Swampscott hockey looks to bounce back

It was only two years ago that the Swampscott hockey team was skating on TD Garden ice in the Division 3 state championship game. Last season, however, wasn’t the follow-up that coach Gino Faia was hoping for.The Big Blue suffered through some growing pains with an extremely young team and wound up missing the postseason. Now a year older and with a lot more experience on its side, Swampscott hopes a return trip to the playoffs is on the agenda.?We have a really good mix of kids,” Faia said. “And we also have five freshmen that have good size and they’re going to see time. The guys that were here didn’t like losing last year.”Last season’s disappointment is something that Faia hopes will add fuel to the Big Blue’s fire when their season kicks off on Saturday at home against Rockport.?Even the young guys who weren’t here last season didn’t like seeing us lose,” Faia said. “They’re real competitive and that’s good. You can see the fire in their eyes. They are ready to get at it.”Leading the Big Blue will be a core of seniors who were a major part of getting to the Garden two seasons ago. Heading that group is goaltender Trent Gallagher, who is expected to shoulder the majority of time in goall. Backing him up will be freshman Dan Johnson, who played well in the Northeastern Conference jamboree against Winthrop yesterday.?Trent has been around for a few years now and Dan was impressive in our scrimmage against Dracut,” Faia said.Up front, seniors Stevie Dandreo and Ryan Cresta will see plenty of minutes while another senior, Joey Faia, will anchor the rear guard.?All of them were a part of the team that played for a state title and they know what it takes to make the tournament and be successful,” Faia said.The other three upperclassmen on the Big Blue’s roster ? forward Peter Doyle and defensemen E.J. Palleschi and Dante Ceccarelli ? will likely see plenty of time and be expected to help share in the leadership duties.That experience will be blended with a group of sophomores who got a good share of playing time last season, as well as several freshmen who bring size and speed to the lineup.?We got a good-size class of freshmen that came in and that’s good,” Faia said. “It’s nice to get a couple of back-to-back classes like that to be the nucleus for us.”Sophomores Louis Olivieri and Ryan Donnelly return to the forward group after solid freshmen
seasons, along with Andrew Dove, Kevin Lombard and Mike Johnson. On the blue line, David Peterson and Emery Wollerscheid are expected to see plenty of time.The freshmen class is headed by Jack Poska, the son of former Lynn English goalie and head coach Matt Poska. Dom Codispoti, Brett Benoit, Steven Santanello and Thomas O’Keefe also are expected to play major minutes as ninth-graders.?This group (of freshmen) isn’t as skilled as the group we had last year but they all can play and are going to see some serious minutes,” Faia said.The Big Blue will be part of an extremely balanced NEC/South group that includes defending champion Lynn along with resurgent Revere and newcomer Gloucester, which is moving from the NEC/North. Add a much-improved Salem program under coach Ted Hanley and Faia knows that it will be a battle every night.?The parity is going to be really good,” Faia said. “There isn’t one game that we can look at as one on the board for us. It’s going to be a battle the whole year.”Outside the conference, Swampscott has two games each with Merrimack Valley Conference heavyweight Lowell and Cape Ann League/Small power Rockport, as well as meetings with Cohasset and Watertown. The Big Blue will also play in the Lynn Jets Christmas tournament over the holiday break.