D3 Hockey Team Going All Out

The MSU Club Hockey program has been growing in popularity in recent years, due to its success, including an appearance at nationals several years ago. They’ve been so successful in fact, that the number of athletes coming out for the team has increased to the point that a second club hockey team was created. 

The Bobcats D3 club hockey team plays a division lower than the D2 team, although both programs play under the banner of the same organization. Coach Sam Coulter explained the difference between the two squads, “both teams practice three times a week, and both are run under the same umbrella organization. Our schedule is a little wider, due to geographic regions [sic] [between the other D3 teams].” Coulter made it clear that the D3 team does not function as a sort of JV to the D2, but rather acts as its own, very competitive unit. “While there’s always the possibility of a player making the jump up, we don’t advertise it as such. We aren’t focusing on development, we have more of a win-now mentality,” Coulter said. 

The team’s overarching goals are quite lofty involving a the desire to win at a high level. “We’re super up front and clear about [our objectives]. Our goal is to win a national championship. This is our second year as a D3 team, so I know that’s a lofty goal, but this isn’t a beer league or rec team, and we want to win,” said Coulter. The team is 4-4 as of Nov. 2, with 10 games remaining on the schedule.

The team certainly provides players with a highly competitive atmosphere and a place to continue playing the game they love. “I played hockey all through my life, I think I was four when I started. When I came up here and saw there was a club team, I decided I had to try it out because it’s something I always wanted to do. It’s fun, it gives me a break from college,” said Ty Swavely, a freshman from Los Alamos, New Mexico. Swavely enjoys the intense competition the club games offer, saying, “It’s not like it’s like super low hockey, it’s still really competitive. It’s a good way to stay in the competitive spirit.” Swavely said he currently plans on staying with the team as long as he could. 

Swavely’s motivations for being a part of the team seem to track with the trends Coulter observes in his players. “Obviously, it’s a way for them to play at a higher level, so it’s just a next step,” Coulter said, “And it helps with the college experience. They come in the second week of tryouts, and right away, you have 20-25 people you already know. It helps acclimate people to school, to Bozeman. It’s another way to keep playing hockey and enrich the social environment of college.” 

The D3 team plays its next home game on December 9, against the University of Montana Griz at Haynes Pavilion.