Rowan University Ice Hockey announced plans last month for the first outdoor game in ACHA history, scheduled for Saturday, January 9th, 2010 at the Navesink Country Club in Middletown, NJ.
The 2010 New Jersey Pond Hockey Classic will feature the host Rowan University Profs and the visiting UMBC Retrievers. The game is scheduled for a 3:30PM start (weather permitting) and admission to the game will be FREE. The game will be broadcast live on the web through both the Rowan Hockey Channel as well as UMBC’s own broadcast feed. Guests who will be attending the game should know that country club attire will be required (no jeans), but should dress appropriately for the weather.
The Rowan Ice Hockey Profs are off to a good start as they won their 2009 home opener 8-3 against rival TCNJ to go 2-0 on the season. After putting big numbers against Kutztown in their first game, the Profs put eight more against their cross state rivals in what ended up being a hard fought game. With alumni from the 1980's chanting on with fellow Rowan supporters as well as the pep band Rowan seemed determined to not repeat their mistakes from last year and dominated throughout. The start of the game was marked by the ceremonial puck drop by the President of Rowan University Dr. Donald Farish which was followed by some great action. TCNJ played well but it wasn't enough for the determined Profs as they went and out shot the Lions 50-27. Except for a few minor incidents, the overall outcome seemed pleasing to Rowan coaching staff. "We played hard tonight and kept moving the puck pretty well," associate head coach Mike Husek said. "We knew it was going to be a tough game but we made sure we went over the things to get past their two number one guys. And it worked." Next on the schedule is another league game against St. Joseph's University which is Sunday October 4 at 5:20 PM.
The Rowan Ice Hockey 2009 Mini-Camp is scheduled to begin next week September 2nd with a start-off players meeting in Savitz Hall and continuing on through September 11th. All interested players wishing to play this year should attend the initial meeting. The schedule is as follows:
Wed September 2, 2009 - 6:00 PM : Players Meeting in Savitz Hall Thu September 3, 2009 - TBA PM : Dryland Session at the REC Center Tue September 8, 2009 - 4:15 PM : Mini-Camp Ice Session Wed September 9, 2009 - 4:15 PM : Mini-Camp Ice Session Thu September 10, 2009 - 4:15 PM : Mini-Camp Ice Session Fri September 11, 2009 - 4:15 PM : Mini-Camp Ice Session
Check the website for any additional details or changes.
Opening Night 2009 has been announced and is scheduled for September 25, 2009 @ 8:00 pm at Hollydell Ice Arena in Sewell, NJ. The team is preparing a number of ceremonies including the dropping of the game puck by Rowan University President Dr. Donald Farish.
The university pep band will also be in house along many former alumni who will be in attendance because of the alumni weekend festivities. Mark your calendars and come join in celebrating Opening Night 2009.
Rowan Ice Hockey announces the additions of Lanny Frederick and Andrew Samuel as assistants coaches for the 2009/2010 season. Coach Frederick who has great history of coaching in many different leagues will be responsible for offensive duties, while coach Samuel who is familiar in playing the game will be responsible for the defensive duties. Both coaches are a great addition to the team and should help the current coaches Caulfield and Husek with additional perspectives and insights.
The Rowan Ice Hockey had the opportunity to secure their own locker room facilities at their home rink Hollydell Ice Arena. According to the team, the facilities should be ready before the season begins in September and includes player's room, coaches offices, video feeds, equipment machines, and the regular amenities offered at any NCAA levels. "Having these kinds of facilities is a great step to where we want to be. Everyone is happy that we'll have access to a dedicated space away from everything and should make it easier for both the players and the coaches" mentioned assistant head coach Mike Husek. The locker room should be a great recruiting tool as the players won't have to keep their equipment in their dorms.
On another note, the team has also been able to secure their own Television feed through their website which will broadcast every home and away games.
The holiday break has come to an end as we are prepping for our trip down south to Raleigh, NC. What I thought was going to be a respite from the cold NJ weather is just a 7 hour trip to the same weather. We have hit the ice for practices and have adjusted the roster and now are ready to board the bus. Canes Cup here we come!
We have also posted a new video from the 1st game of the season vs Seton Hall. The following link should get you to where you are going if you would like to see it: http://www.viddler.com/explore/johnnyc
Hopefully we will be able to upload some newer footage from the Canes Cup while we are in the Southland. At least the cold will freeze up some ponds and we can kick it old school.
We have found our scoring touch after being in a slump for a few weeks. After going O for October, November started out pretty well. A league matchup with number 10 ranked Rider looked to be a tough matchup and a good measuring stick. We put up 9 marks while only letting 2 get by us. The next two games we scored 13 goals an impressive offensive outburst. Unfortunately we let 20 get by us. Yes 20. We run and gun and open the offense, WIDE open, unfortunately our defense and goalie feel the pain. We are going to need to tighten it up some. More than likely it will bring down our offense but that will be ok if we can bring down the GAA as well.
We also played Liberty, the number 13th ranked team in the league. Another wide open affair. I don't think they were accustomed to such a style as ours, we put up 8 but surrendered 10 again. I thought we were going to come back and steal the game but a 5 minute major at the end of the game prevented the comeback. I thought the game was very entertaining with 18 goals scored and some huge hits and even a fight. If you were in the building you saw a fun one.
Next weekend is our last two games for November. We hit the road vs NYU and then return home to meet MACHA mates U Penn. This is our final home game for November and the last game to bring the non-perishable food items for the food bank. I can't thank everyone enough for their generosity this month in helping us help others.
The season is now chugging along and we are still mired in a losing streak. Like every streak, winning or losing you manage to find ways to keep it going if you let it get into your head. When you're winning you can find ways to win when you shouldn't and vice-versa. The latter happened to us last week vs St Joe's. Last minute of play on a powerplay and an untimely turnover ended up in our net and we lost the game by one. Disappointing but not deadly. Thankfully, the hockey gods always provide us a clean sheet on the pond and a new day. We'll keep plugging along making some changes and tweaking the systems and line-up til we figure it out. Hard work pays off and I still believe we can get it turned around.
November brings along with it the holiday season. We will be collecting non-perishable food items to donate to an area food bank. If you are planning on attending one of the home games please help us to help others.
Well the season has gotten underway in earnest. We have played 2 league games to this point and are preparing for another bus trip up the NJ Turnpike to visit Seton Hall. We played a tight game versus Southeast Regional qualifier UMBC but fell just short in the end. We played against William Patterson, another regional qualifier, and the game was tight coming down to us hitting a post late in the third. WPU held on to the game and we lost 5-4. Two losses to two top tier opponents, both closely matched. These games are good barometer to measure ourselves. They are also excellent lesson teachers. We fell into some PK trouble and we’ll adjust the coverage to improve. We also met Seton Hall in the season opener and in traditional Rowan Ice Hockey fashion defense was rare. The final was 10-6 in our favor.
Saturday October 4th we met with some men with whom we shared some common ground. These men all played ice hockey for the school as well. They played in the 1980s when the school was called Glassboro State. The event was about everything except the game. The entire day was spectacular with both the current team and the alumni thoroughly enjoying the time together. Their retro GSC jersey was replica of the 1931 Boston Bruins and they were beauties. The game was played with a lot of fun and ease that included nice goals and even a penalty shot. All thanks goes out to the Alumni for a great weekend of activities.
Check back to the website to see the pictures the Alumni celebration and more. See you on the pond. ~Coach
