As the season winds down and graduation is just around the corner, three key members of the Cortland Men’s Ice Hockey program: Cole Haldane, Evan Venth, and Max Taylor, are already manifesting their future. With different timelines and career goals, each player brings a unique story to the table, but all three share a deep commitment to the game and a drive to succeed long after their skates leave the Alumni Arena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cole Haldane, the team assistant captain from Clifton Park, N.Y., is weeks away from completing his degree in exercise science with an outstanding 3.98 GPA. Despite the pressure of academics, Haldane stayed locked in on the ice this season, leading the team in points and pushing through a year that tested the group\u2019s resolve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis season was upsetting because we didn\u2019t get to go to nationals,\u201d Haldane said. \u201cWe were competing with the top teams, and everyone was firing on all cylinders. Once we got that news, it deflated a lot of guys.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Haldane refused to let the disappointment dictate his play. He continued to bring his best effort night in and night out, leading by example and trying to keep the team motivated through the home stretch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always had a love for the game, and I couldn\u2019t just give up,\u201d Haldane said. \u201cEven when things didn\u2019t go our way and the season didn\u2019t end how we wanted, I still felt that responsibility to show up and compete.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Off the ice, Haldane has his sights set on a career in diagnostic medical imaging, but hockey remains close to his heart. He hopes to stay involved as a coach for Bantam or any of the local 18U teams while he begins his professional life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As team president, Evan Venth has spent his final year balancing leadership responsibilities with academic and career planning. From Bohemia, N.Y., Venth is wrapping up his studies while actively applying for summer jobs and networking in hopes of entering professional hockey operations, possibly as a team manager or similar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy focus right now is finishing the school year strong and making connections with people in my major,\u201d Venth said. \u201cI\u2019ve been applying to a lot of different organizations to keep me busy this summer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\u2019s aiming to land a job in game day operations with a pro ice hockey team and is open to relocating outside of New York to make it happen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Raised in a tight-knit Long Island neighborhood, Venth credits his hometown for instilling the value of community and connection. In the summer, he recharges by spending time at the beach and playing pickleball with friends – many of whom live just minutes away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBohemia is small, but it\u2019s diverse and supportive. I\u2019ve been lucky to grow up surrounded by people who back each other,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For junior forward Max Taylor, this past season was one of growth, reflection, and looking ahead. The Hamburg, N.Y., native put up 12 points in 15 games and is already focused on leading a national championship push next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe had a tough season,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cA lot of close games and a lot of talent, but we struggled to hold leads. Still, it was a learning experience, and I\u2019m looking forward to next season.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Balancing ice hockey with his studies in Sports Management, Taylor also works at a local country club golf course and is set to begin an internship in the fall. His long-term goal: to break into the sports industry, ideally with a major organization like the NHL, NFL, or MLB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI want to use my connections and work ethic to land something big,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Growing up in Buffalo, Taylor was surrounded by passionate sports fans and proud traditions. Living near Lake Erie and attending Buffalo Bills and Sabres games fueled his own dreams of working in pro sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s so much love for the teams in Buffalo, it\u2019s part of who we are,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s inspired me to chase this path and continue evolving myself in the area of sports.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As the season winds down and graduation is just around the corner, three key members of the Cortland Men’s Ice Hockey program: Cole Haldane, Evan Venth, and Max Taylor, are already manifesting their future. With different timelines and career goals, each player brings a unique story to the table, but all three share a deep […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":362,"featured_media":8308,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-8181","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"entry"},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2025\/04\/20230222-D00893-M-hockey-x.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2025\/04\/20230222-D00893-M-hockey-x.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Axel Norbro","author_link":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/author\/axel-norbro\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/362"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8181\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}