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February 15, 2007 issue

ASU Ice Hockey Team Earns Playoff Spot

Story by Sam Calhoun

Although it has no home rink for practice or games, the ASU ice hockey team is well on its way to its first winning season, with a 14-8 overall record after the regular season and a berth in the Blue Ridge Hockey Conference (BRHC) playoffs.

The Mountaineers clinched a trip to the BRHC playoffs with a 5-4 win over Christopher Newport University on January 27, but have since lost two games to the University of South Carolina. The BRHC playoffs are scheduled for February 24 and 25, and the ASU ice hockey team enters the tournament ranked second in the Southwest Division.

“Making the playoffs was a goal I set out for this season as I have not been to them since my freshman season in 2003-2004,” said Alex Hogan, president of the team. “We considered it an important step to get the program to where we would like it to be, which would be eventual national champions. In order to achieve that goal, we would have to place in the top four in the South Region—we finished 10th this year out of 44 teams. The ACHA [American Collegiate Hockey Conference] runs the national championships and is composed of four regions, the South being one.  The four top teams from each region go to nationals and play in a bracket-based system similar to the Sweet Sixteen in NCAA basketball. The competition at nationals is top-notch as many of the teams from the Atlantic and North are composed of premier hockey players.”

According to Hogan, the ASU ice hockey team formed in 1997 when a couple of students decided to get together to play hockey. Initially just a men’s league program playing out of Spruce Pine, the team did not play at the intercollegiate level until the BRHC was formed in 2001. The team joined immediately and subsequently joined the ACHA—an important step to becoming a collegiate hockey program, said Hogan.

“This is the best regular season record the team has ever had and our first winning one,” said Hogan. “In 2002-2003, the team squeaked into the BRHC playoffs with a sub .500 record and managed to become the Cinderella story, winning the tournament—a big feat for the team. But this is the first year our schedule has surpassed 20 games and our first winning record posted at the end of the regular season.  

“Making the playoffs is a huge step for the program,” he continued. “We didn’t squeak in—we clinched a spot and demanded respect from the other teams in the conference. For the first time, ASU ice hockey has become somewhat of a powerhouse. From here we hope to win the BRHC championship again, securing our spot as a premier program in the South and working our way towards national success.”

The 21-member team practices in Charlotte every two weeks. The drive is long—two hours—and the ice time is expensive and hard to come by. The fee is $200 per practice, and the team sometimes doesn’t even get a chance to start until around 10:00 p.m. on weekdays.

To supplement this schedule, the team conditions twice per week at ASU’s Student Recreation Center in the third floor gymnasium, working on footwork, breathing, leg strengthening and core exercises. The team has recently even played indoor soccer at the center to keep up endurance levels and the members hope that in the years to come, they will find a place at the center to play roller hockey.  

“Our main dream for the future is to have a rink in Boone,” said Hogan. “Currently, we are working hard to engage in a proposal we will present before the school, the town council and private investors about the possibility of a facility on or close to campus. The only way this team will ever prosper on a national level is to build a local rink. Most other teams we face practice on ice twice a week, while the premier teams in the ACHA practice 4 to 5 times. This goal is our ultimate hope—not only to reach the full potential of our program, but also to bring hockey to the High Country. Hockey is taking off in the Southeast and we have seen it first hand.”

The BRHC playoffs are being held at Christopher Newport University in Virginia next weekend. The playoffs work as a single-elimination event, taking the top three teams from each region—Southwest and Northeast. ASU is currently second in the Southwest and will face off against the third-place team in the southwest, Clemson. East Carolina University holds the first-place spot in the Southwest and receives a first round bye, so the East Carolina team will play the winner of ASU’s game. The winner of the second game reaches the finals to play the winner of the Northeast side of the tournament—either the University of Richmond, Virginia Commonwealth University or Old Dominion University. 

“Our players are a dedicated bunch of guys, playing for nothing more than a love of the game and a distant goal for the future,” said Hogan.

For more information, click to www.asuicehockey.com, www.achahockey.com or www.brhiockey.com.

 

 

ASU Ice Hockey Season Record

  • 14-8 Overall
  • 6-1 At Home
  • 8-7 On the Road

 

 

ASU Ice Hockey Game Results 2006-07

  • ASU 9 – UNC-Charlotte 12
  • ASU 3 – UNC-Chapel Hill 4
  • ASU 5 – UNC-Wilmington 3
  • ASU 1 – NC State 0
  • ASU 1 – NC State 0
  • Clemson 8 – ASU 5
  • UNC-Wilmington 4 – ASU 8
  • UNC-Wilmington 2 – ASU 5
  • ASU 2 – Richmond 9
  • ASU 5 – VCU 2
  • ASU 6 – ODU 4
  • ASU 7 – William & Mary 4
  • ASU 4 – VMI 2
  • ASU 8 – VMI 5
  • Clemson 7 – ASU 10
  • ASU 2 – ECU 4
  • ASU 3 – ECU 6
  • Christopher Newport University 4 – ASU 5
  • Radford 6 – ASU 10
  • Radford 8 – ASU 13
  • ASU 3 – USC 5
  • ASU 3 – USC 4

 

Graphic:

[ASU Hockey 1]

The ASU ice hockey team—seen here facing off against Clemson early in the season—is heading to the playoffs next weekend. Photo courtesy of ASU Ice Hockey