While attending Villanova schools, most sports fans at some point come across a common question: “Why doesn't Villanova have an ice hockey team?”
To answer this, it's important to note that Villanova does have a hockey team. Actually two. However, Villanova's men's and women's ice hockey teams are considered club teams and are therefore not part of the 24 advertised varsity sports.
In fact, this is a common theme in most schools across the country. The NCAA has 253 national ice hockey teams based primarily in the Northeast and Midwest. In contrast, the American Collegiate Hockey Association, where club teams compete, has more than 450 ice hockey programs.
As for whether the Villanova club ice hockey team feels left out by its non-NCAA status, some players say they enjoy being a club team more than the national team.
“I think we all like that we are a club team,” WICE co-chairman and forward Austin Elbeclog said. “While we are thrilled to be able to compete in the sport we love, we also understand that it is not our whole life. We are excited to have other outlets and experiences at Villanova. I like.”
Rather than fighting to get to that level, the athletes want to break the stigma against playing at the club level.
“I think we're all pretty happy with our schedule at the moment in terms of team development,” said WICE co-chairman and forward MK Rusnok. “We all balance a lot of things. A lot of these girls on the team are very talented and could have been in a D-3, maybe even a D-1 situation. But that's not the lifestyle we really wanted. So club sports are like a hack to being an athlete, not letting go of the parts of yourself that are an athlete and being a college student at the same time. We think it is possible.”
The women's team currently plays in the D-2 Delaware Valley College Hockey Conference (DVCHC) division and is ranked No. 1 in the Southeast region with a 13-2-2 record.
Sophomore forward Kamryn Brown leads the team in points and assists this season with 22 goals and 16 assists so far. Freshman forward Elise Payne, the second-leading scorer, is proof of how talented his underclassmen are. Payne already has 20 goals and 12 assists this season.
In the final home game of the season on Sunday, the team defeated Wake Forest University 6-1. This weekend, the Wildcats look to make history heading into the playoffs.
Seniors Raznock and Elbeclog have recent and future hopes for this weekend's team.
“I hope we’re always No. 1,” Rasnock said. “We've never won this division, but that's our goal this weekend. In our division, Navy and the University of Delaware are the big teams that always win. We won 1st place last year. They don’t take us seriously because we just got to No. 1 and we lost to them in three overtimes.”
The senior hopes the program will continue to grow in the months after he graduates from Villanova.
“The plan and hope is that we have created a strong program that we rebuilt post-COVID-19 and we hope that continues,” Elbeclog said. “And I have no reason to believe otherwise. We have a very talented group of girls, but we're only graduating seniors.”
As of now, the men's club ice hockey team is competing at the D-1 level of the Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association (ECHA) Division, and is ranked 5th out of 8 teams with 15 wins and 9 losses so far this season.
Senior forward Matt Arena leads the team in scoring and assists this season with 15 goals and 17 assists.
The player closest to Arena's record is freshman forward Jonathan Nawrocki, who had 11 goals and 11 assists. Among the defensemen, junior Liam Tomczak leads the way in points with 15 goals and is tied with Nawrocki for the team's most assists.
The team's next game is against Lehigh on Feb. 23, but they will have to travel 30 minutes to Westchester to play the 3:30 p.m. game at the Iceline area.
Facilities are one of the biggest challenges for the men's and women's ice hockey teams.
“Obviously we would prefer a closer arena,” Elbeclog said. “I know a new arena is being built. I believe in Conshohocken and their club sports. And our coaches have been in contact with them and I think that's where I want to be in the future.” There is hope that it could become our home rink.”
