TWP Magazine » ice hcokey http://thewilmingtonpost.com The Wilmington Post Magazine Tue, 20 Apr 2010 02:49:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 UNCW Ice Hockey? http://thewilmingtonpost.com/featured/uncw-ice-hockey http://thewilmingtonpost.com/featured/uncw-ice-hockey#comments Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:35:45 +0000 admin http://thewilmingtonpost.com/?p=296 photo_142This month will mark the 6th anniversary of the UNCW ice hockey team.  Yes, that’s right the University of North Carolina Wilmington has an ice hockey team.  Coming off of an 11-8 season, the Seahawks hope to bounce back and maintain their high winning percentage after the success of last season.  “The biggest feat this year for the team would be winning the BRHC (Blue Ridge Hockey Conference) championship.  The past two years we have won our division and been right on the cusp of winning it all and we just haven’t been able to pull it off.”  team president Ryan Meluch said.  On September 9th, the team held their tryouts and had a better than expected turnout.  With more than 30 highly skilled players at tryouts the team will not only be able to fill the 20 man game roster, but also have the ability to keep a practice squad.  “For the first time in team history we have roster depth” said Coach Coady, making it easier for the UNCW team to play through the entire grueling season with a healthy team.

But like all great things, it does not come for a cheap price.  The ice time alone is $300.00 per hour, making ice hockey a profoundly expensive sport.  When asked about the effect of the economy, Coach Walker Coady said “ This has been the hardest hit to our team, with ice time being so expensive, player dues had to be raised to nearly $700.00 a year.  Sponsors are harder to come by, and without sponsors this team may not be able to keep up with teams that in some cases are fully sponsored.”photo_141

October 9th, UNCW will kick off their season opener at the Wilmington Ice House against state rival UNC.  Amongst them will be some of their biggest fans, the “Hell Hawks”.  The group is comprised of four girls that are louder than most fans of any sport, banging pots and pans, ringing cow bells, and being decked out in UNCW teal.  The remainder of the teams schedule along with sponsorship information and player bios can be found on the team website at uncwhockey.com.  When asked to sum up this year’s expectations, Coach Coady used the acronym HARD:  Hustle, Attitude, Resiliency, Determination.

By Michael Coccia

]]> http://thewilmingtonpost.com/featured/uncw-ice-hockey/feed 0