From The Leader Telegram
By Allan Brown
Part One of Two
Even though the calendar now indicates that fall has arrived, the weather outside on a recent late Saturday morning still has a tinge of summer to it.
A hint of autumn is in the air, yet it’s not overwhelming. Best described, it’s more like Indian Summer than astronomical fall.
Inside the Hobbs Ice Center, though, the feel is decidedly different.
As the UWEC hockey club takes to the ice for its annual tryouts, there’s a coolness in the arena – heck it’s actually downright cold in there – and the players have a stone-cold resolve to their practice that matches the temperature of the Hobbs rink as they are laser-focused on the start of the season.
They have to be.
That’s because puck drops on the 2023-24 season next weekend, Oct. 6 and 7, when St. Cloud comes to town.
And with both limited financial resources and practice time, the Blugolds’ club squad might be considered to be behind the eight ball when it comes to hockey on campus.
But talk to two players who are both also officers for the UWEC Blugolds’ Club Hockey squad or its Head Coach Luke Myhers and they don’t look at it that way.
While they realize their club squad might not have all the benefits that the Blugolds’ D3 Northern Collegiate Hockey Association team has, they look at their situation with more of a glass half-full mentality than a glass half-empty one.
And it’s a circumstance they relish and a challenge they have accepted.
Garrett Husnick is a sophomore and a business management major at UWEC. Cade Marschall is a senior journalism major.
Both will be forwards on the squad this season and both are vital cogs in the day-to-day business of the organization, as Marschall is president and Husnick is secretary of the Blugolds’ Hockey Club’s board of directors.
More on the actual activities of the club later.
For now though, let’s start by looking at what drew both of these players to the club and let’s explain the difference between it and the D3 incarnation of the Blugolds’ men’s hockey team.
“My brother, Tyler, who is five years older than I, played (for the club Blugolds) so I sort of knew I would play club hockey,” Husnick, a native of Antigo, Wisc., told the Leader-Telegram in an exclusive interview.
While the decision to play club hockey was an easier one for Husnick as opposed to Marschall, the latter eventually weighed the pros and cons and decided to come to Eau Claire.
“I was 50/50 about playing juniors and then COVID kind of happened,” Marschall, a native of Farmington, MN, said, explaining that both the pandemic and personal motivations prompted his decision to play club hockey.
And he’s never looked back nor regretted that choice.
“I know a number of guys who played juniors and it didn’t pan out. I’m still playing really competitive hockey and having fun,” Marschall said. “I’ve been able to continue my career while getting an education.”
Having fun, according to Myhers, is a key ingredient into making this club team thrive.
“Basically, you need to have fun,” the coach said. “Yes, you want to win and be competitive, but having fun, that’s what it’s all about.”
“This gives these young men a chance to start their collegiate career and then they are getting a degree and will be able to go into the professional world,” Myhers added.
So, just what are the differences between Varsity, Intramural and Club Sports, you ask?
According to information provided on UW-Eau Claire’s club sports webpage, varsity sports must follow NCAA and Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Association (WIAA) rules and regulations. Practices and games are mandatory, and travel is required to play other universities. Some varsity sports might allow walk-on tryouts, while others purely recruit. Also, varsity sports usually require a full-year commitment.
Club Sports teams play other colleges and universities, but are not part of NCAA or WIAC. The teams are supported by the department of Recreation and Sport Operations and request funding from the Club Sport Executive Council. Club officers are responsible for hiring coaches and scheduling games and practices. Club Sports may not require a full-year commitment
The UWEC Men’s Hockey Club was founded in 2010 and is a member of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA). The Blugolds play in the Western Collegiate Club Hockey Association’s (WCCHA) Southeastern Division. Besides Marschall and Husnick other officers for the 2023-24 board include Bryce Flemming and Isaac Lindstrom, who share treasurer responsibilities and Gabe Bestul and Trevin Kison, who serve as safety officers.
