With a 9-1-1 overall record and a 4-0-1 mark in the ACCHL, Duke Ice Hockey rolled into the mid-season holiday break having completed its most successful fall semester in team history. After dropping the season opener at Maryland, the Blue Devils reeled off a ten game unbeaten streak, the only blemish coming in the form of a 1-1 tie at home versus league foe George Mason. Included in the unbeaten streak were wins over ACCHL opponents Georgetown and Virginia Tech as well as a 7-0 pasting of non-league rival Georgia Tech, all of which avenged losses dealt to the Blue Devils last year. The semester ended with a gutsy two-game sweep in Washington, D.C., the Devils making the trip just before final exams and pulling out a close 2-1 victory over George Mason to avenge the previous tie and then dumping Georgetown 9-3 to end the first half on an emphatic high.

Heading into the 2003-2004 season, the primary goal for Duke coaches Brent Selman and Bill Williams was to get stronger in net and improve a defense that last year was devastated by injuries and finished near the bottom of the league in shots and goals allowed. So far after one semester, the current Blue Devil squad has outshot every opponent and sports a defensive corps that is as good as any in the ACCHL. Leading the way has been goaltender Clayton Jernigan, a law student who arrived via Williams College and who has quickly become the Devils' number one netminder. After missing the opening contest versus Maryland, Jernigan has seen action in every game and consistently shut the door on opponents, ending the semester with zero losses and a sparkling 1.75 goals against average. He has also emerged as the team leader that Duke has been missing between the pipes since the hey-day of Chris McHugh in 2000-2001. Furthermore, sophomore Marc Roitman and freshman Andrew Barbour have proved more than capable backups, keeping a positive atmosphere on the bench and shutting down opponents whenever called upon. Roitman even earned Mad Dog Player of the Game honors for combining with Jernigan on an 8-0 shutout of The College of New Jersey.

On the blue line Duke has been led by the consistent and impressive play of freshmen Ryan Eick and Issey Kato. Both have suited up in every game and have shown the ability to pitch in on both ends of the ice. Standing 6'6", Eick has lived up to his billing as Duke Hockey's big man on campus, logging significant ice time in every contest and becoming an integral part of the Devils' special teams. Kato has also seen action in a variety of situations while at the same time maintaining a physical presence by continuously demolishing opponents with big open-ice hits. Moreover, senior Calvin Hui and sophomore Drew Evans have displayed the defensive form that earned both of them ACCHL honors a year ago, making the Blue Devil back line one of the toughest in the league.

In terms of offense, Duke has earned the reputation over the past few seasons as a free-wheeling team that can pepper opposing goalies and pile up goals, and this season has been no different. Pacing the Blue Devil attack has been senior Robert Fogarty, who ended the semester with a team-high 11 goals and 17 points. With 14 points at the break, senior Brian Markowitz has returned to the form that garnered him 2002 Canes Cup MVP, and sophomore Steve Lake has emerged as the Devils' premier setup man, leading the team with 14 assists. Of course, then there is captain and first team All-ACCHL selection Jeff Lake. After getting off to a slow start, the senior has come around of late, netting two big goals versus Georgetown that will hopefully pave the way for an explosive spring semester. Lake ended the semester with 14 points and is one of five Blue Devils that skated out of the fall with double-digit points.

Other significant contributors to the balanced Blue Devil attack included freshmen Bert Maidment and Ben Tyson. With their tremendous speed and youthful exuberance, both rank not only among the Duke leaders in goals, but also among the ACCHL leaders in freshmen scoring. Meanwhile, seniors David Bradley, Jesse Swanko, and Ben Peterson have displayed excellent checking line abilities by consistently shutting down opponents' top lines while at the same time chipping in timely goals. Sophomores Eric Shepsman and Justin Bieber have also helped wear down the opposition with big hits in the corners and strong play in front of the net. Finally, senior Josh Wirth, sophomore Dom Totino and freshmen Alex Putterman, Jeremiah Liao, and Peter Elkins-Williams have shown steady improvement and have done an excellent job plugging holes in the lineup when called upon.

The fall semester also saw its fair share of lineup surprises for the Blue Devils. First of all, there was the return of junior Joe Crotty. After missing virtually all of last season, the talented forward came back as one of Duke's top offensive threats, netting six points in six games before having his semester cut short by a lower body injury. He is expected back for the start of the spring term. The second major surprise was the tremendous pickup of sophomore Dave Rabin. A relatively late addition to the Blue Devil lineup that did not play during his freshmen year, Rabin burst onto the scene with a four goal performance versus Vanderbilt and ended the semester second on the team with seven goals. He has also shown the valuable ability to switch between forward and defense, bolstering the blue line when needed and serving as Duke's primary utility man. Finally, there was the gritty play of freshman defenseman Kevin Ford. Hailing from California, Ford stepped right in as a regular man in the rotation, providing physical play on defense while also figuring in on timely goals. Assistant Coach Bill Williams put it best by saying, "When Kevin, our smallest defenseman, goes out there and punishes their guy with a big hit, it lifts up the entire team. That is what we need out of our role players." Duke is also expecting the return soon of highly skilled sophomore forward Joe Freimuth who missed the entire fall semester with a foot injury.

Although Duke finished the first half of the season with an impressive record and currently sits atop the ACCHL, the road will only get tougher for the Blue Devils as they head toward a league title in 2004. The upcoming schedule includes two home games against non-league rival Kentucky in which Duke will seek redemption for an overtime loss last year, as well as two road games against ACCHL rival Virginia, the team that put Duke out of the playoffs in 2003. There are also two games coming versus cross-town foe North Carolina as well as a home-in-home set with bitter rival and defending league champion North Carolina State, the first of which is a highly anticipated battle in Raleigh as part of the annual round-robin Canes Cup tournament. Despite the looming opponents, Duke coach Brent Selman congratulates his team for their excellent first half while also looking to the future. As he put it, "If our boys keep up the positive communication, good flow with the line-changes, hard hitting, and passion to win, we will be a tough team for anyone to play against." The eight Duke seniors share Coach Selman's sentiments as they head into their final semester together, looking to bring the Canes Cup back to Durham and leave the ACCHL on top. Says senior and team vice president David Bradley, "We had a great fall semester and could not have expected more out of anybody, but we are only half way there and now the real season starts. We want to build on our 9-1-1 first semester mark such that we capture the Canes Cup, the ACCHL regular season league title, and the ACCHL playoff crown. It is not going to be easy, but I feel we have the pieces in place to get the job done."

NOTES
Duke will next take the ice on Saturday, January 10th in a home contest versus the VCU Rams… The team will then head to Raleigh on Friday, January 16th for the Canes Cup featuring ACCHL teams NC State, UNC, and Virginia Tech… Duke last won the Canes Cup in 2002 and the ACCHL title in 1998.