On Oct. 10, hockey fans were crushed when the NHL season was all but cancelled. Adding to the sorrow, Monday night would have been the Sabres' home opener.
However, quality hockey is still being played on one Buffalo rink - the Pepsi Center near North Campus, home to the UB club hockey team, one of the nation's best club teams.
A member of the American Collegiate Hockey Association, UB is causing an early season stir among competitors in the league, and is currently ranked 19th in the ACHA national poll with a 9-1 record.
Buffalo men's hockey began in 1988 at the Division I level. Team members say their goal is to return to D-I play, and ultimately, win a national championship.
Junior goalie John Czaplinski, a team officer, said getting sponsors and media attention has not been an easy task.
"Since I started playing for the team, we have been kind of low profile around campus and the media," said Czaplinski. "We had some exposure my freshman year for a few weeks in the beginning but then it seemed to trail off for some reason. I think that our key this year in getting recognition is the success that we have had on the ice thus far."
Fellow officer Ryan Donnelly placed emphasis on the team's extra efforts to gain recognition. Since men's hockey is not a varsity sport, this comes with more difficulty than it does for the other UB athletic programs.
"It takes a lot of effort from individuals on the team. We post flyers to inform people when and whom we play. We have friends tell their friends and tell them about when we play as well," said Donnelly.
The squad says that team unity has taken them far, on and off the ice.
"The relationship among team members is good. We are always having a good time whether it is on the ice or off," said Garry Codick, a defenseman. "We have made it a ritual to meet at the Olive Garden for meals on Thursdays before home games. We go out on the weekends occasionally to have a few pops together, and we usually end up at Bennigan's after home games."
Donnelly agreed with his teammate.
"Every member of this team is important. There is no central nucleus which entails a winning formula, other than hard work and each player fulfilling his given role with much enthusiasm and blue-and-white pride."
Donnelly said the team has held on to its top players from last year and has added players in key positions that were left open this year.
"We were able to return a solid core of players, including our starting goalie, John Czaplinski; five defensemen, Sean Riley, Pete Miller, Garry Codick, and Curt Magnuszewski; and our top two forwards from last year, Brent Murchie and Bill Mosler," he said. "We added Brad Zwawa and Adam Koehn to complete the defense and adding Louis Jacklin, Sean Smith, and Matt Weinstein to the forwards have been welcome additions to the team."
Czaplinski attributes the victories the hockey team has enjoyed to great leadership from the coaching staff.
"These men have put enormous effort into trying to improve our program so that we can compete at the national tournament later this season," said Czaplinski. "Their motivation and coaching techniques have made enormous improvements in this team and have enabled the players to be more focused on our team goals instead of individual goals. We, as players, have bought into their beliefs as coaches and feel that a great deal of our success is due to them."
Codick said the coaches have developed a good game strategy for the team.
"Coach Matt (Baumgarten) took over the head coaching position this year and he has done an awesome job, between outlining systems, getting the right pairings, and overall bringing his 'hockey sense' to the team," he said.
The support of the students and the public has been a more difficult endeavor for the team. While victories pile up, fan support is still not where the program would like it to be.
"Our fan base is growing which is great, but I would like to see more UB students coming to the games," said Codick. "Considering it is free of charge for UB students, I'd expect to see more students there. Plus, we need more hecklers. It's always nice to hear your home crowd getting into the other team's heads."
On Friday, the Bulls will be put to the test when they host St. John Fisher at the Pepsi Center.
"The keys to defeating Saint John Fisher will be the same as it has been all year. Our team is not intimidated by any other team. We are very aggressive and play a hard, physical style of hockey. As long as we go out Friday night and play physical and finish our scoring chances, I believe that we will be very successful," said Donnelly.
Buffalo hopes to continue its surge back to the top of Western New York, possibly regaining local support along the way. The team invites fans to attend as many games as possible and also encourages fans to visit their website at ubhockey.com.
On Friday, the puck is expected to drop at 8:05 p.m. Buffalo will be seeking victory number 10.
"We play with a lot of pride," Donnelly said. "We work hard and play for each other. We don't have 25 of the best players in the country, but every player in our locker room works as hard as he can and gives his absolute best night in and night out. That's why we are successful, because we are a team that plays for each other and takes pride in the sweater we wear."
