Following approximately seven months of derecognition, the men’s and women’s ice hockey teams were reestablished by the undergraduate Student Association (SA) on Dec. 6, with access to their funds restored two weeks later. The two teams will now be able to compete, ending two months of inactivity.
After paying nearly $4,000 in SA fines issued prior to its derecognition, the men’s ice hockey club will have $18,793.90 remaining from its last year’s balance of $22,511.40. The women’s ice hockey club will have $250.00 within SA.
Nate Bailey, a men’s ice hockey team defenseman, said that SA has been informative and responsive to questions throughout the process.
“Samin and the rest of SA have done a fantastic job at being transparent through the whole process and expediting the whole process as much as possible,” Bailey, a senior mechanical engineering major, said.
Due to the prolonged period of inactivity during the fall season, the competition season will be shortened for the men’s ice hockey team.
The men’s ice hockey team that plays in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) was not accepted back into the Northeast Collegiate Hockey League (NECHL), due to not being able to play earlier in the season, and will play a 6-10 shortened season instead. The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team will also play 6-10, including playoffs and a national championship tournament.
Bailey remains optimistic about the future of the men’s ice hockey club.
“I believe that the work SA and our board have done has set us on the path to making this a reality,” Bailey said.
The improvement in the relationship between SA and the ice hockey teams follows two years of bitter frustrations.
Prior to the teams’ derecognition last May, the men’s ice hockey team had repeatedly voiced frustrations over SA’s vague financial procedures that made obtaining transportation, referees and uniforms difficult. On the other hand, the women’s ice hockey team criticized SA’s lack of communication and logistical errors that resulted in months of outstanding payments to referees.
Tensions continued to build through late September, when former head coach of UB’s ACHA men’s ice hockey team Morgan von Hedemann launched a petition demanding both ice hockey clubs to be reinstated under SA. About a week and a half later, the petition, now inactive, was denounced by both the men’s ACHA and AAU teams in identical Instagram posts.
Hedemann stepped down as head coach shortly after, per SA’s request that he resign as a condition to allow both men’s and women’s ice hockey clubs to be reinstated.
SA President Samin Bhuya said that SA looks forward to working with all clubs for the foreseeable future.
The women’s ice hockey club did not respond to The Spectrum’s request for comment.
The news desk can be reached at news@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Courtesy of UB Blueprint
