As preparations continue in Toronto for the World Cup of Hockey, a fresh sheet of ice awaits the 2016-2017 Naval Academy Midshipmen at McMullen Arena in Annapolis, Maryland.
While the Midshipmen’s season ended at the ACHA national tournament back in the spring, they are hopeful for another successful season, beginning the home part of the schedule on October, 8 versus Delaware.
In addition to opening night, some other highlights of the schedule include several games against archrival Army, including the third annual Royall Cup game in Reading, 
PA, home of the ECHL’s Reading Royals, a farm team for the Philadelphia Flyers.
The other season highlight is the annual Crab Pot Tournament at McMullen, featuring the Towson University Tigers, UMBC Retrievers and the University of Maryland Terrapins.
Coach Mike Fox was kind enough to answer some questions regarding their preparations for the upcoming season, as well as their expectations for this season. The following is the question and answers provided by the coach.
How long do you give yourself to relax after the previous season before starting to prepare for the upcoming season?
-We typically give ourselves a week or two before we start prepping for the upcoming season. We end the year by conducting exit interviews with the players to review their individual performances, and discuss areas for improvement at the individual and team level. Once those interviews are complete, we start thinking about the upcoming season.
How do you recruit for the team, being a military academy versus how other programs recruit?
-We are limited in the recruiting we can do because we are a non-varsity sport. That being said, we try to assist any prospective players who contact us through our website with the application process, and we’ll try to get them here for a visit so they can attend classes with one of our players, and watch one of our home games. We also rely heavily on referrals we receive from alumni, family members, and friends from around the country to identify potential candidates for admission to the Naval Academy.
How are tryouts run as you have a D1 and D2 team, and are all coaches (for both programs) involved in the selection process?
-We conduct tryouts as one, Navy Hockey program. All players will be on the ice for the first two days, and we’ll reduce the number to a manageable level so we can conduct an intra-squad scrimmage on the third day. Following the scrimmage, we’ll divide the group up into the D1 and D2 teams. This year we had 54 players come out to tryouts, so there was some pretty healthy competition.
How much preseason training is done, ie. number of practices, scrimmages both intra-squad and possibly vs other schools?
-Typically we will have 3 to 4 weeks on the ice before our first game. We’ll practice on ice 5 days a week, and conduct off-ice workouts as well.
Continuing on the line of questioning about training, does the regular military physical training go hand in hand with the hockey specific training and do you think that the overall conditioning requirements of Midshipmen helps give an edge over some of your opponents?
-I’d say overall, our guys have a higher level of fitness than your typical ACHA team. That being said, military conditioning is different from hockey conditioning, and it takes a great deal of discipline and work ethic from our guys to be able to work on both.
What part of the game (offense, defense, special teams etc) is handled by each of your staff? What are the responsibilities of the o-reps?
-Associate Head Coach, Kevin Rooney, works predominantly with the offense and special teams. Major John Naughton is one of our Officer Representatives, and is responsible for the defense. I maintain overall awareness of both offense and defense. Our other Officer Representative, LCDR Ray Guethler, works with John Naughton to manage the operations and logistics for the team, which is no small task for a college hockey team.
Do you feel that having your own ice facility helps and/or gives you a home ice advantage?
-Absolutely, we have no problem getting ice time for practices and games, and it’s a great facility that fans enjoying coming to because it’s clean, safe, and there’s some pretty good hockey being played.
Who handles the scheduling of games?
-One of our Officer Representatives, John Naughton, handles the scheduling.
What does a normal game day routine look like and what differences are there between a home and away game?
-Other than potentially traveling on the day of the game, we try to keep the routine for both home and away games the same. For a 7:30 start, the team will typically have dinner at 4 p.m., then we’ll head to the rink at 6 p.m. The players will start warming up off ice, and the coaches will meet to discuss the game plan for that evening. We’ll talk to the team prior to on ice warm ups, and briefly before they head out for the start of the game.
How’s the competition in the ECHA and who is your closest competitor?
-I think the competition in the ECHA is pretty good, and we typically have a number of close games each year. The last couple of years, Lehigh and Drexel have had some tough teams, but Towson is always a challenge as our schools have a pretty good rivalry on the ice.
What changes in the level of play of the teams in the ACHA have you noticed, if any, over the last several years?
-I think overall, the level of play has gone up significantly. More and more teams are getting better organized, getting more ice time, and I think the ACHA is gaining more recognition for providing a way for talented hockey players to continue competing at a high level in college.
What are your expectations for this year?
-I expect to win our league, win our Crab Pot Tournament, go to the National Tournament and advance to the championship game. Same expectations every year.
How many seniors did you lose from last year?
-We graduated 11 seniors last year.
What other staffing is needed to run the program, ie rink manager etc?
-In addition to our coaches and officer representatives, we have four team managers who handle the day to day rink operations, and we also have a full time athletic trainer who works with the team and travels with us to away games.
Explain the importance of the boosters and the fans and how people can get involved to help with the Navy hockey program
-Support from our fans is crucial. As a non-varsity sport, we have a limited budget, and have to make every dollar count. We are fortunate to have a non-profit organization, Friends of Navy Hockey,that works to raise funds to support the team. Additionally, the Naval Academy Foundation provides funding to help off-set operational costs. If fans are interested in supporting the team, they can go to our website at www.usnahockey.com and click on the tab for “Friends of Navy Hockey” for more information.
Any hockey fan should plan a visit to historic Annapolis, Maryland on a Friday or Saturday during the season and finish the day at McMullen arena.
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