Welcome to the third post in our new series featuring the 2013-14 Razorback hockey recruiting class.  This week, we sat down with incoming freshman forward James Haddock.  James is originally from Arlington, Texas, but comes to Arkansas via the Tilton School in New Hampshire where he spent a post-graduate year.  He completed his high school education at Nolan Catholic High School while playing his youth hockey for the Dallas Oilers.

Razorback Hockey (RH): Why did you choose the University of Arkansas?

James:  A lot of my friends go there and they persuaded me that the school and academics are very good.

RH: What inspired you to play hockey?

James:  The Dallas Stars winning the Stanley Cup in 1999.

RH: What is your biggest hockey highlight/memory to date?

James:  Winning a National Championship with the Dallas Oilers.

RH: What is your most recent team?

James:  Tilton Rams.

RH: What is your favorite part of the sport?

James:  Winning.

RH: Describe what you think is the strongest part of your game.

James:  My speed and hockey sense.

RH: Tell us about your family — your parents?  Your siblings?

James:  My mom is a loving and caring mom. My dad has made me who I am today.  My step-dad pushes me and inspires me to be a great player and person.

RH: What are your academic interests?

James:  Engineering as of right now.

Check back next week and get to know another member of our incoming 2013-14 recruiting class.

 

 

Welcome to the second post in a series featuring the 2013-14 Razorback hockey recruiting class.  This week, we sat down with incoming sophomore transfer forward, Michael Tallo.  Michael is from McKinney, Texas, and transferred to Arkansas from Franklin Pierce University (NCAA Division II).  While at FPU playing for the Ravens, Michael saw time in nine games during which he notched a goal and an assist.  Off the ice, he earned a spot on the Dean’s List.

Prior to enrolling at FPU, Michael played in the Western States Hockey League for the Southern Oregon Spartans where, during the 2011-12 season, he registered 12 goals and 14 assists in 37 games.  Before his time in the WSHL, Michael played his youth hockey in the Alliance Bulldog program.

Razorback Hockey (RH): Why did you choose the University of Arkansas?

Michael:  I chose the University of Arkansas because I wanted to have fun at school but also play a high level of hockey.

RH: What inspired you to play hockey?

Michael: Going to Dallas Stars games when I was younger really inspired me to start playing hockey.

RH: What is your biggest hockey highlight/memory to date?

Michael:  Winning the league championship with the Southern Oregon Spartans.

RH: What is your most recent team?

Michael: Last year I played for Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, New Hampshire.

RH: What is your favorite part of the sport?

Michael:  I enjoy every aspect of the game, but mostly I love to win. Hockey is very a very unique sport and I love that about it.

RH: Describe what you think is the strongest part of your game.

Michael: I’ve never really been a flashy player. I have good speed and I work hard; those are my two biggest strengths.

RH: Tell us about your family — your parents?  Your siblings?

Michael: My mother Kelly and my father Jeff both live in McKinney, Texas along with my 17 year old brother, Matt, who also plays hockey for McKinney High School.

RH: What are your academic interests?

Michael: I’ve been accepted into the business school and plan to major in Marketing.

Check back next week and get to know another member of our incoming 2013-14 recruiting class!

Welcome to the first post in a new series featuring the 2013-14 Razorback hockey recruiting class.  This week we sat down with incoming freshman forward Matt Robinson and asked him a few questions.  Matt is originally from Plano, Texas, and has accrued an accomplished and diverse playing career before arriving at Arkansas.  Among his other accomplishments, Matt’s 2010 Tier 2 Dallas Ice Jets team won the USA Hockey 18u National Championship and he earned two Texas State Championships with the 2009 16u Dallas Stars program and the 2011 18u Dallas Stars program.  He has since continued his playing career in juniors at the AJHL and NAHL levels.

Razorback Hockey (RH):  Why did you choose the University of Arkansas?

