Welcome to the Club

The Springfield College hockey team was the subject of the latest piece written by Shawn McFarland for the Pride Sports Journal. Full text below

The northeast is home to some of the country's best hockey, both professional and collegiate. The Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers are perennial Stanley Cup contenders, Division I college hockey programs like Harvard, Boston University, Boston College, and Merrimack College are regarded as powerhouses nationwide. But even past the pros that are paid to skate and the future pros skating on local ice, there's another form of competitive hockey you'll find in this region, and it comes in the form of club hockey at Springfield College. The club was founded in 1959, and exists in lieu of a varsity hockey program on campus.“I believe the intensity level is similar to varsity sports,” team president and captain Eric Podbielski said. “Everyone shows up to win, and there is no lack of commitment at practice.” “The actual hockey aspect of practice is pretty intense,” sophomore Andrew Abraham said. “We work as a normal Division III team would, but it's laid back. We're all friends, and we all kind of joke around.” The club practices at Smead Arena in downtown Springfield, every Tuesday and Thursday night at 10:00 p.m. Being a club sport, there's a limited amount of ice time it can afford, which means less days of practice.

“We would like to get more days a week and better times, but that is where money becomes the issue.” Podbielski said. “We have to come up with about $6,000 all together to pay for all of our expenses, and being college students, that is not easy.” “Financially, that's our biggest problem,” Abraham added. “We get what we get at the beginning of the year, and that's it.” Most club hockey teams practice anywhere from four-to-five times a week, similar to a varsity hockey team. For Springfield, the fund are limited, meaning the practice times are as well. “We're trying to do some fund raising around campus, as well as spreading some publicity,” Abraham said. “Because if we had won our last game and made it further into the playoffs, we don't know where our money would have come from.” Despite a lack of practice time, Springfield remained one of the best teams in their league, a true testament to it's skill level, and the amount of hard work the players exert in the face of adversity. The club hasn't captured a league championship since 2011, and has historically had a reputation of being one of the worse teams around. The 2014-15 season brought change to the program, as the club finished 11-4, won their division, and earned a No. 1 seed going into the playoffs. Their first match was a high-scoring 6-5 victory over Thomas College. In the following game, the league championship game, Springfield fell to Norwich 3-1. “Some of the other teams we face are really good, and the games can be really fun,” sophomore Nate Farrington said. “I feel that in our league, aside from Norwich, we're a lot better than most of the teams we face.” “We actually had a really good year,” freshman Charlie Murphy said. “I was really surprised at how competitive the league actually was. It's the best of both worlds because you're having fun because it's a club sport, but you want to win. Everyone is in it to win a championship.” A nine-game winning streak helped catapult the club into the playoffs, including an emotional win over Worcester Polytech Institute. Springfield was on the road for its last game of the first semester against a team they blew out of the water in their last matchup. Springfield came out flat early on, expecting to run all over WPI. Facing a three-goal deficit in the third period, things weren't looking bright. But, determined to send the seniors who battled through a difficult season on a high note, the team rallied to win, capped by a game-winning goal from senior Dan Gardner. The team rallied back to win the game, as senior Dan Gardner scored the game winning goal. Even as a club, the team shares an incredible bond for one another with a will to win. One question remains, like many competitive club sports; when is it time to make club hockey a varsity sport on campus? “There have been numerous attempts to make it a varsity sport, but the school does not support the idea. Title IX is also an issue when proposing this as a varsity sport.” Podbielski said. Title IX would require Springfield to field a women's hockey team as well, something that may just not be in the budget. But still, the hockey club is suiting up players that are Division III level players, or even better in some cases. “All of these guys were the best players in their high school,” Abraham said. “And I think our top guys could match up with some Division III schools.” The top few lines for Springfield are impressive, but along with funding, depth hampers the club. When the club only has 15 players, that's barely enough to field a team. Where a varsity sport has the funding and backing to recruit incoming freshman, the club's fate is based on if there's any freshman that would like to play for the club.

For example, if the club's goalie graduates, they can't go out and recruit another goalie to come to the school. They essentially have to hope that an incoming freshman has some goalie experience, and is willing to play for the club. “Out of all the incoming freshman, we just have to hope that a few have an interest in playing for the team, or else we would be in trouble.” Abraham explained. “We take club hockey just as serious as many Division III teams, and have a lot of talented players. We are just looking for more recognition around campus because hockey is the greatest game on the planet and we want to be able to share that with everyone.” Abraham said. “A little more fans wouldn't hurt,” Abraham added. “We're trying to be more vocal on campus, get the schedule out at the beginning of the year.” Heading forward, Springfield College's club hockey team will continue to work to put a competitive team on the ice, make it further and further into the playoffs. “If we can get another freshman class like we did this year, we can definitely be good,” Farrington said. “We could do some serious damage next year.”