SUNY Fredonia's Hockey Club is sending one of the 16 teams which will play for the national title in Division III of the American College Hockey Association (ACHA) in Fort Myers, Florida, March 10 - 13.
At the recent Atlantic Regional tournament, the Hockey Club's main team defeated Siena College 3-2 in the first round, and defeated Penn State - Brandywine 4-2 in the final round. By doing so, they secured the #4-Seed in the Atlantic region for the finals in Florida. The team went into the regional tournament ranked fifth after finishing its regular season.
As a Student Association-acknowledged group on campus, Club Hockey receives a small budget for operations. The group meets the bulk of its travel and expenses through organized fundraising. Contact the club president, senior Louie Maier, to make a gift.
In Florida, the team will be in the blue division, pool C, competing against teams from across the US, including Hope College (Michigan), Colorado College, and University of Arkansas. SUNY Farmingdale will also be attending the nationals. Fredonia's first game versus Hope College will be held at Germain Arena in Fort Myers on Wednesday, March 10, at 2 p.m.
All games can be viewed via live feed here>>
Club Hockey at Fredonia
Club hockey dates back to the 1980s at SUNY Fredonia, when it formed after the campus opened its new ice arena in Steele Hall. When the university created its first intercollegiate SUNYAC ice hockey team, Club Hockey continued. This year, Fredonia's hockey club began sponsoring a second, development team, for the first time. Both teams are staffed by five volunteers who oversee and control all aspects of the club including the coaching. The club as a whole consists of 64 members including; Hockey Operations, Recruiters, Coaching staff, and players. Mike Lima is director of operations and head coach of the main team.
First team's roster
The main team (FSU-I) consists of 26 student athletes, 5 coaches, and a student trainer. Its roster includes seniors Jeff Frohm, Louie Maier, Grant Corsaro, Ryan Theophilus, Pat Cappela, Andrew Dissanyake, Matt Pfalzer, Dan Schwab, Brendan Prince, Dan Trombley, Josh Malthaner, and Pat Hurley. Juniors are Dave Weidert, Aaron Miller, Vince Epping, Nick Madden, Chris Blake, Kevin Barrett, Glenn Draves, Dave Hoddick, Nick Ferrentino, Mike Shields, and Brian Morrano. The sophomore class includes Brian Becker and Dave Richards. The freshman class includes players Jed Mcintosh, John Barrick, Alex Garfield, Bryan Kavanaugh, and Greg Korn.
First year for Development Team
The development team, or FSU-II, competes in a 10 team league called College Hockey Association (CHA). This is the first year of FSU-II and they have just qualified for the CHA playoffs as the 5th seed. The FSU-II team also holds a roster of 26 student athletes, 2 coaches, and a student trainer.