Matt:  I decided to attend the University of Arkansas because it will give me the opportunity to get the “big school” experience while also being able to play a good level of hockey, with players that have a common goal of winning a National Championship. After visiting and declining offers from a few NCAA Division III schools, I visited Fayetteville and instantly felt like a part of the team. Also after meeting Coach Gallini I felt like he has similar goals and aspirations for the team that I have. All around it just felt like a place I not only would enjoy playing hockey, but also enjoy the overall school atmosphere when hockey season wasn’t in session.

RH:  What inspired you to play hockey?

Matt:  I decided to play hockey from a young age because of the fast-paced, competitive nature of the game.  Watching the Dallas Stars win the Stanley Cup in 1999, and watching the players celebrate with such excitement, I knew it was the sport for me. The whole atmosphere on the ice was just something that I grew to love.

RH:  What is your biggest hockey highlight/memory to date?

Matt:  The best hockey memory for me would either be winning the 18u National Championship in 2010, or scoring my first junior hockey goal at the NAHL showcase in Blaine, MN.

RH: What is your most recent team?

Matt:  I just aged out of junior hockey as a Wichita Falls Wildcat in the NAHL.

RH:  What is your favorite part of the sport?

Matt:  My favorite part of the game would have to be the feeling of making a big play in a close back and forth type of game. Whether it’s scoring a goal or having a big hit that gets your team going, the adrenaline in those close games is something I can’t compare to anything else.

RH:  Describe what you think is the strongest part of your game.

Matt:  I think the strong point in my game is definitely my speed. I like to use my speed to beat defensemen wide, and also use my speed and size in combination to forecheck hard and create big hits. I also have always been able to score goals on a pretty regular basis.

RH:  Tell us about your family — your parents?  Your siblings?

Matt:  My parents (Kelly and Andrew Robinson) still reside in Plano, Texas, with my little brother, Ryan (age 11). My 24 year old brother Andrew lives in Dallas. My dad and brother both work in Sports Marketing, while my mom is a real estate agent. My little brother plays for the Dallas Stars AAA elite 2001 team, and will be entering 6th grade in the fall.

RH:  What are your academic interests?

Matt:  My current plan is to study business, more specifically marketing.

Be sure to check back next week and meet another member of our incoming class!

Entering the 2013-14 season, the Razorback hockey team will play out of the Pacific Region.  ACHA Men’s Division III college hockey is divided into four geographic regions:  Atlantic, North, Pacific, and South.  After playing its entire short history (since 2007) in the South Region, the team made its decision to file paperwork seeking a region transfer.

For years, the top teams in the South Region have been Florida Gulf Coast (in Fort Myers, FL) and University of Central Florida (in Orlando, FL), neither of which are within driving distance of the Hogs.  In fact, since 2007, the Hogs have been able to play University of Central Florida only once (a 5-2 win on January 29, 2012) and Florida Gulf Coast only twice (a 2-1 loss on October 17, 2010 and 4-3 OT loss on November 11, 2012).

“This is a long overdue move for us,” said Head Coach Brian Gallini.  He added:  “it’s not financially viable for us to travel to Florida on a season-by-season basis and it makes it nearly impossible for us to be competitive for the autobid.”  [For a more detailed explanation of the rankings process, please click here.]  In addition to regular season concerns, there is of course the location of each post-season regional tournament.  In recent years, the location of the South Regional tournament has been in Irmo, South Carolina (approximately 13.5 hours away), whereas the Pacific Regional can sometimes be more centralized — last season the Pacific Regional took place in Springfield, Illinois (approximately 6.5 hours away).

With this significant change in mind, fans can expect certain regular season games to suddenly gain heightened importance, like those against Missouri State (#7 Pacific at the end of the 2012-13 season) and McKendree (#14 Pacific at the end of the 2012-13 season).  Fans can also expect to see a host of new teams on the 2013-14 schedule.  The team will, however, retain its conference affiliation with the SECHC and will continue to play familiar rivals like Alabama, Ole Miss, and Auburn.

