COURTESY PHOTO BY ANDREA HANSEN
Peabody native Jonathan Felteau serves as an assistant captain in his senior season for the Salve Regina men’s hockey team.
By JOSHUA KUMMINS
When the games got bigger for the Salve Regina University men’s hockey team last winter, Peabody native Jonathan Felteau stepped up.
Felteau’s play in big moments stood out to seventh-year head coach Andy Boschetto. Now an assistant captain in his senior season, Felteau has continued building off the momentum created during the Seahawks’ run to their first-ever ECAC Northeast title a year ago.
“The bigger the games, the better he is,” Boschetto said. “He was one of our best players, if not the best, in the playoffs last year. This year, he’s been very consistent. I think the guys really respect him, and he shows up every day ready to go.”
Felteau has 12 points in 19 games this season, five of which have come during 12 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) contests. An alum of Proctor Academy in Andover, N.H., Felteau ranks third on the team with seven goals, although he’s been held without one in the last two weeks.
The Seahawks won six of their first seven games and went 9-2-2 through their first 13 contests. Like the team, Felteau got off to a strong individual start, scoring goals in four straight games and points in five of six. He also went on a three-game scoring streak to open this calendar year, posting a goal and two assists against Southern New Hampshire.
“I got off to a pretty good start personally, scoring a few more goals than I’m used to,” Felteau said. “Going into this year, I focused a lot more on conditioning and my strength training, and have continued that throughout the season. That’s the biggest thing that’s helped me achieve some of the success I’ve had.”
If the Seahawks can make another late-season charge and playoff run, Felteau could also make a run at his career-high point total.
With four regular-season games left, he needs six points to match the 17 he posted as a freshman and a junior. Last year, he scored four goals and 13 assists in 27 games.
No matter what the scoresheet shows, Felteau has progressed in a big way. Boschetto also noticed Felteau’s improved conditioning too, and his leadership plays a big role.
“He’s been consistent and a good senior leader for us,” Boschetto said. “The maturing of him over four years has been really cool to watch. He came in in the best shape of his career this year, and he’s a really intelligent kid who has a lot of good things to say.
“When he talks, people listen.”
Felteau’s most recent streak included points in back-to-back games at traditional ECAC West powers No. 3 Hobart and Elmira.
This season, Felteau’s Seahawks are 11-7-2 overall and 8-4-1 in CCC play. They have defeated No. 12 Endicott, regional stalwarts University of New England and UMass Boston, and tied Nichols. UNE and Nichols both received votes in D3hockey.com’s national poll last week.
“We all play to win the championship games and big games. For me, it’s easy to get up in those games,” Felteau said. “You want to be the guy who helps the team get to the next round or get that first championship, like last year. I just try to play my best games in the biggest ones.”
Last season, the Seahawks won three of their last four regular-season games and three straight in the ECAC Northeast playoffs to capture the program’s first title.
However, a 7-1 loss to SUNY Geneseo in their NCAA Tournament opener still leaves a sour taste.
“It was great to get over the hump and get that first championship out of the way, but I think the guys took the way we lost that game to heart,” Felteau said. “At the beginning of the year, I think we took that personally and it gave us a little extra motivation this year to go back and prove that wasn’t a fluke.”
Names and notes
- Saugus’ Mike Vecchione became the all-time leading scorer in the Union College men’s hockey team‘s Division 1 era on Friday as he netted his nation-leading fourth shorthanded goal of the season as part of a two-goal effort in a 5-3 loss at Cornell. Vecchione’s first of two goals on the night marked his 158th collegiate point in his 138th game.
- Peabody’s Christine Shea earned New England Women’s & Men’s Athletic Conference Women’s Swimmer of the Week honors after helping Springfield College best Holy Cross in a Friday dual meet. Shea won the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke events and helped the Pride’s 200 medley relay team finish second against the Division 1 competitors.
- Former St. Mary’s goaltender Sarah Foss made 26 saves in the Northeastern women’s hockey team’s 4-3 overtime win over Providence. Friday was Senior Day for the North Reading native who earned her first victory of the season in her third start.
- Marblehead’s Jake Kulevich extended his Colgate University hockey team lead with his 12th assist and 15th point of the season in a 5-2 loss to RPI on Friday.
