Jeremy Robichaud on Hints of the Past

I’m a USCHO poster (jrobes01) and long-time UMass Lowell fan. With UAH coming up to Lowell this Friday, I thought it would be a good time to send you an e-mail.

Although I’ve only seen the web portion of the attempt to keep UAH Hockey alive, I’m very impressed with what you’ve done in the last year or so and also the support you’re getting from the college hockey community. It’s terrible that the administration, with an interim chancellor at that, has taken away the one thing that I honestly think makes your school unique. As you may know, Lowell was in a very similar situation a few years ago when some jerk on the UMass Board of Trustees made the mistake of trying to take out Lowell in order to boost funding for Amherst’s program.

A grassroots effort was started and support from local lawmakers along with a new chancellor that “gets it” helped kill any further talk of the program’s elimination. Now Lowell is on the rise again with a team that’s taking Hockey East by storm and an average attendance of over 5,000 at the Tsongas that beats out Amherst, Maine, Northeastern, and almost edges Boston University. Look at “almost contracted” teams like the Minnesota Twins, the rebirth of the Winnipeg Jets, and many others that have beaten out the close-mindedness of a small group and now have thriving fan bases. Even though things are probably not going as well as you’d like, I hope you and the Charger faithful continue to support the team and fight for what’s yours.

Keep up the battle down there! I’ll be at the Merrimack and Lowell games this week, might even root for UAH in both of them.

Ed.: Mike McMahon of the Eagle-Tribune in North Andover, Mass. notes that Merrimack was once much in the same place. I think both the UML and MC stories provide Charger fans not only hope of retaining the program but hope for future success.

Justin Roller on Perseverance

[Justin is a 2010 UAH graduate currently in law school at NYU.]

My favorite Charger hockey memory will always be my first road trip to Niagara. In the fall of my freshman year at UAH, you could pay $80 for a 16 hour bus ride to Niagara Falls and two tickets to the weekend series at Dwyer Arena. Not to mention the relaxed drinking age across the border!

I still remember the quizzical looks on the faces of the Niagara faithful. Into Dwyer Arena stormed 100 blue and white-clad Charger fans, faces painted, flags in tow. A true home game for UAH–850 miles away from home ice, and just a stone’s throw from the Canadian border. Caught amidst raised eyebrows and whispers of “what the hell,” we marched to our seats as we chanted “It’s great! To be! A UAH Charger!” I’m convinced Dwyer Arena hasn’t been that loud ever since. The Niagara fans passively cheered on the “Purple Eagles;” we actively jeered the “Purple Pigeons.” The Niagara fans sat and politely clapped; we stood and stomped on the bleachers. The Niagara fans passively watched their team skate to a 7-3 victory; we screamed throughout a disappointing loss like it was the last UAH game we’d ever see. And in the second period, when Grant Selinger took a pass from Cale Tanaka and zipped a shot past the Niagara goalie to bring the Chargers within one score deep in the second period, he made sure to take a celebratory slam into the glass, right in front of us–the home crowd.

But this is just one memory among four years of exhilarating Charger hockey experiences. And it’s a shame that the short-sightedness of a few is bringing down the tradition built by so many. To think: the people dismantling this program are citing lack of fan support, just a short time after USCHO witnessed our invasion of Niagara Falls and opined that “no fans in college hockey are more underrated and under appreciated as the Charger faithful.” That probably explains why, in March 2007, a dozen of us crowded around a single laptop to watch the PPV broadcasts of the CHA tournament (and Dave Nimmo’s heart-stopping short-handed goal to knock off Robert Morris for the championships). Or why, weeks later, we made the trek to Grand Rapids, where it took #1 Notre Dame two overtime periods to climb Marc Narduzzi’s brick wall. Or why, over the next three losing seasons, we still went to the VBC every weekend (blasting Brett “P-Box” McConnachie’s “Chargers Gettin’ Rowdy”, mind you).

