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Student-organized and supported: Team information is broken up into three sections: Team History, ACHA Info, and MCHC Info. Team History: The Kalamazoo College Hockey Program is just starting but it is still building on a strong foundation. The team started in its infancy in 2002 with a few kids that were at college that wanted to keep playing hockey after high school. They got together and played a few games and decided that they wanted a little something more than to just play lack luster games at the collegiate level. They wanted to represent their school on the ice and experience the joy of playing competitive hockey. That meant something more than a men's league game or a drop-in hockey. With the determination of wanting something more Eric Larson and Greg Paddison got together to look at creating a college hockey team that would be competitive and play in a real collage hockey conference. They decided to join the Michigan Collegiate Hockey Conference (MCHC) and be a part of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA). The MCHC is college hockey conference throughout Michigan representing 12 collegiate teams and the ACHA is the national governing body of over 400 college hockey teams throughout the nation competing in three different divisions. This is college hockey Kalamazoo College wanted. This was only the beginning. Not long after Larson and Paddison started putting together the foundations of what would become Kalamazoo College Hockey a little providence came into play. Through his work in one of the local elementary schools in Kalamazoo Paddison was able to find one the Kalamazoo College Hockey teams first coaches. One of the teachers the Pddison worked with was the girlfriend of Jeff Tulley and put the team into contact with him and he jumped at the opportunity to coach a men's team that the college level. Prior to joining the K-College Program he had been coaching the Western Michigan University Women's club team. Then the added there second coach Paul Loodeen who had been looking to join the staff of his former college team but Hope College did not have a position open and his work situation at the time would not have made it conducive to coach in Holland he contacted Paddison t and joined the K-College team. Now the team had its two coaches, two students determined to put a team together and a group of student athletes that wanted to play hockey. So they stepped into the 2003-2004 with a lot of enthusiasm. However, that enthusiasm quickly faded to the hard truth that the MCHC is the toughest hockey conference in the ACHA. That first season did not start poorly but with strong possibilities with back to back wins to open the season against Albion College. Then the team achieved a huge lift by beating the defending national champions on the road at Muskegon Community College. These successes were short lived as the league quickly took its toll on the team. By the end of the first season the team had only six wins and host of losses but there was still the belief that this program was going to be something great. The graduating seniors were sad to leave but also excited about the direction that the team was headed in. Most of the players enjoyed the learning experience of being a first year team and how it was handled by the coaches and how the rest of the school received them. However, year two would challenge both players and coaches in a number of different ways as the academic schedule of K-College would take eight seniors on study abroad. The second season would be a challenge. The coaches faced a real challenge in trying to replace eight would be juniors who were gone overseas. However, a little luck came through as new freshmen stepped up and then previously unknown sophomores came out for the team. Once again the team was filled with enthusiasm and with inexperience. The players however, pulled through and played a season riddled with injuries that continually shortened the bench and pushed the team into difficult situations in regards to talented bodies. In some regards the team took a few steps back but it also made significant strides forward. The team rolled backwards in the win category with only two wins on the season but moved ahead in the development of strong winning attitude. Even through the losses none of the players ever quite and that attitude was and work ethic was evident to those who watched including the father of a perspective player that was very impressed with the team in a loss. That attitude of never quitting and continuing to work hard has sunk into the personality of the team and that will lead to wins and to championships. The players seem to except the fact that there will be a time in which they will struggle some but they continue to work towards winning games and competing with every team they play. The players and coaches have laid a strong foundation for a competitive hockey program. There have been some growing pains but there is no doubt that with continued development of young players and with the return of the seniors from overseas and the addition of some talented young freshmen this should be the year that K-College breaks over the hump and becomes one the MCHC elite teams and looks for a possible run at the national tournament. ACHA Info: COMING SOON. Visit the ACHA Website. MCHC Info: The Michigan Collegiate Hockey Conference (MCHC) is the premier hockey conference in Division III of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA). Over the past years the MCHC has seen its share of changes especially in member teams but also in the quality of play and organization. This MCHC is ACHA hockey at its finest and it continues to get better. The MCHC has done an incredible job at being the most competitive conference in the ACHA, which is apparent when you look at tournament representation and final rankings. Last season Hope College and Calvin College made trips to the national tournament in Pennsylvania. Hope came in as the top seed in the tournament only to fall short in the latter rounds finishing in fifth position where Calvin finished in seventh. However, the previous two tournaments the MCHC was represented by three teams with the strongest showing in the 2003 tournament where Muskegon Community College edged out Hope College for the national title and Calvin College finished third in the tournament. This was the first time in the history of the ACHA tournament that one conference finished one, two and three in the end. With the change in the tournament structure, which will include the top ten teams in the region the MCHC's success in the national tournament can only grow. To put this success in perspective, the MCHC had eight member teams finish in the top ten in the region. That would mean that the MCHC would make up 20% of the total national tournament field of 40. The national tournament is not the only area that the MCHC has seen growth but it has seen the number of member teams grow. This season the MCHC will have 11 teams as part of the conference all across Michigan. The MCHC has also seen a number teams get their start there and then move on to Division II. Some of those programs include Central Michigan University, Bowling Green University, and Grand Valley State University. Each of these teams that have moved on have gone on to great success in Division II. This season the MCHC will see addition of two new teams in Albion College and Alpena Community College. This should make for an exciting new season in 2005-2006. The changes at the national level and the changes in conference membership has forced the MCHC to make positive organizational changes as the conference makes strides to become the role model for the rest of the ACHA. In recent years the MCHC has added a conference tournament and made great strides in enforcing strict standards in eligibility and fair competition. With the MCHC continuing to emphasize rules to keep the playing field fair it has become more fun of the players and fans as teams increasingly become more evenly matched keeping games close and the addition of a MCHC all-star game has made fun for the players. Every season brings new challenges to coaches and players. It also brings new refinements to the MCHC structure as an organization and also to the rules that governs its member teams. Growth is often hard to get through but with the path the MCHC is on the challenges for the players and coaches is a little easier and the growing pains are a much less difficult to endure. You can visit the MCHC website here. |
