‘It’s still phenomenal hockey’: Kutztown’s club team does itself proud at nationals

On March 18, the puck dropped between Kutztown University and Georgia Tech in the first game of the Collegiate Hockey Federation (CHF) national championship tournament. The University of Tampa was the No. 1 overall seed in these same championships.

Yes, these non-traditional hockey schools all have hockey teams.

This weekend saw West Chester’s Ice Line Quads Rinks host the CHF nationals, also known as the Federation Cup. The tournament featured 32 of the best club teams in the country, that were then divided into eight pools for round-robin play, with the winner of each pool advancing to a single-elimination bracket.

No. 19 Kutztown was paired with No. 3 Florida Atlantic, No. 14 Georgia Tech, and No. 30 Alvernia in Pool C. After going 0-2 against the southern teams, the Golden Bears ended on a high note with a 8-4 victory over their local rival, Alvernia.

The CHF provides athletes at schools that might not have varsity teams an opportunity to play competitively on the club level. Not quite varsity but more organized and competitive than intramurals, club hockey allows for competition with other local schools without the strings of competing at the NCAA level. Division II and III club teams like Kutztown split from the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) in 2019 to form the CHF. Where the ACHA focuses its efforts on Division I, the CHF provides options for a greater scope of teams.

For colleges without varsity hockey, club is the only option. Despite Kutztown’s Division II club status, its players still work relentlessly at their skills, highlighted by three 6:00 a.m. on-ice practices and two to three off-ice workout sessions every week.

Most of Kutztown’s roster hails from the Philadelphia area. In fact, many players commute to and from the rink from home because it’s closer than from campus.

“People hear club and there’s a little bit of a negative connotation towards it. It’s still phenomenal hockey. These kids still show up every day and work hard to get better and to play for something special,” Kutztown head coach Ryan Booth said.

Booth graduated from Kutztown in 2017 after playing for four years on the club team.

“A year [after graduating], some of the guys that I played with were seniors and had called me and said, ‘Hey, we need a coach,’” he said. “I jumped at the opportunity. I did want to coach but also wanted to give these guys the opportunity to continue playing.”

Under Booth, the Kutztown hockey team has seen marked growth. When he joined the coaching staff for the 2018-19 season, the Golden Bears had a skeleton roster of just 10 players. The next year saw about 22 players turn out for men’s hockey. After a canceled 2020-21 season due to COVID-19, over 30 players donned the maroon and gold this year — enough for the school to field both a Division II and Division III team.

“My goal was just to grow the program back up to a point where it is sustainable and we weren’t worried year after year whether or not we were going to have a team,” Booth said.

Kutztown plays in the Delaware Valley College Hockey Conference (DVCHC) within the CHF. The conference has heavy Pennsylvania representation with eight teams in both Division II and Division III.

Although the Golden Bears were crowned regular season champions with an undefeated 13-0-0 conference record, Alvernia pushed Kutztown out of the DVCHC playoffs in the semifinals.

Kutztown didn’t have to wait long to exact revenge.

A three-goal, four-point performance from sophomore forward Jackson Novak on March 20 helped the Golden Bears to a 8-4 victory over Alvernia. The Boyertown native led the team in both assists (20) and points (42) this season.

Babson, a school located just outside Boston, ultimately won this year’s Federation Cup, beating Binghamton 6-2 in the title game. While Kutztown did not advance past the group stage of the tournament, they can still hold their heads up high.

“If you talk to anybody on our team, they love Kutztown,” Booth said. “They love playing at Kutztown. It’s a great school. The campus is awesome. The town is great. We are still looking for some guys to come through [and join the team next season].”