This is an extremely sad time for Charger fans. Fight and do all you can to save this team. We were always a dark horse, but we always put up a fight. And if we come up short, just remember what Coach Ross said after we nearly shocked the world in the 2007 NCAAs: “I’m proud of them, extremely proud of them, and I think they ought to walk out of here with their heads high.”

[Ed: If you want to tell your story, email it to me at g@saveuahhockey.com. --GFM]

Leslie Reed on Hockey as Huntsville and Family Tradition

When I lived in Huntsville in the early-mid 1980s, UAH hockey games were “the place to be”. Being introduced to hockey through UAH, my brother joined a league at age 10 or 11 when we moved to NC in 1985. There were not many leagues around, so it was a travelling team. My dad and brother spent their weekends going to games in VA & DC. That brother grew up playing hockey and still plays on an adult rec team every week (he is in his 30′s)!

Having grown up around hockey, my other brother started a school team at Appalachian State University. The team had to put $ in the pot to buy ice time for their games, and could not afford ice time for practice (but could practice on frozen ponds in the winter). Ten years later, that team is going strong with school support. That brother went on to coach hockey at Lynchburg College, and still plays recreationally as often as possible (joining my other bro’s team when in town). My dad, who first had the interest in UAH hockey, brought us to the UAH games, introduced the travel league to my bro, and was so dedicated in supporting my brother’s travel team – he has also played on an “adult over 30″ league (when he was in his late 50′s). He still supports my brother’s team and attends games weekly, frequently visiting the bench to offer coaching advice (he has even suited up as a sub on occasion). He has made some street hockey sticks and given them to my young sons – hoping to shape another generation in playing hockey. It all started with UAH.

Lauren Kahre About Learning to Love Hockey at UAH

I’m a student at UAH, in my fourth, and, barring some drastic failure, last year of undergraduate study. I say undergraduate because I’ll still be here at the graduate level next year, and I can’t believe that it might be my only year here without hockey.

I came to UAH with little hockey experience. I grew up in Kentucky and Texas, where basketball and football were king, but I remember watching some Stanley Cup games on TV with my dad. He didn’t know much about the rules, but enough that I could follow along some of the time with his help. When I applied to UAH, the fact that there was no football was actually a draw for me. I’d had enough of it during my two high school years in Texas. I thought the hockey thing was a little quirky, and it made the university stand out, but I figured I’d not really get into it and just go to a game if I was bored. I arrived on campus that fall with my attitude unchanged. Then someone took me to a game.

My first game was the 2004 exhibition match against Tennessee’s club team. We destroyed them 13-0, and I was hooked. I’m not sure if it was all the scoring or the fact that I almost died twice (first was a puck that zipped past my head, second was when Tom Train destroyed someone into the boards right in front of me, nearly making me fall backwards in those really high/unstable chairs up against the boards), but suddenly I wanted to go to every game I could. So I did.

Every Friday night and Saturday afternoon, if we had a home game, you could find me at the Von Braun Center. I found a couple friends who were more than happy to teach me the rules I didn’t know, and I was learning. In a couple months, I went from a hockey novice to a nut who could explain exactly what icing is. I still go to every home game, and now I’ve even got my roommate hooked. In the years I’ve been here, hockey games have become something that I can scream my head off at, have fun at, and one thing related to the school where I don’t have to think about that problem set that’s due on Monday, or the test I probably bombed this morning. Basketball games are that way too, but we don’t have basketball in October. Every hockey home opener is like my birthday present from the school, or a reward for making it to Fall Break.

When the announcement came that D-1 hockey was coming to an end, it felt like someone had punched me in the stomach. I’d known it was probably coming, but hearing it made me want to hit something. If I hadn’t have had Humans vs. Zombies that week as a distraction, I might have. Dr. Portera insisted that club hockey would stay on and be just as good, but thanks to my experience at my first game, I knew better.

I know there might be a second chance now, with community leaders stepping up and Dr. Altenkirch not slamming the door in the face of anyone who asks about reinstating hockey, but to be honest, I’m scared to have too much hope. For now, I’m enjoying every game I can and letting that little spark of hope shine, just not too bright.

Lauren Kahre
UAH Student/Future Graduate/Hockey Fan