Club Hockey is Real College Hockey

UNC Wilmington warming up before their game against NC State

Back in October I attended my first college hockey game at the Raleigh Iceplex between the NC State Wolfpack and UNC Wilmington Seahawks.  For a handful of years I had wanted to go see a club hockey game at the Iceplex and just didn't for a variety of reasons like never having the time, not knowing when the games were going on, and the fact I didn't want to go by myself.  The game itself had high scoring (a 6-0 win for State), lots of hits, and a lively atmosphere.  Plus, knowing nothing about the quality of ACHA hockey I was blown away about how good the hockey was.  Plus, for five dollars a ticket, it was also well worth the price of admission.  If you need a cheap alternative to pro hockey, this is one thing you need to have a look-and-see.

For the Wolfpack, their games are well attended due the proximity of the rink to their campus and the fact that they have won every game so far this season and mostly by lopsided scores too.  NC State are hard-hitting scoring machines which satisfy the needs of the fans in attendance.  After seeing them play the Seahawks I knew I had to go back for another game and I did so when the UNC Charlotte 49ers came into town.

Waiting in line for the NCSU-UNCC game.

I got there early as I did for the game against Wilmington, but there was a big line to get in and I ended up standing in a corner near some loud (and obnoxious at time) 49er fans.  There were a lot of people crammed into the confines of the Iceplex and it made for an intimidating atmosphere.  I wasn't able to stay for the whole game since it was delayed for about 45 minutes near the end of the 2nd because the glass broke due to a body check.  Even though I left early, I still needed more, but maybe in a bigger venue so I set my sights to see one of the three games they play against arch-rivals UNC at PNC Arena, home of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Don't let the empty seats fool you, this game had 7,000 to 8,000 attendees!

To sum up my experience at the NC State-UNC game I will just say this: you really need to go.  I got there right before the doors open so I was able to pick a seat without a hassle.  They let people sit anywhere on the East side of the arena, but people kept coming in throughout the first period so they had to keep expanding out to the point that half of the lower bowl was filled.  State definitely played their most complete game yet and easily defeated the Tar Heels to sweep the season series.  The back-and-forth between State and UNC fans was great to witness and sometimes got out of hand.  Near the end of the game a couple UNC fans were escorted out of the arena.  I believe that if State played more games at PNC against other NC teams like Duke and UNC-Charlotte they could play in front of crowds bigger than a completely full Iceplex.

The State-UNC game showed a lot more than club hockey in my mind, it showed the potential of having at least one university that could start building towards a D1 NCAA hockey program.  Right now that is a pipe dream, but I believe that recent news could help develop college hockey even more in the state.

It was recently revealed by the ACCHL of which State, UNC, UNC Charlotte, UNC Wilmington, Elon, Duke, and Wake Forest are participants that they are planning to expand by bringing other universities to their league which will also split teams between ACHA Division 2 (which is what the ACCHL belongs in) and Division 3.  This could also leave open the possibility of the ACCHL to be accepted to ACHA Division 1 if they have enough teams that are capable of competing at that level.  NC State could be a team that could go up to Division 1 ACHA in a few seasons as long as they keep dominating their region.  That's a good thing for other NC colleges because it could increase the skill level of other bigger programs in the state like UNC.  But again, that's down the road and for now, we need to show our support for the club hockey teams in the state.  As the ACCHL likes to tweet: Club Hockey is College Hockey.