From KFYR TV
By Lee Timmerman
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – It is game week for most of the college football teams in the state, but even before the Marauders play on the gridiron, the UMary hockey team is back on the ice.
The two-time A.C.H.A. National Champions held their first practice session Monday morning in Mandan.
The University of Mary enters its final season in Division II before moving up and while it seems very early for hockey for most of us, these guys are ready to get going.
“Most guys, when you ask a hockey player what’s the toughest practice of the year, and it’s usually the first one. So, we had a good battle out there today and if we can battle like that for the rest of the season, we should have some good success on the ice,” said Johnny Witzke, UMary defenseman.
“It’s late for us, honestly, this is probably the latest we’ve started in my fourth year now here, it’s the latest we’ve started, so it’s a little weird to be this late in the year. We usually get a couple of weeks of two practices a day and without school this year it’s only one, but there’s nothing we’d rather be doing than be in the hockey rink in August,” said Kyle Hayden, UMary goaltender.
To help prepare the program for the transition to D-1 next season, the Marauders have ten A.C.H.A. Division I games on the schedule, including the season opener against Waldorf on September 24th.
(Originally published at https://www.kfyrtv.com/2022/08/30/marauder-hockey-ice/)
