From Webster-Kirkwood Times
By Jim Schmiedeskamp
The University of Missouri Hockey Club celebrated the 50-year anniversary of its 1975 launch in Columbia with a reunion last month featuring a quartet of skaters who played hockey at Kirkwood High School.
The Sept. 19-20 weekend celebration kicked off with a pregame ceremony before a face-off between the current Mizzou Hockey Club and Illinois State University, followed by a dinner attended by 25 returning players, and Barry Roufa, the club’s founding general manager from 1975-1980.
The club’s early rosters were dominated by St. Louis players including nine skaters from Kirkwood High School’s 1973-74 and 1974-75 state championship squads: Steve McElroy, Chase McKeague, Jim Brinkmeyer, Doug Luther, Charlie Moore, Dave Moses, Todd Neu and the late Steve Morgan. Kirkwood’s Tim Turek (DeSmet) and Chuck Watt and Dave Garth from Webster Groves also played on the Tigers’ early teams.
McElroy was the team’s captain and leading goal scorer during its first three years. After graduation, he returned to St. Louis, coaching the Kirkwood High School hockey team for 15 years and achieving three state championships. McElroy’s father, Bob, founded the Kirkwood Stars youth hockey program and Kirkwood High School team in the Mid-States Hockey League. A third generation of McElroys — Steve’s son Patrick — is currently coaching Kirkwood’s varsity hockey skaters.
“It was great to see everybody,” Steve McElroy said of the reunion weekend at Mizzou. “We recently had our 50th Kirkwood-Webster high school Turkey Day game reunion in 2023, but seeing Mizzou teammates was unreal. Some of the guys I had not seen in 50 years.
“We had a good team that beat Iowa State, Cincinnati and other good schools. Playing in front of packed houses at the Ice Chalet with the student body attending and the band blasting out the fight song was a special experience,” he added.
Mizzou Club’s Early Success
The University of Missouri Hockey Club was founded by Roufa, who was the team’s general manager when the Ice Chalet opened in 1975.
Roufa was also a minority owner, along with St. Louis Blues owner Sid Salomon III, Blues broadcaster Dan Kelly, and Blues players Barclay Plager and Gary Sabourin.
Mitch Murch, a St. Louis businessman, had controlling interest in the Ice Chalet, and was the driving force behind the entire idea of a rink in Columbia and a Mizzou intercollegiate hockey team. The team completed its first season with a record of 14-17-2, and surpassed it with 26 wins and nine losses in its second campaign.
While the Mizzou Hockey Club won on the ice and regularly drew over 1,000 fans to the 1,350-seat NHL regulation ice rink, the club financially struggled due to its distance from campus, which limited student participation in various programs. There was also the high cost of utilities and servicing its construction loan.
As a result, the Ice Chalet closed in 1980. The Mizzou Hockey Club team searched for another permanent home for several years, playing games as far away as Wentzville before settling in Jefferson City, 30 miles away from the Columbia campus.
“In my wildest dreams, I would have never thought the program would have continued after the Ice Chalet closed in 1980,” said Roufa. “To have kept the program going over the past 35 years is unbelievable. I could not be more proud of all the players and individuals who made sure the program would not end. Some very dedicated people and players made sure Mizzou Hockey would continue for 50 years.”
A New Direction & Bigger Aspirations
John Lamond, 50, is the Mizzou Club’s current general manager with a focus on plans for a new rink facility near campus and a move up in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA). Lamond steered the team to the ACHA in 2000 as an M2 member.
“The ACHA currently has three men’s (M1, M2, M3) and two women’s divisions (W1, W2), and includes approximately 450 teams from across the United States and Canada,” said Lamond. “Most ACHA teams offer few athletic scholarships and typically receive far less university funding than an NCAA hockey program.
“The ACHA offers an opportunity for college hockey programs that struggle with large budgets and Title IX issues as an alternative to the NCAA financial structure,” he added.
Besides an M2 team, the Mizzou Hockey Club is also icing an M3 team during the 2025-2026 season as a result of over 80 students participating in tryouts. While most of the players are from the St. Louis area, there are skaters from Illinois, Minnesota and Iowa as well.
According to Lamond, the Mizzou Hockey Club has aspirations to becoming an ACHA M1 team, which would require a new indoor ice facility near campus. He confirmed a feasibility study on the economics and ideal locations is currently in progress.
(Originally published at https://www.timesnewspapers.com/webster-kirkwoodtimes/mizzou-hockey-club-celebrates-50th-anniversary/article_2166697a-4e0f-4f12-b305-8ae1fa10665a.html)
