WILKES-BARRE, PA (November 1, 2019) --- The King's College men's ice hockey team will begin their third season of play on Saturday when they travel down to Maryland to take on Stevenson University in a United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) and Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) contest.

The Monarchs are looking to take another step forward in the building of the program after recording their first win last year. KC has a healthy mix of returners and newcomers on this year's roster. King's has 15 skaters back from last year while welcoming 13 new faces to the program. Leading the group is third year coach Stephen Mallaro.

Mallaro expects this team to be very competitive this season while playing a very tough schedule. Along with the 18 games in a very tough UCHC, the Monarchs will also play seven non-conference games including going on the road to take on SUNY Geneseo in early January. The Knights enter the season with National Championship aspirations after falling in the semifinals a year ago. Geneseo is ranked third in the nation as the season begins this weekend.

FORWARDS
King's will look to score a lot of goals this year with a big group of forwards. 17 of the 28 skaters are forwards led by captain Tommy Green. The junior scored the game-winning goal against Neumann a season ago while taking 13 shots. Classmates Tyler O'Mara and Isaac Cirinna each had four points on one goal and three goals apiece last year. Sophomore Michael DiSchiavi was a spark on the ice for the Monarchs as a freshman recording four assists. He was one of three Monarchs selected to the UCHC Player Watch List. Juniors Cameron Anklewich and Tanner Wilding are looking to also add more depth to the offense as both scored a goal and recorded two assists last year for three points. Alex Bastone is another junior that lit the lamp a year ago for King's as he recorded two points on one goal and one assist in six games. Sophomore JP Natishan and Matt Amelio are expected to see expanded roles in the second years after each recording an assist as freshmen.

The Monarchs welcome eight new faces to the group of forwards. Tommy Cahill is expected to contribute right away after being named to the Preseason Watch List. Cahill is from Winnetka, Illinois and played for the Whitewater Kings last year. The Monarchs have a pair of new local talent on the squad in Jerry Scatena and Josh Edwards. Scatena is a graduate of Pittston Area and resident of Wilkes-Barre while playing junior hockey for the Philadelphia Revolution. Edwards is from Mountain Top and is very familiar with playing at Revolution Ice Centre after graduating from Crestwood and playing for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights. Mallaro also brought in a couple of forwards from New Jersey in Rob Sheehan and Liam Johnson. Sheehan played for the New Jersey Hitmen and is from River Vale, NJ. Johnson is from Wyckoff, NJ and played for the Middlesex Black Bears last year. A pair of Canadians are expected to challenge for time on the ice in sophomore Alex Acosta and freshman Mark Mannarn. Acosta is a transfer from Northland College and is from Etobicoke, Ontario. He played junior hockey for the Soo Thunderbirds prior to attending Northland. Mannarn hails from Toronto and played for the Oswego Stampede a year ago. The last new face, Trevor Dixon, played for the Skipjacks Hockey Club last year and is from Bethesda, Maryland.

DEFENSE
The Monarch defense is looking to have a strong season with five returners and three newcomers. Junior Jack O'Neil and sophomore Connor Lavin had very strong seasons a year ago and will look to lead the defense. Also, back for the Monarchs is juniors Mitchell Foster and Tyler Wilding who could challenge for time on the top defensive line. Another junior, Eric Menninger adds depth and experience to the squad after skating in 18 games a season ago. Keaton Caplis, Rhett Padgett, and Nick Richards are all expected to compete for time on the ice as the new faces to the defensive unit. Caplis is from Gilbert, Arizona and played for Coulee Region Chill last year. Padgett is a Northeast Pennsylvania product from Millrift and a graduate of Delaware Valley High School. He played at the Rev last year for the WBS Knights. Richards comes to Wilkes-Barre from Lapeer, Michigan and the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners.

GOALTENDERS
Brandon Daigle is back for his second season after a very strong rookie campaign where he was named to the All-MAC Team while earning UCHC Rookie of the Week, UCHC Goaltender of the Week, and D3Hockey.com Team of the Week honors. The sophomore was named to the UCHC Player Watch List this year after making 689 saves in 19 games last year. Two new faces will challenge Daigle for time as the Monarchs welcome freshmen Tyler Sayger and Eric Daniel to the Wyoming Valley. Sayger is from Cheektowaga, New York and played in between the pipes for the Rochester Monarchs a year ago. Daniel is from Raleigh, North Carolina and played for the Carolina Eagles.
 
Following the game on Saturday at Stevenson, the Monarchs will return to Pennsylvania for their home opener next Friday as they welcome Elmira College to the Rev for a 7 pm puck drop.