From The Villanovan
By Genna Cottingham
While Villanova athletics is decorated with basketball national championships and elite track and field alumni, club sports achievements often go unnoticed. Just because the teams do not compete at the NCAA Division I level does not mean they are any less successful.
Villanova men’s hockey, for one, has been around since the Stock Market Crash. No, not the one in 2009, but the one in 1929.
The team began as a varsity sport and was changed to a club sport in the early 2000s. Since there are no hockey facilities on Villanova’s campus, the team must travel about 35 minutes to Hatfield Ice Arena in Colmar, PA, for its home games and practices.
The Wildcats are now led by head coach John Mores. He comes with more than 20 years of coaching experience, formerly working for Rutgers and Army West Point.
Assistant head coach Sean Martin graduated from Villanova with a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering in 2001. He previously coached the Exton Kings, a youth hockey team in Chester County. Now entering his second season with the squad, he hopes to bring his wxperience to the youngest Wildcats.
Villanova is part of the American Collegiate Hockey Association and is in the Eastern Conference of the league. Last season, the Wildcats finished the regular season with a 19-6 record and lost to West Chester University, 1-2, in the Eastern Conference finals on March 2.
The Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association (ECHA) playoffs take place from the end of February into March.
“The winner of [the ECHA playoffs] will go on to the ACHA tournament and represent the ECHA,” Martin said. “ACHA issues rankings every week…and the top 24 will make it to the ACHA tournament.”
Other competitors Villanova regularly faces in the ECHA include Lehigh University, the University of Delaware, Temple University, New York University (NYU) and the University of Pittsburgh.
Unlike most Division I, II and III sports, ice hockey is not allowed to recruit players before their admittance to the school. Club sports must start recruiting once the new students get on campus. This creates a challenge for the coaching staff to ensure spots are full for a versatile roster.
“Ice hockey, you need to skate,” Martin said. “Usually, playing in high school is not enough. They have various competing levels. They play scholastic hockey, but they also play for a travel team. And within youth sports, it’s tier one, which is a significant number of games.”
The team is made up of mostly experienced hockey players and is led by captain Thomas Lynch. Lynch is a senior defender from Haddam, CT and went to Choate Rosemary Hall for high school. He has played hockey since elementary school, during which he played for the Central Connecticut Capitals. Lynch wanted to continue hockey after high school, so he started looking into colleges with club teams.
“Once I got accepted to Villanova and learned of their program, I reached out and knew it would be something I really was interested in doing,” Lynch said. “[When I first joined] we had a really tight-knit group of freshmen when I was there, which was awesome. We have another big class this year, which is nice, so I’m really working hard to get them involved and really getting to know them and keeping them in the loop on things.”
A new ACHA rule gives Villanova a wider range of athletes to choose from. Many high school players end up in the junior professionals, and once they age out, they want to play in college. The new rule allows players to have collegiate eligibility after going semi-professional. NCAA Hockey first announced the change on Aug. 1, and the ACHA soon followed suit.
The most difficult part for Villanova hockey players is not making the team, but being admitted to the prestigious school. However, the team is filled with scholar-athletes who are very involved on campus. Senior Lou La Ratta is a finance major in the Villanova School of Business and the star goalie for the ‘Cats. La Ratta previously played for the Philadelphia Hockey Club and hails from Washington Township, NJ.
“I think [the coaches] have been really effective, they really seem to care about the team,” Lynch said. “They’re super involved and we have a meeting once a week with them outside of the rink to just go over stuff, so I think they seem genuinely interested in really involving themselves with the dynamic of the team and getting to know each player.”
This past weekend, the Wildcats commenced their season with two victories. Villanova took on William Paterson twice, with one game in Pennsylvania and the other in New Jersey. Friday night, Villanova defeated the Bears, 5-0, on its home rink. Sunday night, the Wildcats traveled to Wayne, NJ, and beat William Paterson, 5-3.
Villanova is scheduled to play the University of Rhode Island on Friday, Oct. 3, at 4 p.m. in Kingston, RI. The Wildcats’ next home game is on Friday, Oct. 24, to play Drexel.
“Our goal is playing as a team and making sure these guys have fun,” Martin said. “Academics come first, but after that, we want to be competitive and win our division. If we can’t get ranked, we want to win our postseason tournament to make it to the ACHA tournament.”
(Originally published at https://villanovan.com/31112/sports/wildcat-watch-mens-ice-hockey/)
