Men's Hockey skates into spring

Smithfield, RI-  It’s been a couple of months since Men’s Ice Hockey has been altogether on the ice. Men’s Ice Hockey had an impressive season last year, considering they made it to regionals for the first time in eight years.

Although Men’s Ice Hockey was able to finish out their season before COVID impacted the spring semester, their fall season was put on a slight delay, but once Bryant University Athletics moved into phase three the hockey team got back on the ice! 

Even though there have been restrictions on club sports, the ice hockey team still manages to communicate with their fellow teammates. President, Andrew Diebus, said that “We are continuing to communicate with the guys, keeping small groups together since we live with most players in our grade. We are also working to continue practices and off-ice workouts to stay in shape.”

Diebus is “very excited about the upcoming season. While we are unsure of what this season holds, any type of practice or game that we can have will be a good thing for the program.”

As Diebus is in his last year of playing with the team, he is most looking forward to “the group of guys we have this year. It’s a unique group where we did not graduate many seniors and are returning our main core group of guys who can help lead us into nationals.”

Secretary Jason Bishop feels the same way as Diebus. He believes that the ice hockey team “has a lot of great players returning, and all have high hopes for this upcoming season.”

Bishop, a sophomore, joined the team to get involved on campus and played hockey his entire life. He knew a couple of kids on the team before he tried out, and they all said it was worth it. “There are a lot of kids who try out, so the final team is always a close-knit group,” he said.

Diebus also joined the team as a way of getting involved as well. He wanted to continue playing hockey in college while also having the opportunity to focus on academics and having a social life while at Bryant. “Club Hockey is the perfect balance of intensity and commitment,” he said.

The goal of the hockey program is to have a competitve season this spring. The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) and the New England College Hockey Association (NECHA) have yet to announce what the future hold for the hockey team, please check back for updates.