Undefeated Men’s Hockey Club team continues an impressive win streak

Delivering perfection at any point of a season is a tall order, but at the end of last week, the MSU Men’s Hockey Club team pushed through post-midterm madness and served up two wins on the rocks. 

The team defeated the University of Utah 4-0 on Oct. 11 and 5-2 on Oct. 12, which improved their record to 10-0 this season. 

The Hockey Club team was established in 1998 and originally played surrounding schools, according to the team’s website. The original mission of the team was to provide a welcoming environment and affordable collegiate hockey, resulting in late-night ice-times, few games and no staffing. MSU was a founding school when the Mountain West Collegiate Hockey League (MWCHL) was formed in 2013, according to universityofutahhockey.com.  

Hockey is similar to sports like football and rugby in that it is fast, physical and loud. So while hockey games typically come with noise, there has been some extra buzz around MSU’s squad as of late. Entering this past weekend’s pair of games against Utah, the Bobcats were 8-0. A majority of the wins came handily — only one overtime win and a single one-point victory. The players aren’t blind. They recognize the position they’re in and they know exactly why they’ve started off so hot this season: good old-fashioned hard work and team collaboration.

“The success comes from hardworking teammates and the coaching staff, as they give us the tools for success,” Bobcat forward Jake Parent said. According to him, each player views himself as a piece of the puzzle, so the team’s mentality this season is founded on working together to win. “Every person has a role they play, and if they stick to that role there is no doubt that we will succeed,” he said.

By working together in this way, men’s hockey was able to blow past Utah in both games. Notably, Bobcat forward Vinnie Farina scored the opening goal in Friday’s contest, and Parent scored a pair of goals in Saturday’s game.

While the Bobcats can’t be expected to complete the season without a loss, they are within striking distance of the best record in team history: 26 wins and seven losses. The best part? That record was set by the men’s hockey club team last season. 

With hopes of sustaining the momentum of previous years, the Bobcats will look to advance to the American Collegiate Hockey Association’s Division II National Tournament for the third straight season.

The ‘Cats aren’t feeling any pressure and firmly believe they can cross sticks with anyone. “The winning streak gives us confidence and determination to prove we are the best,” Parent said. “We [also] use the pressure as motivation to remain the best.”

While the team’s ability to handle these lofty expectations has directly contributed to the win total, men’s hockey has also garnered support from fans as they’ve racked up wins this season — further contributing to the team’s success. “The community support we get has played a huge role in our success and we can’t thank them enough,” Parent said.

To support men’s hockey, visit its website https://msuhockey.com/schedule/ and follow the team on Instagram, @msubobcathockey. To buy tickets for upcoming games, visit https://tickets.gallatinice.org/tickets.