By BW Jones

Quality and quantity.

Both of these words could be used to describe the new group of players that joined the UK hockey team this season. In previous seasons, top heavy rosters featuring stars like Mike Barnes and Patrick McAdams were the norm, but not anymore. A host of freshman and sophomores may already be becoming the face of the team, which features only three seniors.

Nine freshmen and a pair of sophomore transfers have infused the roster with a new wave of speed and depth. Their impact has been especially significant on offense.

Head coach Rob Docherty said the depth on this year’s team is one of the biggest differences from last year’s squad.

“We’re playing five lines even though we can only dress four, so we’re a very deep team,” Docherty said. “Last year we were dependent on one line for most of the scoring. Every line that goes out there is capable of being dangerous.”

Docherty gave special mention to sophomore Taylor Vit, a transfer who is already proving himself to be one of the team’s best players.

“Vit’s just a beautiful hockey player,” Docherty said. “He’s got size, got hands, and he’s got a shot.”

Docherty’s praise for the newcomers extended far beyond Vit. Sophomore transfer Jim Borgaard has started the past three games in goal for the Cool Cats, and Docherty  said freshmen Michael Getz, Sean Wittman, Hunter Lyons and Danny Graham have also played important roles on the team.

The Cool Cats split this weekend’s series at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo. After winning the opener Friday 6-5, they dropped the Saturday game 6-4. UK hockey will enter its weekend series against Indiana 2-2 on the season. Still, Docherty was pleased with the progress made by the rookies and the team as a whole this weekend.

“They’re really blending as lines and as a team,” Docherty said. “Overall, they’re showing a lot of promise already.”

Senior Chris Protenic said he’s pleased with the results of the youth movement on and off the ice, where the new players are already bonding with the rest of the team.

“It’s probably the first team I’ve ever been on where nobody thinks they’re better than anybody else,” Protenic said.

Getz, a freshman, said the upperclassmen have actually eased his transition to competing at the college level.

“At first I wasn’t sure if I wanted to play because I thought I’d be overwhelmed with hockey and school, but all the seniors have been real supportive,” Getz said.

Not everything has changed from last year, though. According to Docherty, the team continues to give up early leads and let opponents back into games. The Cool Cats have led early in all four games only to lose two of them. Though Docherty doesn’t believe the youth of the team is to blame for this weakness, he said it’s a problem the team will have to work on.

“We have to learn to stick to the game plan that got us that lead,” Docherty said. “We need to get that killer instinct and take games away from teams.”

Docherty said  if the team continues to develop together, they’ll be tough to beat.

“If they try and do it as an individual, they’re going to get stopped,” Docherty said. “Anybody can stop an individual.”

Getz said the team is already taking that mantra to heart, even off the ice.

“There’s no cliques,” Getz said. “We’re all a team and there’s not separate groups that go hang out together.”