BY MARK ROSSMAN ’14
Sports Editor

The club men’s ice hockey team is up and running, already having played two games this weekend, Friday against Lehigh University and Saturday against Dickinson College, giving them an 0-2 record.

On Friday, the game against Lehigh University ended with a 13-4 loss at home at the Regency Ice Rink in Lancaster. Lehigh, however, is a league above F&M, so this game was more for practice against a difficult team than anything else.

Saturday, back at the Regency Ice Rink, the team took on Dickinson College, and was defeated in a close 10-7.

The team is hoping to brush off this weekend’s losses and come together this season. With returning head coach Ray Ferry and mutiple returning players, this goal is not totally unfeasible.

“So far it’s been a lot of skating and trying to get our legs back for the season,” said Bryan Stabbe ’13, new addition to the team.

The team began official practice with the coach this past week but has been doing team skates for nearly five weeks now. With just one practice underway, there is a lot of time to come together and improve.

“As a team we are focusing on building off of last year’s success and going further in the playoffs,” said Billy Kempner ’14, team
captain.

Players on the team range from players that have played ice hockey nearly all their lives and in high school, to players that are picking up the sport for the first time, in college, so there is a lot of diversity on the team in terms of experience and familiarity with the sport.

The team officially practices together once a week the day before games. The team practices together for about an hour or so and practice skating, doing drills, and getting some ice time.

The team is in a new league this year and will be playing many teams they have never played before. The team is happy with these changes, as these schools are predominantly Pennsylvania-based, and closer geographically than in years past.

In addition to Lehigh University and Dickinson College, the team will be playing Mount Saint Mary’s University, Shippensburg University, Johns Hopkins University, Penn State University, American University, and Wesley College.

The team has a long season ahead of them, which officially ends Feb. 2, 2013. The team is hoping (and planning) to make it to the playoffs this year, which could mean playing well into February, which would make for nearly a four-month season.

Last year, the team made it to the playoffs, so the team really wants to maintain that success.

The next game scheduled is planned for Friday against Mount Saint Mary’s University at home at the Regency Ice Rink.

The team will be playing Shippensburg University again at home at Regency Ice Rink Sunday.

Questions? Email Mark at mrossman@fandm.edu.

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By TCR