WILKES-BARRE, PA (October 29, 2021) -- A new era of King's College men's ice hockey finally gets underway on Friday evening as the Monarchs host SUNY Brockport in the first game of the 2021-22 season.

King's last played a regulation ice hockey game 615 days ago earning an upset victory at Nazareth to end the 2019-20 campaign. A lot has changed since then including a new coach, new uniforms, and many new student-athletes. The Monarchs have a large roster of 42 skaters that includes 14 returners from two years ago. Tom Seravalli was hired prior to the 2020-21 academic year and has hit the recruiting trail hard bringing in 21 new skaters and seven transfers over the last two years.

KC was the only team in the Middle Atlantic Conference to opt out of the shortened season last year and was one of a few teams in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference not to play any games. The excitement for a new era of Monarch hockey has been brewing all this time and the Monarchs are looking to compete for a spot in the UCHC Tournament at the end of the season.

FORWARDS
The Monarchs are very deep at the forward position and are led by Michael DiSchiavi. The senior was named to the UCHC Players to Watch List after a breakout sophomore season in 2019-20 when he recorded 14 points on four goals and a team-leading 10 assists. His season on the ice earned him All-MAC Second Team honors. Classmates JP Natishan and Matt Amelio are also back for the Monarchs and are looking to provide senior leadership to a large group of players who are seeing action in their first NCAA hockey games this year. Amelio skated in 13 games in 2019-20 recording two points on one goal and one assist while Natishan saw action in eight games.

The junior class features returners Rob Sheehan, Josh Edwards, Liam Johnson, and Jerry Scatena along with five transfers. Brett Dillon and Tyler Besner joined the Monarchs after skating at Bryn Athyn College while Ian Zaleski, Andrew Dreher, and Josh Mead arrive in Wilkes-Barre from Becker after the college closed. Edwards was fourth on the team in points in 2019-20 with eight on one goal and seven assists while Johnson recorded six points on four goals and two assists. Sheehan also had six points on three goals and three assists while Scatena scored two goals. Dillon skated in 13 games at BAC recording three points on two goals and one assist while Besner skated in 10 games and had three assists. Zaleski has the most experience of the transfer skating in 30 career games with 10 points on two goals and eight assists. Mead skated in 26 career games with eight points on three goals and five assists while Dreher did not see action in any games.

There are 13 forwards recruited by Seravalli who will look to make an impact for the Monarch attack. Jack Olson is the only sophomore of the group and played for the Great Falls Americans in the NA3HL before joining the Monarchs last season. Luke Babilon is from Glen Allen, VA and played for the Carolina Jr. Hurricanes in the USPHL, Kent Lee is from Misawa, Japan and played in the USPHL for the Philadelphia Hockey Club, and Casey Gerstein is from Markham, Ontario and played for the Florida Eels in the USPHL. Aaron Frenkel also played in the USPHL for the Tampa Bay Juniors and is from Edina, MN. Jack Cooper and Tyler Blanchard were teammates on the Texas Jr. Brahmas in the NA3HL with Cooper hailing from Santa Cruz, CA and Blanchard from San Jose, CA. Alexander Ray is from Hasselby, Sweden and played for the Skipjacks Hockey Club in the USPHL. Patrick Nowak played for Team Maryland in the EHL and is from Rochester, NY while Jimmy Petuch played in the USPHL for the Hudson Havoc and is from Newton, NJ. Nick Snyder is a native of Clay, NY and played for the Protec Jr. Ducks of the EHL, Mahingan Decontie is a product of the Nepean Raiders of the CCHL and calls Gatineau, Quebec home, and Patrick Pech is a native of Wilkes-Barre and played for the Carolina Jr. Hurricanes in the USPHL.

DEFENSE
The Monarchs have a lot of experience back on defense as Jack O'Neil and Eric Menninger are back for their fifth years on the team. O'Neil has skated in 55 games during his career and recorded seven points on one goal and six assists while Menninger has seen action in 50 games and recorded three points on one goal and two assists.

Seniors Conor Lavin and Zach Satalino also bring a lot of experience to the group with Lavin skating in 39 games during his first two seasons and recording two points on one goal and one assist. Satalino transferred to King's prior to last season after spending his first two years at St. Scholastica and Lawrence. The West Chester, PA native skated in 49 games during his first two years recording 18 points on five goals and 13 assists.

The junior class includes returners Nick Richards and Rhett Padgett. Richards saw action in 21 games as a rookie in 2019-20 and recorded one goal and two assists for three points. Padgett skated in 17 games and had two assists. The sophomore class includes Brian Kerrigan, Evan Green, and Dante Ardite. Kerrigan was on the Monarch roster last year after playing for the Potomac Patriots in the USPHL. Green transferred from Becker where he skated in nine games last year and scored one goal. Ardite is a transfer from Lindenwood who plays in the ACHA II. The Bellmawr, NJ native saw action in six games recording one goal and two assists for three points.

Four first year skaters are expected to contribute right away to the Monarchs. Jackson Grozelle hails from Deep River, Ontario and played for the Cochrane Crunch in the NOJHL. Geronimo Whiteduck played for the Nepean Raiders in the CCHL and is from Gatineau, Quebec. Jakub Viedemann comes to King's from Litvinov, Czech Republic and played in the USPHL for the Carolina Jr. Hurricanes. Erik Borschevsky is a native of Manalapan, NJ and played for the New Jersey Rockets in the USPHL.

GOALTENDERS
King's is expected to be very strong in between the pipes this season with Brandon Daigle and Tyler Sayger seeing much of the action. Both were named to the UCHC Players to Watch List after both had standout performances during the 2019-20 campaign. The duo split time during the 2019-20 season with each seeing action in 11 games. Daigle was an All-MAC Honorable Mention in 2018-19 and closed out the 2019-20 season with a career-high 59 saves in the 2-1 win at Nazareth. The senior has earned Goaltender of the Week, Rookie of the Week, and Defensive Player of the Week awards four times in his career. Sayger had a great rookie season two years ago and won his first collegiate appearance with 35 saves in a 2-1 victory at Lebanon Valley. He made a career-high 55 saves against Chatham and was named the UCHC Goaltender of the Week and MAC Defensive Player of the Week twice.

Sophomore Nick Konkel and first year Matt Bidini are expected to compete for time this year. Konkel is from White Bear Lake, MN and played for the Elmira Jr. Soaring Eagles in the NA3HL. Bidini is a native of Marlton, NJ and played in the USPHL for the Philadelphia Hockey Club.