A new-look Loyola Gold takes the ice this season as the Ramblers graduated 15 seniors – and welcome 13 new skaters and one new goalie, some from Loyola Maroon and some from other clubs.

Still, optimism is sky-high.

“I have a lot of confidence in this group because we have great leaders and return two great goalies. We are a young team without a lot of SHL experience, but our boys are talented, listen and work hard,” said Gold head coach Scott Ciraulo, in his 10th year coaching, his fourth as the Ramblers head coach. Longtime Loyola Gold leader D.J. LaVarre is the club’s hockey director.

“We will relentlessly compete, play fast, aggressive and physical.”

Ciraulo, 37, who lives in Chicago, coached the Chicago Jets for four years. When he started on the Ramblers’ bench, he was a Gold assistant coach and ran the offense for his first two years.

“Our offense will be different this season. We will still be aggressive, but we will play a more north/south game and focus on getting pucks and bodies to the net,” Ciraulo said.

Defensively, the Ramblers will be led by Mack Klein and Cooper Nelson, both of whom return for their third season. “We expect our team defense to be the foundation of our team,” Ciraulo said.

Goaltenders Charlie Trapp and Declan Smith are back, along with newcomer Patrick Kraft. “Charlie had an excellent first season and we know he wants to elevate his game this season,” Ciraulo said. “Declan unfortunately suffered an injury that kept him out last season, but he can be an elite goaltender.”

So how far can the Ramblers go this season?

“We will focus on the small goals and, if we accomplish those, the big goals will take care of themselves,” Ciraulo said. “We need to come together as a team, build and establish our identity, and we need to out-work every other team both on and off the ice.”

  Ciraulo said the 2024-25 SHL will be as competitive as ever. “We expect all the teams to be extremely competitive and know that we will not have any easy league games,” he said. “Most of the teams that finished in the top eight (of state) last year look very good.

“This (Gold) team lacks SHL experience, but we have a very high ceiling. We brought in a lot of talented and coachable players who want to be great.”

Breakout Player: Keep an eye on Mack Klein. “He works extremely hard and will do whatever it takes to help Gold earn success,” Ciraulo said.