The University of Arkansas Razorbacks (27-9-1) were initially scheduled to play the DII-University of Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners (2-11-0) this coming weekend on March 1 and 2.  This week, however, the Roadrunners contacted the Razorbacks to inform them that they would be unable to make the trip.  Said Head Coach Brian Gallini, “programs like UTSA undermine the mission of the ACHA and devalue the college hockey experience for committed student-athletes like those who play for Arkansas.  Razorback Hockey strongly hopes that the ACHA will take this opportunity to make an example out of UTSA hockey by imposing the strictest possible punishment.”

Instead of the previously scheduled games, the Razorbacks will play only on Saturday night at 7:30 pm.  On that date, Arkansas will play an internal Red vs. Black game and honor its seniors before doing so.  The Razorback Hockey team hopes you and your family will still make plans to join us on Saturday to see your SEC Champions send off its outstanding senior class.

This past weekend, on February 22, the Razorbacks traveled to Huntsville, AL, to play in the SECHC conference playoffs.  The Hogs took on Vanderbilt in the first round.  The two programs had not met since the Razorbacks defeated the Commodores back in the 2011-12 season at the Jones Center by a score of 13-0.  This game looked to be headed in a different direction when Vanderbilt took a 1-0 into the lockerroom after the first period.  Once Arkansas settled down and found its playoff game, the tide turned and the Hogs scored seven unanswered goals on the back of Forest Mudgett’s hat trick.

Saturday’s semi-final game against Florida setup a rematch of the 2009-10 & 2010-11 SECHC Championship games.  The Hogs won both of those games; in 2009-10, the Razorbacks earned their first-ever conference title by defeating the Gators by a score of 6-2.  The two programs met again in the Championship the next season, with the Razorbacks again earning the title–this time by a score of 5-2.  Saturday’s semi-final netted a similar result.  Behind goals from Mason Brower, Johnny Stromp, Jansen Polk, Martin Sundstedt, Taylor Jones, Ryan Machos and Garth Derry, Arkansas earned a 7-1 victory and a spot in the Championship game.

Saturday’s victory over the Gators was significant for another reason:  the win gave the Razorbacks’ fourth-year players a total of 100 wins in their career.  Garth Derry, Justin McDowell, Robert Scott, Easton Oliver, and Trent Ritchie joined the Hogs in 2009.  Over their careers, they each notched 25 wins in 2009-10, 27 wins in the 2010-11 season, 22 victories last season, and Saturday’s triumph earned the magic 26th victory of the season and 100th total.

After Saturday’s victory, the SECHC held its annual Awards Ceremony, during which Johnny Stromp, Easton Oliver, Kevin Scheer, and Martin Sundstedt were each recognized with All-Conference honors.  Martin Sundstedt also earned MVP of the Conference.  “That’s an outstanding group of young men,” said Head Coach Brian Gallini, “each one of them more than deserved All-Conference recognition.”

Sunday’s final marked a rematch between Arkansas and the Alabama Crimson Tide.  Last week, the Tide knocked off the Hogs by a score of 4-3 in the second round of the South Regional.  The Tide’s doing so ended the Razorbacks’ national playoff run.  The Hogs were therefore eager for an opportunity to redeem themselves.  And redeem they did.  The Hogs jumped out to a 4-0 lead at the end of the first period behind a remarkable 30 shots.  After adding a total of 31 more shots (61 on the game), the Razorbacks never looked back.  They added two goals in the second and two more in the third en route to a dominant 8-0 victory.

Ryan Machos and Tucker Campbell scored two goals each to pace the Hogs, who got single markers from Forest Mudgett, Justin McDowell, Connor Crumblish, and Garth Derry.  Sophomore goalie Kevin Scheer earned the fourteen save shutout and tournament MVP.  “Awesome win for the boys,” senior Garth Derry said. “Couldn’t do it without them. Good win for this program.”  Said goaltender Scheer, “It’s all team effort.  The guys played really well in front of me and I couldn’t have done it without them.”

Sunday’s championship victory was the team’s third victory over the Crimson Tide this season (the Hogs are 11-2 against the Tide since 2009), 27th win overall, and the Razorbacks’ third playoff conference championship.  No other SECHC team has earned three conference titles.

