From time to time this season atlantathrashers.com will check in with the local college hockey teams to see how they are doing. In this first installment we look at the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Georgia Bulldogs who both play in the Southern Collegiate Hockey Conference of the American Collegiate Hockey Association.

ACHA web site

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 2009-2010 Season Preview

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are coming off of one of the club’s most successful campaigns in its history (est. 1973), posting a 22-2 regular season record, and placing 13th at the American Collegiate Hockey Association Division III National Tournament in Rochester, NY. The Jackets are also returning Thrasher Cup Champions, having won the 11th annual Savannah Memorial Health Hockey Classic.

As the Jackets storm into the 2009-2010 season, they will look to build on last year’s success and their reputation as one of the top hockey programs in the South Region. The regular season schedule for the Jackets consists of 26 games, 11 of which are home games held at the Cooler in Alpharetta, the Kennessaw Ice Forum, and the Marietta Ice Center.

As for the roster, the Jackets graduated a solid group of players last year, but a strong core, led by captains Josh Navikonis, Jeremy Spafard, and Zack Berry, will step up to the challenge of continuing the club’s tradition of success. A healthy mix of young and experienced players will combine a lethal offense with a gritty, hard-nosed attitude to defeat their opponents. Dangerous offensive weapon Ryan Fritz is coming off an impressive rookie season and will lead the white and gold’s forwards. Holding together the back end will be third-year goalie Maxx Lucas, who was named to the ACHA’s First All-American team last season.

Last season the Jackets had a new face behind their bench for the first time in 17 years due to the passing of beloved coach Greg Stathis. Stathis was one of the driving forces in the development of hockey in the South, and will always be remembered by the Yellow Jacket community. Stepping into his spot was Brian McSparron who guided the Jackets to a tremendous season, which became an emotional tribute to Stathis. McSparron will seek to continue walking in the legend’s footsteps by coming through with another winning season.

There are a lot of strong teams in the South Region this year, and Georgia Tech will likely be competing for one of the top spots with rivals UGA, Tennessee, UCF, and others. Tech is off to a 3-3-1 start and are looking for a wins this weekend versus Clemson on Friday October 30th in Greenville, SC, and against UNC Charlotte on Saturday October 31st in Charlotte, NC. For more about the Yellow Jackets, visit the team site: www.gthockey.com.

Come out to cheer on the Jackets at their upcoming November home games!

11/13/2009 Embry-Riddle: Kennesaw, GA - Ice Forum @ Town Center 10:15pm
11/14/2009 Tennessee: Kennesaw GA - Ice Forum @ Town Center 10:15 pm
11/20/2009 Clemson: Augusta GA - Augusta Ice Sports Center 10:15pm
11/21/2009 Georgia: Augusta GA - Augusta Ice Sports Center 7:30pm
11/22/2009 South Florida: Augusta GA - Augusta Ice Sports Center 11:30am

Information provided by Georgia Tech hockey club.

University of Georgia Hockey 2009-10 Season Preview

The UGA Ice Hockey Team, dubbed the "Ice Dogs” was established in 1987 by team founder Larry Hall and a group of students wanting to start a new tradition at Georgia. The Ice Dogs compete in the Southeastern Collegiate Hockey Conference of the American Collegiate Hockey Association, and play under NCAA rules. Georgia faces-off against ten SEC opponents including Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, LSU & South Carolina. Other southern rival opponents include Clemson, Florida State, and of course cross-state rival Georgia Tech.

Georgia Ice Hockey has made great strides in the last decade. As one of the perennial top ACHA DIII hockey programs, UGA hockey has participated in ACHA post season tournament play in 7 of the last 10 seasons, including a trip to the national championship game in 2004 in Phoenix, AZ. The Ice Dogs are five-time winners of the coveted Thrasher Cup tournament held in Savannah, GA, won three season conference titles, one conference championship (2004) and played in four conference championship games.

Although the Ice Dogs record was 12 -12 last year, Georgia finished the season in strong fashion making it to the first ever SEC hockey championship game. The team is looking to bounce back and reclaim their status as a premiere program in the ACHA and top team in the new Southeastern Collegiate Hockey Conference (SECHC) again this year. The Ice Dogs will be led by senior captains’ Michael Gabelman, Lee Bosma, and Aaron Gottfried, are looking to fill the scoring void left by last year’s graduating seniors and so far have been up to the task. Adding to the mix on offense are juniors Michael “Tiger” Tighe and Matt McClure as well as Steve “Salty” Salvatierra. Complementing the offense and the leader of the defensive corps is senior Connor Kelly, who is accompanied on the blue line by returners Matt Ritchie, Eric Patel and Dave Enichen. The Ice Dogs add many new young talents this season and are seeing great potential out of their many up and coming prospects. This includes the young and tenacious goaltending between the pipes split by freshman Vince Dicarlo and sophomore transfer Paul Connors.

Behind the bench for the Ice Dogs this year in his 11th season coaching the Ice Dogs is veteran coach John Hoos. His supporting cast, Steve Beneke and Mike Legros also bring a wealth of hockey knowledge to the program.
The Ice Dogs, looking to quickly place last season’s medioce record behind them, are off to an impressive 3 -1 start and look to improve on their record as they take on the University of South Carolina this Friday Oct. 23rd in Columbia. Game time is set for 8pm at the IcePlex in Irmo, SC.

The Ice Dogs play their home games at the Atlanta Ice Forum in Duluth, home to the Atlanta Thrashers and Gwinnett Gladiators. Visit the Ice Dogs website at www.ugahockey.com.

Information provided by University of Georgia hockey club.

If you would like your college program to be included in the next local colege hockey roundup, send us an email.