6A the university daily kansan
sports
tuesday, october 14. 2003
HOCKEY: Team dreams of NCAA play
KitLeffler/Kansan
Jeff Evans, Omaha, Neb., junior defensman, checked a Southwest Missouri State opponent during Saturday's game. The KU hockey team lost to the Bears 8-4.
Marty McSorely said of last season's opponents.
That was before Dave Groux, a coach with 28 years of hockey experience stepped onto the ice.
He works at Canlan where he coaches another amateur squad. Senior captain and defenseman Brandon Schultz, Apple Valley, Minn., also works at the complex.
Groulx played big-time college hockey at Cornell University from '72 to '76. He was also an owner and coach at the amateur and lower professional levels.
Groulx decided to help out the nomadic Jayhawks after getting phone calls from the team looking for any available ice time.
"It broke my heart seeing these kids coming in at 11:30 p.m. at night," Groulx said. "They needed some help."
The players agreed.
"We were always looking out for a coach," McSorely said. "He was the first person we found to
put the commitment into it."
And so last March, the team found itself an ice general.
Groulx has had a dramatic affect on the team, as evidenced by the glossy pocket schedules, season ticket forms and posters that fill the Canlan lobby.
Thirteen of the 34 team members are Kansas natives, with the rest coming from out-of-state places such as St. Louis and Minnesota.
McSorely, a St. Louis native,
said that 16 players, himself
included, from past Kansas
hockey teams have served as the
nucleus of this year's club.
"We still have last year's core," McSorely said. "We wanted to play and keep it up and that's rubbing off on the voluner guys."
He said the team was mainly composed of high school captains that still wanted to play competitively.
"It's pretty much a love of the game, that's a driving factor."
McSorely said. "We have a lot of guys that played in high school that were good, but didn't want to make hockey their life."
Kit Leffler/Kansan
That love of the game drives the team during midday practices three times a week, plus two games a weekend. On top of hockey, the players have scheduled early classes so they can get to the rink by 3 p.m.
"It's 8:30s everyday or night classes," McSorely said.
The history of Kansas hockey has been as off-and-on as a quick line change.
Program on the Prowl
KitLeffler/Kansan
McSorely said the team started in the mid-1980s, took a break in early '90s, started back up again around 1994, but was not officially affiliated with the University again until 2001 because team's members did not fill out the proper paperwork.
This season, the Jayhawks are one of four probationary teams in the Mid-America Collegiate Hockey Association (MACHA). The classification might have a negative connotation, but it simply means the team is a first-year club waiting to be initiated into the league as full-fledged member after the team follows the rules, pays it dues, plays competitively and a finishes a list of other requirements. Groulx said.
Of the teams in the Big 12 Conference, 10 have official, organized club hockey teams, but the conference parameters do not extend on the ice, as schools belong to four different leagues. The University of Missouri and the University of Oklahoma also play in the MACHA.
Ryan McGarry, Superior, Wis., junior goalie, defended against two teammates during practice Oct 7 at Canlan Ice Sports Center in Shawnee. The team practices at Canlan because Lawrence does not have an ice rink.
Kansas' ultimate goal is to end up as a D-1 NCAA-affiliated program, but right now that is a long slapshot from happening.
Kyle Wilson, St. Louis junior defenseman, participated in a lines drill during practice Oct. 7.
"We need to show that we belong," Groulx said. "I think eventually that could happen down the road."
Grouxl said being a Division-I NCAA college coach would be a fitting end to his career.
Groulx and his players said the biggest ingredient for improvement is support fans and the University.
"It's going to be a long road," senior forward Geoff Knight said. "You just have to build on the fan base, get more and more people behind it. Of course, a giant step is getting a rink in Lawrence."
A rink in Lawrence?
Lawrence On Ice
Kit Leffler/Kansan
"This part of the country just has never been into hockey," said Ernie Shaw, recreation operations superintendent at the Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department.
The Knights have played with local kids on a non-school-affiliated team at Free State High, and are convinced that the sport is picking up steam locally.
He said that Lawrence had never caught onto the sport, noting that local high schools did not have teams, compared to larger hockey epicenters such as Minneapolis, Minn., and Boston.
Geoff Knight and his brother, David, a sophomore, said hockey had gained local popularity, largely due to the rise of roller hockey in the late '90s. The brothers moved to Lawrence nine years ago from Toronto, where they said the sport was not a diversion but a religion.
Shaw said in 1997, Lawrence resident Charles Jones led a push that failed at parks department advisory board meetings to build a community ice rink. Jones represented a private agency called Crystal Sport, Inc.
"It's on the cusp of a boom," Geoff Knight said. "It comes in waves. Every few years it gets bigger. It's a good time to be involved if you're a hockey fan."
"When we first came here, we couldn't find any interest in hockey," David said.
"We have a chance to make a great impression on KU students," David Knight said. "If we can't be part of the NCAA, we want to be the best club sport at KU."
But the club needs that fan support now that it has the backing of an experienced coach.
Coach Dave Groux yelled advice to his players during a game against the Southwest Missouri State Bears Friday. Groux became coach last March and has had high hopes for the team's success.
Men's club hockey loses both weekend games
The Kansas men's club hockey team went 2-5-1-0 after two losses to the Southwest Missouri State Bears last week end.
Friday night, the Jayhawks took the ice in a close-scoring and penalty-ridden match ending in a 4-3 loss.
The first goal was scored by Joey Barghini, St. Louis Park, Minn., junior, making it Kansas' first short-handed goal of the season.
the second and third goals were scored by Jeff Evans, Omaha, Neb., junior and team captain, and Sammy Dorf, Chicago freshman.
Ryan McGarry was in goal, stopping 46 out of 50 shots, which is twice the average number of shots taken.
— Edited by Scott Christie
Saturday night, the 'Hawks took the ice again against the Bears.
Goal scorers for Kansas were Erik Rutzick, St. Paul, Minn., freshman; David Knight, Toronto, Canada, sophomore; Matt Davis, Topeka sophomore, who also got an assist; and Jason Coats, Lawrence junior, who scored the last goal.
Allowing three goals in the first period and five after that, the Jayhawks lost again, 8-4. despite Kansas' rowdy fan club.
Brandon Schultz, team captain, got his fourth assist and leads the Jayhawks in these.
The Bears scored their last goal close to the end of the third period when Kansas pulled their goalie in a power play.
Christina Kessle
Kit Leffler/Kansan
Kyle Wilson. St. Louis junior defenseman, fended off teammate David Knight, Lawrence sophomore forward, during practice Oct. 7. The team plays St. Louis University next weekend at 8:30 p.m. at the Canlan Ice Sports Center in Shawnee.
842-8665
2858 Four
Wheel Dr.
Sales Positions Available!
LAWRENCE AUTOMOTIVE DIAGNOSTICS INC.