On February 15, 2013, the Razorbacks took on the Christopher Newport Captains in the first round of the South Regional Tournament.  After trailing 3-1 early in the game, Arkansas rallied for a 5-4 overtime win over Christopher Newport to assure that three South Eastern Collegiate Hockey Conference teams played in the second round for two available spots at the ACHA DIII National Tournament.  The Hogs, who joined Ole Miss, Alabama, and Florida Gulf Coast as first-round winners in the ACHA DIII South Regional Tournament, scored the winner 12:12 into sudden death overtime.  Connor Crumbish got the goal with an assist from Josh Kinnear.

Then, on Saturday, February 16, 2013, the Hogs took on Alabama for a winner-take-all opportunity to earn a spot at Nationals.  Alabama, who dropped two games to Arkansas during the regular season, defeated the Razorbacks 4-3.  The two teams played a scoreless first period. Then, the Frozen Tide took a 3-1 lead in the second on goals by Kenny Janssen, Jake Collins and Clay Link after the Hogs’ Forest Mudgett had given his team a 1-0 lead.

Justin McDowell scored early in the third period to rally the Razorbacks to within 3-2, but Zach Dailey countered to restore the Tide’s two-goal lead at 4-2.  The Hogs’ Nick Fontana scored just 24 seconds later to make it 4-3, but the Razorbacks never got the equalizer despite dramatically out-shooting the Tide.  “Obviously, it wasn’t the outcome we wanted,” said Head Coach Brian Gallini, “but our young hockey team got some invaluable experience that we’ll no doubt carry forward in the coming seasons.  The future is very bright for this program.”

 

The Razorbacks head out of town tomorrow (February 12) to drive to Irmo, South Carolina for their first-round South Regional match-up against the Christopher Newport University Captains.  The Regional tournament marks the start of national post-season play.  The Hogs must win on both Friday and Saturday in order to earn a spot at Nationals and keep their national post-season alive.  There are 119 teams at the Division III level and the Regional selection process narrows that field to the top forty remaining teams.

Friday’s game against Christopher Newport marks the Hogs’ third appearance in the National post-season.  In 2009-10, the Hogs defeated South Florida and Clemson to earn the program’s only trip to Nationals.  Then, in 2010-11, Arkansas defeated Richmond in the first-round but lost to Florida Atlantic University in the waning minutes of a heart-breaker.  Last season, the Razorbacks did not have the opportunity to compete in the national post-season given their suspension from post-season play by the ACHA.

This season, Arkansas enters the post-season on a ten-game winning streak having closed down the regular season with its fourth consecutive twenty win season and its fourth consecutive regular season SECHC-West conference title.  The team puts that streak on the line against a talented Christopher Newport University team that finished its regular season with 17 wins.  The Captains are led in scoring by Kyle Jahn (24 G, 28 A) and Brandon Finch (14 G, 20 A).  Eric Dumas has backstopped the Captains throughout the season.  Last season, the Captains lost to Alabama in the first round of the South Regional.

Arkansas has never played Christopher Newport.  “We are excited for the opportunity to be back in the post-season,” said Head Coach Brian Gallini. “We know we need to play our best hockey against CNU,” he added.  “They’re a talented hockey team with wins over several quality opponents.”

Face-off on Friday is at 2:30 pm EST at Plex Indoor Sports in Irmo, South Carolina.  Follow the team’s social media pages for real-time updates.

 

The Arkansas Razorback Men’s Ice Hockey Team (23-8-1) closed down its regular season this past weekend (2/1 & 2/2) by notching two wins against the McKendree University Bearcats.  Before a packed Jones Center crowd on Friday night, the Razorbacks overwhelmed the Bearcats for a full sixty minutes by compiling sixteen total goals.  The team’s doing so marked the most goals scored by the Razorbacks on home ice this season.  The sellout crowd was treated to goals by, among others, Erik Robinson, Justin McDowell, Johnny Stromp, and a hat trick from Mason Brower.  Kevin Scheer earned the victory in goal for Arkansas.

