BOSTON – Letters will stay put on the Suffolk men's ice hockey sweaters for the 2025-26 season as head coach Shawn McEachern has announced that Thomas Dempsey and Ryan Webb will return as co-captains.  

The seniors are back in the roles for the second straight season. They are the second pair to serve back-to-back terms as co-captains since Olle Akermark and Devin Lowe held the title in two successive seasons from 2022 through 2024. 

The duo is a part of a long tradition of Suffolk men's ice hockey captains dating back to when the program picked up after a hiatus in 1980-81 when James Tropsa led the blue-and-gold. Over 80 Rams have worn a letter at Suffolk University the last 45-plus years. 

"We are proud to have Ryan and Thomas back as captains this season," McEachern said. "Their leadership last season created a positive, driven culture that transformed our program."

Dempsey, a defenseman from Chatham, New Jersey, has laced up his skates in 68 games over three seasons in Beantown. He has assembled an 11-point stat line that features 10 handouts and one goal, which he achieved a year ago in a 9-5 triumph over Western New England Feb. 7, 2025. For his dedication to the team and Ram Nation, Dempsey was the Rams' 2024-25 representative on the Conference of New England (CNE) community service team.  

Webb has been present in 75 games throughout his three-year collegiate career thus far. He has been a consistent contributor offensive with double-digit points in each season in blue-and-gold including a 10-point production a year ago evenly split between goals (5) and assists (5). Overall, the forward that hails from Rockport, Massachusetts has contributed 34 points on 18 strikes, including three game winners, and 16 helpers.

Suffolk is 10 days away from its 2025-26 opener, a Saturday, Nov. 1 showdown against Salem State at Louis E. Porrazzo Memorial Skating Rink at 4:50 p.m.