Men’s hockey takes East Coast by storm

BY ALEXIS BOHLINGER
Cardinal Staff

The Saint Mary’s University men’s hockey team spent an exciting New Year’s on the East Coast as it travelled to Smithfield, R.I., for the Bison Hockey Classic.

Leaving on New Year’s Eve, the team members flew into Boston and from there, hopped on a bus that took them to their destination in Smithfield. The tournament was hosted by Nichols College from Jan. 2-3, and four teams participated: Nichols College (R.I.), SMU, Wesleyan University (Conn.) and Lebanon Valley (Pa). According to men’s hockey Head Coach Moore, who is in his second year as head coach, the team took four lines of forwards, six defense and three goalies. The Cardinals’ first contest was played on Jan. 2, against Nichols College, where SMU managed to take away the Bison’s lead and win in a shootout, which advanced the team to the championship against Wesleyan (WU). The Cardinals were ahead 3-1 during the game, but WU had a burst of goal scoring that resulted in aWU 5-3 win. “It was disappointing to give up our lead in the championship game,” said senior captain Jeff Miller. “But overall, it was a successful trip, and it was a lot of fun to play teams outside of our conference.”

“The team has not taken a trip in a long time, and I remember how much fun I had traveling when I was a Cardinal hockey player,” Moore said. “I wanted these guys to have those same great memories.”

According to Moore, the trip was made possible through fundraising and contributions from hockey alumni. Each player also had to contribute. Moore plans to continue fundraising for the men’s hockey team so that it will be able to take trips like this every other year. His hope is that the team will raise enough money to fully cover all expenses.

“I think the trip to Rhode Island was great for our hockey program,” said freshman goalie Jason Horstman. “It helped us as a team to see some different competition and to bond together.”

The Cardinals have eight conference games remaining, and Moore hopes that the team chemistry they formed out east will help them successfully face this
challenge.

“It was great to see us come together like that,” said Horstman. “Hopefully that kind of play will continue into the second half of the season.”