The club plays against other schools all over the Midwest at the Division 2 club level. Its mission, according to a statement on their website, is to provide its members the opportunity to continue playing competitive hockey at the collegiate level and to give back to the Eau Claire hockey community.
Requirements to Join
In order to play on the UWEC Men’s Hockey Club, a player needs to be a UWEC student enrolled at least half-time (minimum six credits for undergraduates and minimum three credits for graduates) and in good academic standing (cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher). Each player has five years of eligibility, except for former NCAA players who lose one year for each year they have played at the NCAA level plus one more additional year. In addition to these academic requirements all members are also required to pay membership dues every year and participate in club fundraising events.
As for the actual game, Marschall said it’s really not any different than you would see on any collegiate rink across the country. One thing did surprise him, though, once he signed on to the team.
“It’s a lot more competitive than I imagined it would be, which is a good thing,” Marschall said.
For Eau Claire native Myhers, in his first season as head coach of the club, he is relishing the chance to continue being involved in the sport he started playing as a youth and it actually makes up somewhat for a regret he has involving his own athletic career.
“I sometimes regret it,” said Myhers, who played high school hockey locally at Memorial and then received a degree in industrial design from the University of Wisconsin-Stout.
A good thing about Myhers’ new coaching gig is that he didn’t have to give up his day job as a sales estimator for a renovation company here in town.
“We don’t practice daily so it’s not bad,” the coach said about balancing his professional, personal and coaching lives.
The not practicing daily, though, could be construed as a disadvantage this club incarnation of the team has over its D3 university-sanctioned counterpart.
Restricted to hour-long practices, twice a week, doesn’t allow for a lot of time to perfect the player’s on-ice performance, but Marschall said that disadvantage is more than outweighed by the brotherhood this team has and the enjoyment the players get from participating on the squad.
“Despite the ice hours not being preferable and the monetary issues, there aren’t many disadvantages,” Marschall said.
Except one major one.
For those who still might not fully understand the difference, club hockey has all the excitement and intensity of action that can be found on any rink across the country.
But there is a catch.
How are club teams funded?
Club Sports are supported by Recreation and Sport Operations and are eligible to receive funding that is allocated by the Club Sport Executive Council Board, however they must also fundraise and/or charge membership dues to pay for their operating costs. The specific amount varies greatly by sport. Teams may also be supported financially through donations.
Myers estimates that UWEC contributes about $1,700 to the club team, meaning his squad has to come up with creative ideas to not only raise funds for the season, but also to promote it both on campus and within the community.
Again, it’s a challenge they have eagerly accepted.
To combat the lack of funds, Marschall and his board have come up with many fundraising ideas over the past few years that have helped keep the team solvent.
Fundraisers over the past few years have included a Go Fund Me page to raise money for the players to go to regionals, partnering with both the Milwaukee Burger Co. and Chipotle and the launch of a temporary online apparel site.
The site, which can be found at closeupapparel.chipply.com , is selling shirts, hoodies and hats that promote the club and have its logo on the merchandise. That store will only remain open until this Sunday, Oct. 1. The store has opened and reopened a few times over the past few years. Anyone ordering merchandise can pick their items up at any Blugolds home game starting with their season opener against St. Cloud on Oct. 6.
Those fundraisers and online purchases certainly help the club remain financially solvent, but Myhers added that they are also fortunate to have the financial resources of many businesses in the area that annually contribute to the team. Additionally, the coach is grateful for the support of numerous alumni who continue to give generously to keep the squad afloat.
He heaped the most praise, though, on the players who continually find ways to not only raise money, but to also publicize the team around the area.
“These young men have done an outstanding job,” the coach said.
(Originally published at https://www.leadertelegram.com/sports/blugolds-hockey-club-players-balance-more-than-just-attacking-the-puck/article_1b2f3686-5e3c-11ee-8e73-2f36ae870a90.html)
