With the beginning of the spring semester, the NC State Icepack received some much needed reinforcements in the form of newcomer Chase Williams. Here’s a little bit more about the newest member of the team.
Chase is currently a first-year business major with an entrepreneurship concentration. He’s shuffled all across his forward lines throughout his playing career, but will likely dedicate most of his time to right wing. The incoming forward was born and raised in the Raleigh area, spending most of his youth hockey career with the Carolina Junior Hurricanes. His most recent stint prior to joining the Icepack was with the USPHL’s South Shore Kings U18 team, where he notched 19 points in 18 total games played, the only player on the roster to finish above point-per-game. When it comes to goals for his rookie season with the Icepack, Chase’s answer is simple: help the team win. “My goal is to give our boys the best possible chance for a deep playoff push,” Williams noted. “Getting back into my rhythm will be crucial, knocking the rust off after not playing games for nine months is something I need to do as soon as possible.” The rust certainly didn’t take long to shake for Chase, as he recorded an assist in each of the team’s two games against the Delaware Blue Hens this past weekend. While he certainly wishes he was playing with the team from the get-go, Chase does believe there were bright spots in being forced to watch the Icepack play for the first few months. “I feel that practicing with the team and watching the games for a few months has helped me sit back and pick up on the squad’s strengths and weaknesses,” Williams said. “Obviously it was difficult not being able to suit up for many of our big matchups so far, but I hope I can use it as an advantage when I get my chance.” Familiarity is everything when entering a new system, and Chase certainly has plenty of that coming into the Icepack family. In fact, one of the biggest things he’s looking forward to is finally being able to take the ice again with guys who he’s played with before. “Guys like Zack Robinson, Zach Herman, and Philip Bailey are old long-time teammates and friends of mine, so being able to jump on the ice in game action with them will be electric.” “Something I am very confident in is my innate scoring ability, and I feel it is my best tool as a player,” Chase details when asked his biggest strength as a player. It’s no secret the Icepack certainly hoped for a more result-successful first semester, but Chase’s natural abilities may be exactly what the team needs to push themselves over the edge and get back to winning ways. While the sample size is certainly small, the Icepack is scoring at a 5.0 goals-per-game rate since Williams was inserted into the lineup, significantly higher than the 2.76 goals-per-game clip the team was scoring at in all games prior. Since Chase became an official full-time member of the Icepack, the team’s offense has certainly seen a clear and obvious boost. While the team will most definitely still see their fair share of hardships and struggles over the second semester, it’s clear Chase has had nothing but a positive impact thus far, and the team’s odds of overcoming adversity only increase with his presence.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
News Archives
February 2025
|