A good college sports program should be constantly moving forward no matter what changes around them. If the program is prepared and puts in the effort, success should come with ease.
The University of Alabama Club Hockey team, The Frozen Tide, is a program that is moving forward, or should I say up? This season will be the program's first year in ACHA Division I, a step up in competition from years past. The team, led by head coach Mike Quinnville, and his staff, looks to continue to move the program forward as the level of play increases.
The Frozen Tide, who won multiple tournaments last season, will be more focused than ever and are ready for the challenges ahead of them.
“As an individual I am excited to see the team grow and move into a new division because it proves the program is moving in the right direction,” sophomore forward, Jon Lovorn said.
“This year is definitely new to all of us, especially with the jump to D1 club,” senior goalie, Tommy Condon said. “We’re a relatively young team with 13 rookies, but we’re already a pretty tight-knit group.”
That chemistry will be needed moving into a higher division, with it comes an added level of competition that the team will need to adjust to quickly if they want to continue to have success.
“I think the biggest challenge for us this year is going to be dealing with the experience and speed we will be going up against,” Condon said. “We’re going to be playing guys that are older than most of the guys on the team and have been playing at this level for the past few years.”
Sophomore defenseman Nick Price has similar thoughts as Condon about the upcoming season.
“As far as challenges go, this team has a lot of freshmen on it who didn’t play juniors, most of the teams we will play against this season will have junior experience, like myself,” Price said. “But our team has a lot of heart and good chemistry, which is why we’ll have a successful season.”
If the Frozen Tide continues to be successful this season, it will be due to their chemistry. Hockey, unlike most sports, requires more team play and no one individual can dominate the ice for the whole game. That being said, Price thinks Lovorn is poised to have a break-out season this year.
“He put in a lot of hard work over the summer and came back this season looking better than ever,” Price said.
Lovorn thinks the team will be led by senior forward, Andre Morard, from Huntsville, Al.
“I look to Morard to be an impact player, he has the speed and a hard shot with a natural ability to be a goal-scorer,” Lovorn said. “He is strong on the penalty kill and plays big minutes when the team needs him.”
So far Alabama Club Hockey has been successful in Division I. The team swept West Virginia in their first two games on the road, and they look to add wins this weekend with games in Chicago against Illinois and Illinois State.
“I think we really made a statement in the D1 world when we swept West Virginia,” Condon said. “They were a top 25 team last year and we swept them.”
The hockey team proves they are willing to put in the work to be successful, and win games. The program is on the rise quicker than any other club team at the university.
What is amazing is that the team has been able to achieve the success they have without funding from the university. The team takes donations at every home game, and their next game will be the home opener against Mississippi State.
Knowing The Frozen Tide, they should come into the match poised, prepared, focused, and with three more W’s.
