Season Preview
Upcoming Season
The Oakland University Golden Grizzlies will begin their 21st regular season this coming month at Buffalo Wild Wings Arena in Troy. As the program looks to make its 10th National Tournament in 12 seasons, the Golden Grizzlies once again loaded up with 12 signings in the off-season. Coming off a season that saw the team compete with a record of 25-6-1-1, the Grizzlies are looking to follow up with another positive season after their final four appearance last season. The Golden Grizzlies will be led this year by senior captain Jack Abbo, who takes over for graduating senior Thomas Monte. With Abbo are assistant captains Kyle Giza, Shane Arbour, and Tommy Davis.
As the team continues to grow, the group returns roughly 13 players from the 2024-2025 campaign. These, along with the 12 signings from the off-season, will complete the Oakland University DIII roster for the 2025-2026 season. Head coach Matt Stirling (99-71-9-10) commented on the recruiting class for the upcoming year as he enters his 8th season as head coach, “This offseason was full of a bunch of new faces to our program. Our goal is to maintain our standing in the ACHA and MCHC while competing on the national scale. The experience of our group is what will carry us, and I’m very excited about the roster.” Rounding out the staff this season will be assistant coaches Tyler Lampman (5th Year), Sam Palmeter (3rd season), and goalie coach Clayton Brown (5th Year).
The Grizzlies, who came off their best season since the 2017-2018 campaign, look to a mix of returners and new players to help them compete in every area of the ice. See below for the breakdown of each position and the newcomers to the roster in the 2025-2026 season.
Forwards:
The Grizzlies return three of their top six scorers from last season, while returning a total of seven forwards to the 2025-2026 season. Key returners leading the way are forwards Jack Abbo, Shane Arbour, and Tommy Davis. The Grizzlies potted the most goals since the 2015-2016 season with 225 goals over the 33 games played (6.81 per game). With the returning group, the Grizzlies signed the following players to help bolster the offensive group:
- Cam Laufer (Grand Rapids Christian, HS)
- Ryan Naughton (AAGR, HS)
- Nathan Hall (Chippewa Valley, HS)
- Ethan Stabnick (Chippewa Valley, HS)
- Ashtin Fertik (Utica-Ford, HS)
- Danny Fletcher (Dells Ducks, USPHL)
- Ethan Ring (Davenport University, ACHA)
Defense:
On defense, the team is split with four returning defensemen and four new signings for the 2025-2026 season. The four returning defensemen are Kyle Giza, Reiss Williams, Nathan Rumptz, and Grant Stocker. They will be joined by a younger group who looks to learn from defensive coach Tyler Lampman while gaining valuable playing experience early. The team saw their best defensive year since the 2015-2016 season and looks to continue this downward trend going into the upcoming season. The team allowed only 65 goals last season, which was good for a 1.96 per game average. New players on the defensive side of the puck are listed below:
- Cade McCrate (Pembroke Lumber Kings, CCHL)
- Tate VanDerWerff (Northern Michigan, ACHA)
- Matt Cole (Riverview Gabriel Richard, HS)
- Max Sharkevich (De La Salle, HS)
Goalies:
Returning in net for the Grizzlies is senior goalie Caleb Godlewski. Godlewski’s season was shortened by injury in the second half of the year, but he returns for his final campaign in 2025-2026. Godlewski went 3-1-0-0 in the four games he played before the injury and has played over 20 career games for the Golden Grizzlies. Godlewski is joined by newcomer Max Pierce, who joins the team from the Dells Ducks in the USPHL. The tandem will look to improve upon the combined 92.3% save percentage and the 1.96 goals against average mentioned above.
Topics to Watch in the 1st Semester:
- How will the team look in the opening part of the season, and where will the team pick up from last season
- Will the offensive depth return like the 2024-2025 season
- How will the Golden Grizzlies compete in the highly regarded MCHC Conference for a chance at the regular-season title
- The next game won by your Golden Grizzlies will be coach Stirling’s 100th as head coach
As the team continues to practice in the upcoming weeks before their exhibition game against MD2 Schoolcraft on September 27th, please visit our website for more information regarding team notes and roster updates at https://oaklandhockeyd3.acha.hockeytech.com.