Mark Dekanich

Classroom

Dekanich is a history major with a 3.15 cumulative grade point average through the spring 2007 semester. His academic interests extend beyond the classroom. During the summer of 2006, while completing an internship at The Kraematon Group in Boston, Dekanich visited the Boston Public Library and Trinity Church, two buildings he had studied in a course he had taken on architecture the previous fall. Dekanich has taken several courses in architecture, which demonstrates his interest in academic pursuits beyond his major. He is expected to graduate in May 2008.

Character

Although he doesn’t wear a letter on his jersey, there is no doubt that Dekanich is a leader of his team. He has started nearly every game in net for Colgate over the last three seasons, and his teammates and opponents alike respect him for his work ethic and his high standard of ability. Dekanich also demonstrated his work ethic during the summer of 2007, when he attended his first Nashville Predators Conditioning Camp. A 2006 fifth-round draft pick of the Predators, Dekanich finished first out of the 28 prospects at the camp in overall fitness testing. The tests included two varieties of vertical jump, a side broad jump, and several stationary bike tests. Perhaps his greatest show of character came at the end of last season. After two solid seasons of play on the college level, Dekanich could have left school early and turned pro; however, he had little trouble making the decision to stay in school and finish his collegiate career.

Community

Dekanich is actively involved in the local community through his team’s community service endeavors. Each year, he and the rest of his teammates host a community skate, Skate with the Raiders, in which both the men’s and women’s hockey teams share the ice with fans of all ages. Last year, Dekanich and his teammates collected more than 200 toys for needy families during their holiday toy drive; raised more than $3,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation in honor of an 8-year-old fan battling brain cancer; and raised more than $5,700 for the National Multiple Sclerosis Foundation through their participation in the MS Walk in honor of teammate Mike Campaner, who was diagnosed with MS during the season. The team finished 29th in the state in fundraising for the MS Walk.

Competition

When it comes to goaltending at Colgate, Dekanich is second to none. He is on pace to break nearly every career goaltending record in school history, including wins, games played, saves, save percentage, and shutouts, and he has already broken the record for ties in a career with 11. Dekanich has broken Colgate’s single-season saves record twice over the last two years; he holds two of the top three spots in single-season goaltender minutes played and games played; and he holds two of the top four spots on the single-season save percentage list. He was the winner of the 2006 Ken Dryden Award as the ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the year, and has been named to an all-league team in each of the last two seasons. The consummate competitor, Dekanich gives Colgate a chance to win every night with his outstanding play.