By Joshua Boyd / NCDCHockey.com
West Chester Wolves
Atlantic Division
Head Coach R.C. Lyke
Home Arena: PNY Sports Arena
The Wolves are ready to Join The Hunt, as their motto goes. They will hunt for wins, they will hunt for championships and they will hunt for the best NCAA college hockey opportunities for their players in this first season at PNY Sports Arena.
Their drive towards Day 1 of the season, however, was derailed on Aug. 29, when incoming Assistant Coach Matt Gaudreau and his brother Johnny Gaudreau were both killed by an alleged drunk driver. While that was a massive gut punch for the Wolves family, it was also motivation to craft something in West Chester of which Matt would have been proud.
“We have high expectations and standards both daily and for the season that we expect our Wolves players to uphold and buy into in order to be in our program,” said Wolves Co-Owner and Program Director R.C. Lyke. “We expect to be a very fast and skilled team that has a lot of size and physicality that will be extremely tough to play against night in and night out. We will rely on a strong veteran cast and many new and hungry rookies who will help lead our attack on both sides of the puck and in net for us this season.”
The Wolves enter the Atlantic Division, which features three of the last four Dineen Cup (playoff) Champions and every Founders Cup (regular season) champion.
“We feel the Atlantic Division in the NCDC provides the toughest competition night in and night out in our opinion. We are looking forward to having to bring your best game and effort everyday on and off the ice in our division consistently to be successful,” added Lyke. “We are looking forward to a lot of fast paced, skilled, and physical hockey games that will provide and establish some great rivalries and game play for our players, fans, and our league.”
The Wolves staff brings a lot of experience from across the pantheon of pro and college hockey, including a few locals dedicated to hockey in southeastern Pennsylvania.
Lyke is a former Mercyhurst NCAA Division I player who enjoyed a seven-year pro career thereafter. He has been coaching since 2007 (while still playing in the SPHL). He began coaching junior hockey in 2011, ultimately pushing the former Richmond Generals to USPHL Elite championships in both 2019 and 2022.
Tyler Casillo, the Associate Head Coach and Assistant GM, is in his third USPHL coaching year after previously coaching in the Premier with San Diego and Atlanta. Brian Leonard is the Assistant NCDC Coach, Leonard was by Lyke’s side on the Richmond bench between 2020-2023, and again in 2023-24 with the Twin City Ice Mavericks 18U and 16U teams. He also serves as HC of Wolves Premier team.
Eric Knodel, the Player Development and Skills Coach, is former University of New Hampshire NCAA D1 player and former ECHL Defenseman of the Year.
Jake Slim, the full-time Strength and Conditioning Coach, and Goaltending Coach Matt Tendler, are both graduates of nearby Neumann University, where Tendler was also a goalie and later an assistant coach for their NCAA program. Gordon MacFarlane is the team’s Performance Mindset Coach and Lindsay Tilley is the Wolves’ Power Skating Coach.
They’ve all put in a lot of time this past year, and Lyke is extremely happy about how it has all come together between all of the Wolves’ new teams.
“This off-season has been a grind in getting our facilities redone with the addition of all of our new teams – NCDC, Premier and the 18U and 16U AAA Academy teams. Our staff and ownership group have been working tirelessly on our facilities, recruiting, and getting all of our teams ready to have a successful season,” Lyke said.
“We feel as a staff that we had an extremely strong lineup of players we have tendered, drafted, and recruited this season. We felt we had a lot of success in hunting and bringing in the right kids that will fit our Wolves culture here most importantly,” Lyke added. “Everything for us will be built on our Wolves Culture and the development of our players on the ice as players and off the ice as young men. Our commitment to instilling the values of Family and Loyalty in our players will always remain the priority and focus here in our Wolves program.”
A big foundation block for the building of their new NCDC team was signing goaltender Griffin Davis, an ’05 from Nashua, N.H., who played 21 games in the NCDC last year, coming out with a .915 save percentage.
“He had a very big off-season and will challenge to be one of the best goalies in the league right out of the gate,” said Lyke.
Veteran NCDC defenseman and Captain Harrison Kinne will be a great addition as well.
“We expect him to log a ton of minutes for our D-core in all situations this year,” added Lyke.
Fellow defenseman Gabriel Fisher is joining from the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League.
“Gabe is an extremely skilled puck moving defenseman who can put up points and be a big time PP guy for us this year,” added Lyke. “He had a great season last year, and was selected to the NOJHL All-League and All-Star teams.”
Additional junior hockey veterans include Owen Norman – a veteran of the USPHL Elite and USPHL Premier Conferences – as well as Alec Alfieri, Anton Berg, Maddox Goudie, Connor Stokes and Bryan Weissler. This group together brings lots of speed, offensive ability, dynamic playmaking, high hockey IQ, penalty killing, size and physicality.
Among rookie players joining the Wolves, keep a close watch on ’05 goalie Sebastian Pribula. A native of Kosice, Slovakia, “Pribula will challenge to be a top young goaltender in our league right away with his speed and agility in between the pipes coupled with his great work ethic.”
On the blue line, watch for ’05 junior rookies Dew McCandless, Brayden Sprickman, Nathaniel Boeckle and Brady Huang. All but Huang played for the Twin City Ice Mavericks last year, with Huang joining from the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers. All are 6-feet-1-inch or taller, so size is a consistent trait they all bring.
“Drew brings consistent two-way play, Brayden brings a strong offensive dynamic for our team in transition and on the power play,” said Lyke. “Nathaniel brings a strong, physical and consistent defensive presence, and he is an excellent penalty killer. Brady brings skating, physicality and a strong offensive dynamic.”
Lyke sees a powerful group up front that includes NCAA Division I prospects, including ‘06’s Emil Szepesi and Cole Kerr, ’04 Joshua Swan, ’05 Philip Gamper, ’07 Kane Clark and ’08 Reed Richeson.
“Reed will be the youngest player in the league and he is a huge D-I prospect – strong, physical and he has an excellent shot,” said Lyke. “Kane is another big, physical skating forward who has a pro release on his shot.
“Emil brings speed and scoring to our lineup and has a pro shot. Cole is an extremely strong power forward who wins battles, makes plays and will get a lot of attention,” the coach added. “Philip is an extremely fast skating forward with excellent vision and passing ability. Joshua is dynamic and extremely skilled and knows how to score.”
It’s an exciting lineup ready to take the ice for the beginning of the 2024-25 NCDC season in West Chester, Pa.
