Men's Ice Hockey
February 2008
The Stags Qualify for Nationals
Congratulations to the Fairfield Men's Ice Hockey Club in qualifying for the upcoming 2008 ACHA Division III National Championship in Rochester, Minnesota on March 12 - 15.
Going into the ACHA Atlantic Division Regionals held in Warwick, Pennsylvania on February 15 and 16, Fairfield was seeded 6th out of 8 teams.
The Stags certainly proved to be a worthy opponent, finishing as 1 of the top 2 clubs and readying their travel plans for Nationals.
The 1st round regional victory was at the expense of PSU-Delco by a 9-0 score. Certainly, the Stags high-powered offense set the tone for the game in the opening minutes.
The second round game versus the 3rd seed Fredonia State proved to be a much more competitive contest. Defensive strategies dominated the 3 periods of play between both clubs.
But when it counted most, with just over two minutes to play, co-captain, Ben Welch (class of 08) managed to slap home the puck from behind the Fredonia net, off the keeper, to give the Stags a 3-2 advantage.
In the final minutes of play, Fredonia State had several scoring opportunities turned away by the Stags defensive lines and goalie, Kevin Curtis (class of 10) to preserve the win.
As the final horn sounded, the entire club swarmed the ice, along with head coach Marshall Richards to savor the moment.
Fairfield will enter championship play with an overall record of 19-5.
Next stop, ACHA Nationals and, as always, Go Stags!
Club Background
Under the supervision of the Fairfield University Department of Recreation, the Men's Ice Hockey team competes in the Metropolitan Collegiate Hockey Conference (MET) and the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA).
The program has fielded a championship-caliber team in each of the past two seasons. Last year's team finished the regular season with a 12-2-1-1 regular season record, and fell one game short of the MCHC championship.
The Stag's season begins in early September and concludes in March, with a short hiatus for the academic intercession. Aside from 16 MCHC league games, between 5 and 10 non-league games are scheduled each year. This may also include a preseason tournament.
Practices are typically held twice a week at the home facility, The Wonderland of Ice, located about 10 minutes from campus in Bridgeport, Conn.
The Stags ice hockey team is one of the most popular sports at Fairfield. Activity buses are provided for students to attend several home contests each semester. These fan buses are provided by the Division of Student Affairs and the Department of Recreation to accommodate as many as 250 hockey aficionados.
If you are interested in skating with the Stags next season please contact: MensHockey@mail.fairfield.edu
* If you are interested in joining club hockey and are a current Fairfield University student, please follow this link:
http://data.fairfield.edu/athletics/sportsclubs/index.lasso
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