Hood has released its schedule for the 2015 season. Here is a breakdown of the slate that awaits the Blazers, who went 4-12 last year and finished seventh in the Commonwealth Conference with a 1-7 record.
10: Hood surrendered an average of 9.8 goals last spring. It's the first time in program history that the defense limited opponents to fewer than 10 goals per game.
9: The Blazers could return as many as nine starters. The only starter they lost was defenseman Domenic Cetrone.
8: Hood will open the campaign on Feb. 14 at Southern Virginia. It will be the earliest the program has begun a season in at least the past eight years.
7: The Blazers relied on seven freshmen to contribute heavily last season. It will be interesting to see if the team will go back to the well this spring with an incoming freshman class of about 20.
6: Hood will face six opponents for the first time. Those teams are Southern Virginia, Immaculata on Feb. 24, Bridgewater on March 7, Illinois Wesleyan on March 11, St. Vincent on March 14, and Delaware Valley on March 21.
5: After the season opener against Southern Virginia, the Blazers will play five games in 15 days. They will host Rosemont on Feb. 21, travel to Immaculata, welcome Shenandoah on Feb. 28 and Marymount on March 4, and visit Bridgewater.
4: Hood's offense averaged 6.9 goals in 2014. It was the unit's highest-scoring average in four years since the 2010 squad posted 8.0 goals per game.
3: The Blazers will take to the road for three straight games at St. Vincent, Delaware Valley, and Lebanon Valley on March 14, 21, and 25, respectively. It will be the third time in the last five years that the program's longest road swing is just three games.
2: Hood's longest homestretch of the season is just two, which will occur twice when Shenandoah and Marymount visit and Widener and Messiah visit on March 28 and April 1, respectively. It's the second time in three years that the team will play just two consecutive games at Thomas Athletic Field in Frederick.
1: The Blazers will meet just one opposing team that earned a berth in last spring's NCAA tournament. They will visit 2013 Division III national champion and Commonwealth Conference rival Stevenson on April 8.