Ice hockey club skates to victory

Ice hockey club
Tuesday, February 27, 2018

The UNC Charlotte Ice Hockey Club recently won the Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League Championship for the first time in school history. The team defeated Wake Forest University 6-2 in the title game.

Having played Wake Forest twice before, UNC Charlotte’s Ice Hockey Club was ready to tackle the challenge of taking home the championship title.

“We knew they moved the puck very well and are a quick team,” said Michael Aquila, assistant captain and club president. “It was important to stick together as a team in order to contain their speed by playing a strong defense while getting the offense going.”

Aquila competes as a forward center on the club team. As a system engineers major and mathematics minor, he said he is wired to understand complex strategies to become successful off and on the ice. “We started out a little slow in the conference this year, losing the first three games of the season, then winning 5-1 within our region conference for our tournament.”

He reflected on the team’s progress in just two semesters. “By the second semester, we realized that this was our chance to do something and do something big.”

According to Aquila, the championship was not easy; countless hours of work and strategy went into it. “Daniel Ritter, goalie, was the real MVP of the game that night,” Aquila said. “Coach Tobin Trautz was also a huge factor in securing the win. He understands the team’s structure and is able to find something in every player that useful for the whole team. Coach always reinforces that we each have an important role to play and can contribute in different ways.”

Despite the conference win, the team will not advance to the regionals due to a ranking specification. For now, the team’s focus will be on growing and maintaining the momentum of competing. This year marks a growth in the team’s recruitment, and the club has gained an immense amount of support from the University.

“It’s a huge honor to represent and be a part of Niner Nation.” Aquila stated. “The biggest thing to us as a team was to go into the game for our school. We wanted to represent Niner Nation proudly and bringing back a trophy was a big honor.” 

He added, “The team is a great group of guys, and I wouldn’t have wanted to do this with anyone else.”

More information about the UNC Charlotte Ice Hockey Club is on the web. Click here to learn more about UNC Charlotte sport clubs.