It's no secret that college and high school sports go through transitional periods every three to four seasons. Last season Montclair State graduated nine players in May and lost three others to academic internships. With much talent still remaining, the Red Hawks have added several exciting young players to their roster. It is to be expected that there will be a learning curve associated with the addition of 12 new players, but the coaching staff is making no excuses and expects to still be competitive. "Rebuilding is a term used as an excuse by many programs. We knew we had nine players leaving after successful academic careers and we weren't expecting some not to return, but we can't fault them for wanting to excel academically. That's what they are here for. We have viable players that are still here and that's our focus, not dwelling on what has moved on", coach Martinez said.

The Red Hawks return several dynamic forwards in Travis Ritter, Chris Preziosi, and Sam Enright. They also return solid goaltending in Brad Odgers. They have also added Trevor Tironi, Bobby Palzer, and Jon Schwade to their roster giving them a four goalie roster for the first time in the programs existence. Returning forwards Mike Pirovano, James Benfatti, Matt Cofrancesco, Sal Demarzo, and J.D. Maida are all looking ready to fill the offensive gaps. The Red Hawks also return junior Mark Powell after a season off due to illness. The real question mark lies on the blue line as they are only returning one with playing experience in Colin Trevors. With the departure of Tom Lindquist, Brian Manning, Dylan Devereuex, Andy Latta, and Dan Thompson, the Red Hawks have a crop of young talent in Dan Diner, Kevin Brown, and Dan Abaunza to name a few.

With over ten commitments for the 2016/2017 season, the Red Hawks look to be young in age over the next two seasons, but expect nothing less than in years past.

The season kicks off against Rowan this Friday night and continues on Sunday at UMBC.