By
Brian Penso
Arizona Daily Wildcat
New season is last chance for three seniors
The Arizona Icecats, which is ranked fourth in the American Collegiate Hockey Association's preseason polls, elected captains for the team's 2000-01 campaign yesterday.
The Icecat players - not head coach Leo Golembiewski - vote on who they feel deserves the honor of being captain.
Senior forwards Paul Dorn and Mark Harris and senior defenseman Tyler Brush were named co-captains for the second consecutive season.
Dorn, whose scoring ability has made him a fan favorite throughout the past three seasons, will enter his senior season as one of the Icecats' offensive leaders.
"It is a great honor to be voted captain by my teammates and not the coaches," Dorn said.
All three seniors said that being captain is a reward for hard work and dedication during their tenure as Icecats.
"Being honored as a captain in my final season makes me feel like all of my hard work has paid off over the years," Dorn said.
All three captains have shown their leadership in their own ways.
Brush is the Icecats' top defender and vocal leader of the team.
"I try to motivate our players, so they get fired up," Brush said.
Dorn said that Brush's leadership will help contribute to the success the Icecats will attempt to have this season.
"Tyler motivates everyone when they are not playing well," Dorn said. "He just knows how to get a player spirits up so they play their best."
Dorn - who tends to lead more through example than vocally - is No. 11 on the Icecats all-time scoring list with 205 points.
"When game time comes around, I keep to myself and I let my game do my talking," Dorn said.
Harris is seventh on the Icecats all-time scoring list with 219 points.
"Marc is a great scorer, which everyone respects," Dorn said. "He also has no problem criticizing a player when they play bad, which makes him a great captain."
With championship expectations, all three players feel a sense of urgency in final season as Icecats.
"This my senior year," Brush said. "This is our do-or-die season. This is our last season, and, as captain, I want to make sure that I get every player to play up to their ability."
Dorn agreed.
"As seniors, we need to play our hearts out and leave everything we have out on the ice," he said.
The three seniors, however, will not be the only leaders on the team. The Icecats return most of their core players from 1999, including junior goalkeeper Jason Morgan.
"A lot of our team is coming back, which will make our jobs a lot easier," Brush said.
