History of Alabama Hockey

THE BEGINNING

The Alabama Hockey Club was founded in 2005 by University of Alabama students. The Alabama Hockey program started as an idea in three students' heads. Will Damare, Adam English, and Josh Stokes began getting men's ice hockey sanctioned as a club sport at The University of Alabama. The hockey program joined over 40 other teams as a member of Alabama's Club Sports program in the fall of 2005.

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Word spread about the new team, and the club saw tremendous growth for the 2006-07 season. Alabama joined the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) at the Division-III level. The ACHA sponsors the highest level of collegiate hockey outside the NCAA's 134 collegiate hockey programs.

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With a full roster of players from around the country, the team embarked on an ambitious 15-game schedule for its first entire season. Alabama won its first game on Sept. 30, 2006, in a revenge game against Vanderbilt. Alabama Hockey's reputation began to grow further and inspired other teams in the region. 

Since the club's formation, Alabama has helped other SEC schools create and improve their hockey clubs, including Auburn, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, LSU, and Arkansas. Before the 2008-09 season, Alabama joined Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt to form the Southeastern Collegiate Hockey Conference (SECHC). LSU and Ole Miss would join in 2009-10, and Auburn came into the fold for the 2010-11 season to push the league to 11 teams, the largest it's ever been.

NEW TEAM, DIFFERENT LEAGUE

In 2021, the program expanded, creating a Div. 2 teams and a Div. 1 team. Student, TJ Lancaster, built this team up on his own with the help of Cami Foley and the team's first head coach, Greg Dreveny. This team's founding gave more university students an opportunity to play hockey. 

Our D2 team is apart of the CHF and plays teams across the south. It wasn't until 2022 that the Collegiate Hockey Federation was established, creating a league with teams across the nation. 

THE IRON CUP

When it comes to rivalries, anytime a sport at The University of  Alabama s up against Auburn, it's a big deal. Alabama's CHF team hosted the first Iron Cup against Auburn in February 2021. Alabama was able to take home both wins to secure the Iron Cup. Alabama beat Auburn 5-2 the first night and 4-2 the second night. This is a rivalry tradition that will last for years.

D2 GETS A BID TO THE NATIONALS

Last season the team attended the CHF National Championship in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and placed 5th in the CHF. They achieved this by performing well in the regular season and setting up a GoFundMe for people to donate money so that transportation, hotels, and so much more could be provided. This was a necessary step the team had to take to ensure they could go to Nationals because they did not receive any funding from the university. 

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