Lacking the title ‘varsity’ doesn’t stop players on the Syracuse men’s club hockey team from believing they hit the puck just as hard as varsity players do, because after all, they play a schedule reminiscent of their Division I counterparts.

‘It’s pretty much an NCAA-caliber team without the NCAA recognition,’ head coach Brian Renna said.

The team plays in the American Collegiate Hockey Association, competing against teams such as Robert Morris, SUNY Buffalo, Niagara University, SUNY Canton, Mercyhurst, Rochester and the Rochester Institute of Technology. Schools like Mercyhurst have D-I men’s varsity hockey teams and some of those D-I players who get cut, trickling down to the club teams.

‘Our league is unbelievable,’ said Pat Beerman, a senior policy studies major and assistant captain.’We’re as competitive as varsity sports.’

Their next game is Saturday at 6:30 p.m. against Oswego State University at the Tennity Ice Skating Pavilion.

Next year, the team will be switching leagues in the ACHA, allowing them to garner more wins and play teams that are closer to Syracuse. Still, costs remain high for the club. Since club hockey is not a D-I sports team, the team does not receive the funding that varsity teams do.

This year, the team held fundraisers to cover the expenses for their road trips to Cleveland, Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Buffalo. In the past, they have run camps and sold T-shirts to raise money, but the players’ dues provide the biggest financial boost.

The team does not give scholarships to players, even though most of the players are recruited from all over. Many have hailed from New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. They come from prep schools, high schools and junior hockey leagues.

‘Coach Renna really picked up the recruiting process last year,’ Beerman said. But many recruits are turned down because they are not admitted to Syracuse.

The recruits come to Syracuse and participate in tryouts at the beginning of the year along with walk-on players who are also given a chance. One of the benefits of playing for a club team rather than a D-I team is the opportunity to play at a young age. In D-I hockey, freshmen may be 21 because they sit out or play in other leagues before coming to college. With the Syracuse team, that is not the case.

‘(The team is) good if you don’t want to take years off but still want to play competitively,’ said senior international relations and political science major Jon Boc.

Boc, the team captain and club president, said the team does not think about becoming a varsity, D-I sport. Most of the players graduate and move on to their professional fields.

‘That’s what adds to the fun of it – because everyone knows it’s the end of the road,’ Boc said.

Beerman said he believes playing on a club team is a best-of-both-worlds situation.

Last year, the team finished fourth in their division of the ACHA, its best finish ever. So far this year, the squad has faced a tough schedule, going 5-12. Still, the team is in a position to make the playoffs, where anything can happen.

‘The national championship is always our goal,’ Renna said.

The players practice three days on the ice and two days off the ice. They also typically have two games per week. That, along with schoolwork, makes the players’ schedules pretty packed.

‘It’s a lot, but it’s worth it,’ Boc said. ‘It’s a great experience because you get to play on a team and it’s like running a small business. There’s a whole community of our players.’

rnmarcus@syr.edu

Published on January 20, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Rachel: rnmarcus@syr.edu