more with marketing and promotional incentives for home fans next year. “We want to make the IcePlex the most difficult place for an opposing team to play in the SUNYAC conference,” he said.

 Both Grady and Roberts said that although the season didn’t go exactly as planned, that the team is continuing to look ahead toward a brighter, more competitive future.