As in every year since the early 2000s, Hope College has had a men’s ice hockey team. Last year, we finished with a great record of 20-5, but unfortunately we lost against the Central Michigan University and did not make it to Nationals.
This year has been different. Our record has been 20-9-1, which is by 4 slightly worse than last year, but we have had some big games that we did not have last year. On Friday, December 2, 2016, we beat the number 1 team and our main rival, Calvin College, 4-2. Last year, we lost both games against Calvin.
This weekend, we are played sudden death playoffs and hoping to get to the national tournament at Columbus. The first game is against Lawrence Tech on Friday, February 24, at Lansing. Unfortunately, we lost 2-1 in double OT. The game started at 8 p.m. and ended in 12:15 a.m. We were the better team, we outshot them, but it is hard to win of you do not score goals.
Nevertheless, next year is another season and we will be trying to break two years of not making the national tournament.