Four members of the St. Joseph's Club men's hockey team will represent the university as members of the Atlantic Coast College Hockey League All-Star team at the ACCHL European All-Star event in Slovenia this January.
Representing the Hawks at the inaugural ACCHL Europe All-Star event will be senior defenseman Corey Long and sophomore forward Kyle Gross, along with head coach JT Tarantino (Class of ’19) and general manager Hugh Walsh (Class of ’85).
A native of West Chester, Pennsylvania, Gross has played his entire life, growing up competing for Team Philadelphia and West Chester East High School before joining the Hawks as a freshman in 2022-23. Honored and grateful for the opportunity, Gross looks forward to the chance to represent the Hawks overseas.
“It means a lot to me to be able to represent my team and my university at an international level,” Gross said. “It's a great opportunity to go overseas and play in an international tournament. I'm really looking forward to it.”
A 2019 graduate of Saint Joseph's University, Tarantino made the transition from a talented four-year student-athlete and team captain to head coach of the Hawks' program beginning in March of 2022. Now in his second full season, Tarantino is excited for the opportunity to serve as part of the ACCHL Europe All-Star coaching staff.
“It is an honor and privilege to represent St. Joe's as part of the coaching staff for the ACCHL All-Star team. I enrolled at St. Joe's as a student in 2015 and played four years in the ACCHL hockey program. Going from a player at St. Joe's to an assistant coach to the head coach of the program and now representing the program and league in international competition is something I never could have imagined sitting in my dorm room in the Village in 2015,” said Tarantino. “It is an honor to have Corey and Kyle represent our program on the international stage. Hawk hockey has been around for 53 years but we have never sent players overseas to compete in European competition before. Corey and Kyle are integral to our team from both an on and off the ice standpoint. They both deserve recognition and I am confident they will represent our program and university well.”
Walsh, a name synonymous with St. Joseph's hockey, has helped grow the Hawks' program for decades as a student-athlete, coach and now general manager. Having helped assemble this year's ACCHL Europe All-Star team, Walsh is excited about the opportunities and experiences the Hawks will have in the future.
“I have been dedicated to the SJU ice hockey team as a player in the 1980s, as a coach for 18 years and as GM for the last six years. I have always enjoyed my time with the team and it will be great to share this time with my coaches JT, Corey and Kyle,” said Walsh. “Corey and Kyle will represent SJU and the ice hockey team in a fantastic way. They will get to know the players on other teams and be able to share their experiences with our team. It will be great for them to get to know the players and catch up with each other before and after the game and during the game as we play other teams in the ACCHL in the future.”
The ACCHL All-Star team will begin competing on January 3rd.
