BERLIN, NJ – At the mention of college hockey, do you tend to conjure up thoughts of programs like BU and BC, or images of those mighty teams from the midwest? Would it make you think of all the highly skilled collegiate competitors that comprise their rosters and bring an immediate image of their annual awards ceremony, the nationally publicized Frozen Four?
Until recently they certainly would have been my first responses.
If you too are in agreement, then it just may be that, much like myself, you need to become aware of another planet in the college universe, one that happens to be a little bit further back from the sun.
Kindly understand that the goal here will not be to cause revolt in the hockey community and reestablish order among the collegial bodies. There is no intention to start a grass roots movement meant to challenge the fact that an NCAA hockey rink remains the Promised Land for student/athletes. To accomplish that sort of upheaval would be really, really hard to do. You only need go to one big-time college game; it will become fairly apparent that NCAA campus arenas will be fully adorned with the most regal Princes in the college hockey kingdom. And they will all be elegantly crowned in priceless scholarships.
By the way, you will be far from noticeable in the stands. Your experience will include a lot of company, perhaps even a sellout crowd – with NHL Scouts in attendance. There will be talk of Draft Choices, both present and future, and then there will be professional signing bonuses for those who prove to be the most stellar performers, those who we will refer to as the All-Americans.
These things I cannot change and there is no argument questioning their existence, even in an academic world. Clearly, big time college hockey has grown up now; it has become tall, dark and handsome. By all appearances, it dares to flirt with even the most seductive and selective mistresses from the intercollegiate culture the televised games.
There is no intent to enlighten you here. We, the hockey fans, are all aware of all of these things. They are quite obvious to us, and we also know an authors cynical definition of the college game when we see it. What the fan base may not know, however, is that the NCAA has an unknown sibling, an unheralded younger brother. But unlike the first born, he still walks in anonymity and learns that there will be a need to devise his own cute expressions if he is to win the grown-up’s attention.
That too is much easier said than done, for the younger is much like Tommie Aaron, who despite making it all the way to throes of Major League Baseball, spent his career deep in the shadows of his big brother Hank.
Similarly, this other little kid by name, the American Collegiate Hockey Association comes to light only when associated with the more famed member of his family. If at all.
But while the ACHA will forever be the NCAA’s younger brother; the term little brother is becoming a glaring misnomer. More and more people are becoming aware of him. He is gaining acceptance and growing in popularity as the semesters progress. In fact, my good hockey friends, the last term in now officially over.
Today is a new day; this is the start of a new semester and a new season. Today the ACHA has enough maturity to tell their story. Should we find time to listen, we are likely to discover that theirs is, in fact, a more compelling one.
Theirs is the story of Student/Athletes whose dedication to the game defies their circumstance, and whose obscurity should bring forth a manner of shame to all of us who claim to be truly knowledgeable when it comes to ‘the great game. The ACHA is a story of men like Kim Becker, whose indefatigable efforts have created a magnificent program at UMBC one that the entire hockey world should view and be proud of.
It is about one John Hyland, whose insatiable search for hockey wisdom is rewarding his St. Joseph’s squad with an experience that will endure far beyond their college playing days. This is about the rare gifts of a John Caulfield, Rowan Head Coach, who is able to shake off eight hours of physical labor, a lengthy drive across state lines, and another skipped dinner to teach, cajole, and entertain his boys, never with the slightest drop in enthusiasm. When the collegiate unknowns finally make it down Main Street, these are a few of the guys who will be leading the parade. Rightly so.
How about NHL Scouts? Scholarships? Not in a story where coaches volunteer and players, who in addition to their college tuition, actually pay for the right to participate in sparsely attended games, inconvenient practice times and frequently recurring mental and physical demands that would halt the large number of us. And all this while dedicating what little there is of their free time to the causes of pure camaraderie and dignified competition.
This is the story of guys whose passion knows no normal measure and whose gallantry goes well beyond common limits. This is the story of true athletic heroes, the guys who may never hear thunderous applause from the stands yet steadfastly listens to a quiet soul that yearns only to compete while refusing to yield to more rational thoughts
This is the story of guys who do it, simply because this is what they love to do. As such, this is the story needs to include one Zion Zate, a senior goaltender at The College of New Jersey. Only tonight, after years of dedication to his school team and a decade of commitment to his sport, Zion got a start in goal. One game, two hours, 10 years of preparation – only the best of us can endure that. In the hockey world it comes into view when ordinary hearts stop pounding for their dreams. Almost always it is somewhere prior to the 10th year. Zate did not give up, his heart remained true. He sits then, forever, among the extraordinary. Rightly so.
As for the game itself, it was quite an interesting match-up. Gettysburg fielded a squad that numbered 18, TCNJ countered with 11 skaters and 1 Zion Zate. They won. By a goal. Zion made 45 saves and was a major difference. One game, two hours, 10 years of preparation. He said that it was worth it. I absolutely believe him. You would have too.
The four TCNJ rookies certainly did. They still threw their bodies in front of pucks when ‘exhaustion’ was a distant memory from somewhere back in the second period. Junior Forward, Vinny LaRosa was a believer too. He played the entire match in some form of ‘controlled rage’ while scoring 5 goals. Four of them were assisted by ‘incredible will to win’ and ‘team first always’.
Senior Captain, Scott McClintock, believed…and preached by example. He played the game with one skate missing its edge. In so doing, the proud team leader compromised his capabilities and risked public embarrassment. I think he did that just so he might be the first to congratulate Zion at the final buzzer. That missing edge would only slow him down so much, and besides, it was that kind of a night…it was Zion’s night..
As an FYI, the ACHA season starts a bit earlier than does their big brothers. So today, the American College Hockey Association looks at the calendar and they all know hockey time has finally come. They look at the clock and know also their time has finally come too. It has been introduced by a Senior Goaltender, who in his first start ever, led a mighty group of 11 skaters to their first win of the season.
They say that every good story has a great beginning. So be it.
Contact pops.ryan@prohockeynews.com
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