NCDC Commitment Profiles: Dogs’ Mulligan Moving On To Misericordia University
By Alexis Demopoulos
Boston Dogs forward Charlie Mulligan is thrilled about his NCAA Division III future at Misericordia University, where he will begin play in the 2025-26 season.
After spending the last two years in the Dogs organization, the Guilderland, N.Y., native attributes much of his success to them. In 28 games played this season, Mulligan had seven points and enjoyed every part of his experience speaking very highly of the entire organization.
“My overall thoughts on the Boston Dogs organization, as well as why I decided to re sign, are that it is a great place to get to the next level,” said Mulligan. “Being a very well run and extremely organized program, Coach Cody Gonyeau runs a very tight ship. Everybody knows the practice plan the day before, with each drill having an exact amount of time that it can run for the practice to be the most efficient as it can be.”
“We all know what our jobs are around the rink: to keep our locker room and the building in pristine condition. Players all know the game day itinerary before going to bed to allow for successful puck drop preparation. Constant film sessions allow us to review our habits, good and bad, to help push our game to the next level and, most importantly, win. The list goes on, but these are just some of the reasons why the Dogs have for the past two years, and will continue to, reach their end goal of graduating players onto NCAA hockey and other high-level programs.”
Mulligan began communicating with Misericordia Head Coach Kevin Cole in early March. They talked on the phone about what they each were looking for and in mid-April, and he officially set up a visit. Coach Cole had nothing but good things to say about Mulligan and he is ecstatic to have him on board. Cole told Mulligan he liked how he played all areas of the ice, how he worked and how he got into good spots on the ice. Mulligan had two of his Dogs teammates commit to Misericordia before him and both had nothing but positive things to say about the hockey culture and school itself.
“Having been a new team last year, the Cougars had a very strong first season,” said Mulligan. “Especially being in a really solid conference, competing as a new team is never an easy thing to do. I can attest to that first hand having been with the Dogs during our transition to the NCDC. My teammates, Ayden Pierce and Nolan Berner, who had committed to Misericordia before me, had nothing but good things to say about Coach Cole and the program that he was building.
“After they had made their campus visit, they explained to me the style of play coach Cole and the Cougars embody on the ice and the type of culture they have created, both of which were very intriguing to me. It all sounded like the style of hockey and team attitude that I wanted to be a part of.”
When visiting campus, Mulligan was very impressed with the space and upon walking around really felt right at home. He plans to study Athletic training and was very excited to see they had an Exercise Science program.
“When I arrived on campus, I felt a very refreshing and uplifting energy,” said Mulligan. “Between the spacious and well-kept grounds, beautiful buildings, and newly renovated dorms and classrooms, I was given a very good first impression of what life might be like on campus. Also, I was impressed and very appreciative of the time Coach Cole took to show me and my mom around campus. After an almost three-hour tour, coach Cole managed to show us just about every corner of Misericordia, going into detail about everything.”
Before heading to Misericordia in the fall, Mulligan is spending his summer working on improving some of his skills.
“I have been working on ways and habits to become more of a threat in the offensive zone,” said Mulligan. “I feel that I am pretty defensively sound, but I am looking to create a more complete 200-foot game for myself.”
The NCDC congratulates Charlie Mulligan, his family, the Boston Dogs and Misericordia
University for his commitment.