#cawlidgehockey in Arizona
Arizona has seen a hockey influx of sorts. You’ve probably read that USA hockey reported a 17 percent rise in registered players in the state, including yours truly.
As you might have guessed, since I’m not exactly playing on a line with Max Domi, the Arizona Coyotes are only a small snippet of the growth of the game here in the Grand Canyon State. There are three college hockey programs here in Arizona; ASU fields three teams in the ACHA, while NAU fields two ACHA teams, and the University of Arizona fields a Division I ACHA team.
The Arizona State Hockey Team thanks their fans with sticks in the air after a win at Oceanside Ice Arena. CREDIT: Allyson Cummings/WCSN
(Image Credit: Allyson Cummings/WCSN)
Arizona State
ASU fields not just one ACHA team, but three. That’s right- in addition to the Division I team the Sun Devils field two Division II teams; Division II elite and Division II pac-8. The Sun Devils’ squad has started to garner more attention in recent months, as well, with whispers of a possible jump to NCAA status.
The Division I team is coming off its most successful season in team history. They won their first Murdoch Cup as champions of the ACHA in Division I, finishing with a record of 38-2 and beating Robert Morris (IL) to win the program’s first championship in history.
Led by Head Coach Greg Powers, the Sun Devils earned their fare share of post-season awards. Senior Forward Kale Dolinski won the ACHA’s MVP, while Freshman Goalie Robert Levin came away with Rookie of the Year honors.
With great success has come new rumors about the team making a jump to the NCAA ranks. House of Sparky’s Justin Emerson recently spoke with Arizona State’s VP of Athletics Ray Anderson about that possibility.
“I personally would love to see hockey as a varsity sport at Arizona State,” he said. “We have to make a commitment to figure that out.” “Men’s hockey here is just one of the real key examples of why a university this size really needs to work hard at raising the financial wherewithal to be able support a varsity hockey team,” Anderson said. “Then figure out a way for Title IX to then provide another gender sport so that you can do both”
ASU also saw great success from its Divison II elite team this past season. I should know, since I was the play by play voice of the team last season. They were on their way to Nationals in Boston last season before the ACHA found them in violation of eligibility rules. Without this violation, they quite possibly could have given ASU its second national title in the same season; prior to the ACHA’s ruling, they had a record of 27-1.
For more on Sun Devil Hockey including schedules,rosters and ticket info you can visit their website Sundevilhockey.com
Kyle Ambrosie(17) tangles in front of the Wildcat net with a Sun Devil in a game at Oceanside Ice Arena CREDIT: Allyson Cummings/WCSN
(Image Credit; Allyson Cummings/WCSN)
University of Arizona
The Arizona Wildcats have experienced a rise in their success as well; this past season, the Wildcats made their first National Tounament since 2006. A huge part of that was their head coach, Sean Hogan, who took over the team in 2011. Under Hogan, the team posted a record 0f 45-66 in three seasons; still, Hogan saved his best for last.
One of the biggest obstacles that Hogan and the Wildcats overcame was a 37 game losing streak to the Arizona State Sun Devils, but this past season, the Wildcats finally were able to get that monkey off their back with a 2-1 win back in February.
Hogan announced that he was leaving the program in June to take over the same position at Ohio University, but gave the Arizona Daily star some insight into his reasoning before taking off:
“I’m from Detroit, so it’s not too far from there,” Hogan said. “Ultimately, being close to where I grew up, my brother and sister, parents, nieces and nephews weighed into it. But Ohio is an elite-level program, and I’m trying to improve myself”
The Wildcats finished 18th in the final ACHA Division I rankings and are returning all but six of their players. The highest profile player returning will be junior Brennen Parker, who finished third on the team in points (14-19-33) last season, but is the highest returning scorer.
The new head coach of the Wildcats is Chad Berman, who will be coming over from an eight-year tenure as assistant coach for Robert Morris (IL).
For more on University of Arizona Hockey including schedules, rosters and ticket info you can visit http://www.arizonawildcathockey.org/
Cameron McDonald (26) defends Tim Conser (4) in a game at Oceanside Ice Arena. CREDIT: Amanda Luberto; Walter Cronkite Sports Network
(Image Credit: Amanda Luberto; WCSN)
Northen Arizona University
The Ice Jacks actually have the longest history when it comes to college hockey in the state. They began playing in 1971, and 40 years later, they are still going strong.
Unlike the programs at ASU and UA, the Ice Jacks have already made the jump to the NCAA level. For five seasons in the early eighties, they were an NCAA D-I program, and were even lucky enough to field NHL talent- former Coyote Greg Adams played up north for two seasons before making his NHL debut in 1984.
Today, the Ice Jacks field both a Division II and Division III team in the ACHA. This past season, the Division II team earned an automatic bid to Nationals after finishing second in the ACHA West region, due to ASU vacating 23 of their wins.
Next season, NAU will return five of their top nine scorers, including Senior Ben Russell, who finished second on the team in points last season with 38 (17-21-38) in 37 games.
For more on the Ice Jacks program, you can check out their site at nauicejacks.com for schedules, rosters and ticket info.