#cawlidgehockey in Arizona

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/