After rebuilding the team from the ground up following the COVID-19 pandemic and financial difficulties, the men’s club ice hockey team returned to competition last week after five years.
The team kicked off its return to the rink in the Delaware Valley Men’s College Hockey Conference with a Sunday scrimmage against Penn State Harrisburg at Twin Ponds Arena in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Senior Jack Dolan, the president and co-captain of the team, said the work to bring back the organization over the past four years has been extreme, as the club has struggled to fill team rosters.
“Our coach made the decision to shut us down for the season,” Dolan said about the fall of 2021, when the team only had 14 players. “We just played men’s league over in Bethlehem for the year. I was fine with that, but personally, as someone who’s very passionate about the game, I was heartbroken.”
During the 2022-23 season, the club continued with the men’s league. However, the team received a good number of recruits in the past year, facilitating the decision by Dolan and senior treasurer Michael Martirano to bring the team back.
“Mike’s very well versed with the rules through the school and what you need to do,” Dolan said. “There’s a lot of hoops you need to jump through with the school in order to get approved and have a working program, so I was more on the recruitment side.”
As for recruitment, Martirano wrote in an email that the team received about eight new team members last year and a similar amount this year, bringing the roster up to more than 20 players.
Along with new members, Kennett Kollevoll joined the team as head coach this season, along with three new assistant coaches, who are further helping the team develop.
“It’s going really well so far and having that staff behind the benches has been huge for us,” Dolan said. “With all the new guys, knowing that this is legit – this isn’t a joke – has really gone a long way for us.”
The team currently practices at the Flemington Ice Arena in Flemington, New Jersey, on Tuesday and Thursday nights, but Dolan is hoping the team will be able to practice and compete at the Steel Ice Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the future.
“The team dynamics look good and we hope to really create a mindset that everyone can buy into and rally around,” Martirano wrote.
Martirano added that he coordinated an “alumni golf outing” this September that was “really helpful to drive home to the new kids that we are building this team back and trying to bring it to its former glory.”
The road to restoration may be paved with character-building losses, as the team fell 9-1 against PSU Harrisburg. PSU Harrisburg competes in the National Division, one division above Lafayette College in the league.
Martirano wrote that the game “was a great learning experience as to where the team is and where we need to improve.”
He continued that while the team got off to a rocky start, the defense kept PSU Harrisburg to two goals in the last two periods.
“This was our first game since falling out of the men’s league, so I think it’s a big accomplishment,” Dolan said.
The team plays Neumann University on Friday at 6 p.m. for its second of eight games for the fall.
“I couldn’t be more proud of all the guys that have been coming out to everything and really trying to make a difference for this team,” Dolan said.