For many players on Merrimack’s Men’s Ice Hockey team this season will mark the end of their collegiate careers. The team is having a great season, and one of their best in recent years. As it stands Merrimack sits in third place in the Hockey East. Senior forward Logan Drevitch had plenty to say about the state of the team and his own experience here at Merrimack.
When asked about why he chose Merrimack and what brought him here Logan gave a simple answer. “What caught my eye about Merrimack was the small campus. The size of the college gives off a feeling of a strong community. I committed to Merrimack right after they made a big run to the Frozen Four tournament. They were kind of in a rebuilding stage and I wanted to help change that and bring a championship to this program”, said Drevitch.
This season marks the last for Drevitch. “I knew this year was going to be a good one. We knew we had a season like this coming. We have an older group of guys on the team that have been together for the past few years. Last season didn’t end like we wanted it to either. But this year we got some special players from the transfer portal to add into the mix so we were super excited coming into the season” Logan said.
With each new season, there are bound to be changes from the previous season. “Maturity is a big part of it, to win games you need experience” said Logan. The team has shown a lot of growth not only over the last few seasons, but this season as well. The guys on the team feel like they had unfinished business from last year so that put a chip on their shoulder. The Hockey East preseason coach’s poll had Merrimack picked to finish last in the conference adding to the chip on their shoulder."
Scott Borek, the head coach at Merrimack, joined the team in 2018. Drevitch and his roommate are two of the only players he didn’t recruit to Merrimack. Having been able to recruit most of the team members, Borek has been able to easily familiarize himself with the team over the last few years. “Being an older group, we have a lot of leaders in the group so it takes some pressure off the coaches knowing everyone is there for each other. We got a new head coach about four years ago. The good thing about that is he recruited everyone on the team except for my roommate and I. He’s familiar with all the guys on the team and he knows what it takes so we’re confident he’s going to put the right guys on the ice to win games.” said Drevitch. There’s a lot of trust between the coaches and players which makes for a winning atmosphere.
Every team in sports wants to win a championship when they start their season. Merrimack Men’s hockey is no different from any other team. They want it just as bad as anyone else and a championship has always been the team’s goal. “The goal is to always win the Hockey East tournament and we felt like we had the group to do it. From day one we thought so, at the beginning of the year there are games we should’ve won, and when we started having this recent success it wasn’t really a surprise to us, we expected it. It’s not like we were jumping up and down celebrating, we’re not celebrating now, we'll celebrate at the end of the year when we win it.” said the Merrimack forward.
The road to the championship is never easy. Teams face challenges throughout the year whether it be due to injuries or runs of poor form alike. For a team winning games, it can be hard to not to get overconfident. That has been one of Merrimacks’ toughest challenges this season. Drevitch emphasized that it’s important to not celebrate too early. After winning a few games the team needs to make sure to remind themselves to stay focused on the goal. It can be easy to get back to the grind after a loss but it’s much harder when the team feels like they can’t lose. “I think the biggest challenge is not taking your foot off the gas,” said Drevitch.
Hockey is certain to be a part of the future for Logan. All the hard work put in to get him here will continue to carry him in his future. This sport has been a major part of his life and will continue to be. “I have an agent and we’ve talked about my future. I plan on playing hockey professionally in the fall.” Logan stated. His focus right now however is all about Merrimack and helping the team win.
“I’ve built friendships over four years, even from when I was a freshman. Some of those guys are my best friends today, so that is what I’ll remember most,” Drevitch remarked. Merrimack hockey has become like a family to him, as well the campus community. Merrimack has provided a home away from home for students just like Logan and makes them feel welcomed. Before his time is finally up with Merrimack, the senior has one last message for future players. “Stay with it. Don’t get frustrated, and don’t focus too much on personal success. At the end of the day all you have is your teammates coming out of this. So just enjoy yourself!” said Logan Drevitch.
Merrimack has always prided itself on their hockey team. Within the college community the team has tons of fans. Winning the Hockey East championship would bring joy to the community, but more importantly to players like Logan who have been an integral part of the hockey program.