Hillsdale club hockey is back on the ice, ice baby

By Hannah Cote Outreach Director

As the temperature drops back down to ungodly digits, a dozen students are getting ready for their favorite time of the year: hockey season.

Next spring, the Hillsdale hockey team will begin its third competitive season, with practices once a week, and games every Sunday in Jackson, Michigan.

Senior Ben Hanson, president of the hockey club, has been on the team since 2019. He handles all team logistics, including working with the ice rink in Jackson, finalizing the roster, setting up fundraising, handling finances, and communicating with referees.

“We play up in the men’s league in Jackson, simply because we just can’t play in a CHA or American Club Hockey Association because we wouldn’t win. But we do what we can,” Hanson said.

Last year, the team had 12 members — and while two seniors graduated, two more freshmen have committed to joining, Hanson said.

During the hockey season, the team’s homebase is alumnus Craig Connor’s ’77 outdoor rink. Connor was a member of the college’s former varsity hockey team, Hanson said.

“We really just play games versus being stingy on making sure we get up to fitness and whatnot,” Hanson said. “It’s more so just about playing hockey in college as a past time versus the competition of club soccer or something.”

Although Hanson played baseball up through middle school, he quickly discovered that hockey was his sport.

“I had never played until I was 10,” Hanson said. “Then I started skating and it just became everything for me.

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All the guys I lived around, being from Minnesota, grew up playing and all of a sudden those guys were my best friends.” said. “There’s just a plethora of students from the college that are always out there. There’s always a game of pickup going on.”

Hanson said the friends he learned to play hockey with are still some of his best friends to this day.

The hockey club first began in 2019, but fell away in 2020 because of Covid. Even last fall, the season was up in the air, Hanson said.

“When I was in high school, it was live, breathe, and die at the rink, and I was at the rink three hours a day,” Hanson said. “That’s what we did and it was just everything for me and still is a big piece of my life.”

Even though the team officially practices once a week, Connor’s rink is open all the time, and many of the team members play pick-up hockey multiple nights a week.

“Last year, myself and Zach Niebolt during the winter were out there four or five nights a week for three hours,” Hanson

“I always dreamt of playing hockey when I went to college, but opportunities are so few and far between because of how the system is,” Hanson said. “When I came to Hillsdale the opportunity presented itself, but even that was a challenge when I first came here because I was not really sure whether it was going to happen. But it worked out.”

Senior Jack Hammons played hockey for 10 years, but stopped halfway through high school, he said.

“Once you get into higher levels of hockey, it’s much more competitive and it’s difficult to keep up with,” Hammons said. “It almost becomes a lifestyle more than anything. And for me, I just didn’t have that level of commitment at the time.”

Hammons first discovered didn’t think I would remember how to skate,” Hammons said. “But I got on the ice and it came back just like that in the blink of an eye.”

Hammons said he enjoys playing on the team because it’s far more relaxed than any collegiate hockey team.

“It’s not like practices are mandatory. I always try to go out to them because it’s just fun and because the season is really so short,” Hammons said. “Even if the whole team couldn’t go out and skate, there were always still three or four of us who would.”

Although the rink in Jackson is indoors, Hammons said that he loves playing outdoors at Connor’s rink.

“I loved our very first game because it had a lot of nostalgia along with it, just reminding me of when I used to play back when I was younger,” Hammons said. “It was really cool being back on the rink. Seeing everything again, I just felt all the memories came back at once.” the hockey club at The Source.

Senior Eamonn Weed started playing hockey when he was just 8 years old.

“My junior year was the first year I actually played for the club team,” Hammons said. “I talked to Zach Niebolt, who was the president at the time. It just sounded like a good way to be able to get back on the ice. I was able to jump right in and be a part of the team and have a good first season.”

When Hammons joined the team, it had been nearly four years since he had stepped on the ice.

“It was kind of a weird experience because at first, I

“The U.P. is a pretty big hockey hotbed,” Weed said. “I basically played all the way up through high school, but I just assumed I’d have to stop playing when I got to Hillsdale, which was a little bit of a bummer.”

Weed said he thinks Connor may set his rink up in the next week or two as the temperature drops.

“There are definitely some weeks where I skate a lot more than others,” Weed said. “I’m excited to be able to have that physical outlet, while also not letting it consume me.”

Although Hanson, Hammons, and Weed played hockey for years, Weed said that there is a wide array of talent and experience on the team, and that some guys join the team without having any skating experience at all.

“We have a couple guys who have played most of their lives and hockey was very much one of their bigger commitments,” Weed said.

“And then some guys who are almost completely new to hockey, sometimes that don’t even know how to skate. It’s fun to see the guys who are new be super just committed to figuring it out.”

Weed said he loves sharing hockey with new people and spending time on the rink with new teammates.

“In those moments when school will pile up in the spring, it’s nice to get a little bit of energy out and go on the ice and mess around and play for a little bit and take your mind off of other things,” Weed said.

Weed recommended trying hockey even if you have no experience, and also suggested coming out to play pick-up hockey even if you can’t commit to joining the team.

“Even if it’s something that you’re totally new to, you may find that you like it if you have a chance to try a new thing,” Weed said.

Hanson said there’s been alleged news of a future rink being built nearby Jonesville.

“Hopefully one day that’ll be our legacy,” Hanson said. “Maybe we sparked enough interest to actually bring the NCAA sport back as an actual team.”

After graduation, Hanson said he not only wants to keep skating, but also would consider coaching some day.

“I only have the privilege of doing it because I worked with some phenomenal coaches,” Hanson said. “I just want to pass on what I’ve learned from other people because it’s just the gift that keeps giving.”