The Duke Blue Devils will seek to rebuild a championship run this season, after falling just short in last year’s ACC championship game to the Georgetown Hoyas.  Duke has a strong core of returning players, despite the loss of eight seniors from last year’s team.  Twelve upperclassmen return this fall to help lead the team, rare for a school where most juniors spend the fall semester abroad.
            Duke will come into this season with a very experienced offensive front, which should have no problems finding the back of the net this year.  Four seniors return to provide veteran leadership and goal-scoring ability at forward.  Brandon Jenkins (a former ACCHL tournament MVP), Dan Larrea, Dan Phan, and Judd Fastenberg have all seen their fair share of goals over the past 3 seasons, and will look to build upon their past success in their final season in a Blue Devils uniform.  Juniors Brian Lake and Jared Smith and sophomore Marc Perez will also play key roles at forward this year.  Lake and Smith have consistently been top scorers for the Blue Devils, while Perez had a tremendous freshman season (was voted by the team as Rookie of the Year) and provided the team with clutch goals in several of their games last year. 
            On defense, Duke has successfully rebuilt a strong defensive core, despite the loss of three defensemen from last year’s team to graduation.  Junior Kevin Hatala, voted by the team as last season’s Most Valuable Player, will lead the defensive core along with classmates Trevor Foskett and Aaron Lerner.  Kyle Silver, a senior, is a new addition to the team, but will step in immediately as an integral part of Duke’s defense as well.
            In goal, Duke will be loaded this season, returning both of last season’s goalies, sophomores Elderidge Nichols and 2006-2007 ACCHL All-Star Steve Galanis.  Also certain to see time in net this season is freshman Andrew Kleist.  This addition gives Duke three very solid goaltenders, allowing them all to stay fresh and at the top of their game.
            Duke will start off their season at home on September 28th, as they will face Appalachian State.  Directions to the Blue Devils’ home arena can be found under the ‘Home Arena’ link at the top of the webpage.