Saturday’s contest, another blowout win–this one 8-0–featured a hat trick from senior Garth Derry and two goals from Martin Sundstedt.  His teammates–Trent Ritchie, James Nemeth and Ryan Machos– each tallied once as the Razorbacks rolled for the second night in a row.  Spencer Mulgrew earned the shutout in net.

The Razorbacks’ February 2 victory marked the end of the regular season and ran the team’s winning streak to ten games (the Hogs have not lost since November of last semester).  The team finished the regular season with twenty-three wins, an undefeated record on home ice, and the program’s fourth consecutive regular season SECHC-West conference title.

Looking ahead, Arkansas travels to Irmo, South Carolina, next week to begin national post-season play.  The Razorbacks will play as the #2 seed in the South Regional and are matched up against the Christopher Newport Captains (17-10-1, #7 seed) at 2:30 pm EST on Friday, February 15.  The two programs have never met.  The Captains are led in scoring by Kyle Jahn (24 G, 28 A) and Brandon Finch (14 G, 20 A).  Eric Dumas has backstopped the Captains to an impressive 15 victories and has logged 1533.08 minutes and a 3.17 GAA in doing so.

Should the Razorbacks win on Friday, they will advance in the tournament and play again on Saturday for a birth to Nationals (i.e., the sweet sixteen).  A loss on either day, however, would end the Hogs’ hopes of a second appearance at Nationals.  Local Razorback fans can watch all the games in the South Regional at Plex Indoor Sports & Ice (1019 Broad Stone Rd, Irmo, SC 29063).  For those who are unable to attend, please follow our social media pages for in-game real-time updates.

Finally, remember that the Razorbacks return to the Jones Center for the final time on March 1 & 2 when they take on the University of Texas-San Antonio (DII).

 

 

On Friday and Saturday, February 1 & 2, the Razorbacks (21-8-1, #5 South) take on the McKendree University Bearcats (12-8-0) in a pair of games to close out the regular season.  McKendree and Arkansas have never met, although they do have one opponent–Southern Illinois–in common.  Arkansas played Southern Illinois four times this season and defeated the Cougars in every contest.  McKendree also swept Southern Illinois back in October of 2012 by 7-0 and 4-1 scores.

More telling of McKendree’s talent is their recent impressive split with Division II St. Louis (St. Louis is currently ranked #6 in the Central region at the Division II level) on January 18 & 19.  The Bearcats are led in scoring by Nic Rolla (33 G, 9 A) and Dave Coleman (8 G, 26 A).  Rolla, a member of the ACHA DIII Select team that traveled to Europe over the holidays, also led McKendree in scoring last season.  He continues to perform particularly well for the Bearcats; he potted four goals en route to McKendree’s 8-5 victory over St. Louis on January 19.  Senior Nathan Campo has been in goal every game this season for McKendree.  Campo, who made 47 saves in the win over St. Louis, has a goals-against average of 3.06 with one shutout.

For their part, Arkansas enters the series on an eight game winning streak.  That streak has included wins over Memphis, Southern Illinois, Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Alabama and Auburn.  During the streak, the Hogs have outscored their opponents by a cumulative total of 97-8.  Most recently, the Razorbacks played two games before a packed Jones Center crowd against the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh on January 25 and 26.  Friday’s 6-2 victory over the Titans secured for the Razorbacks their fourth consecutive twenty win season.  Then, on Saturday, Arkansas cruised to a 12-1 victory over the visiting Titans.  With Alabama’s victory over Ole Miss that same weekend, Arkansas earned its fourth consecutive SECHC-West regular season title.

Game times for both games this Friday and Saturday are 7:30 pm. Tickets are available for sale at the rink on the day of the game. General seating tickets are $8, standing room only is $5, and students with an ID are admitted for $3.  On Friday night, the Ice Hogs welcome the School of Law student body for the third annual “Law School Night at the Rink.”  More detailed ticket information is available here.

The Razorbacks return to the Jones Center for the final time on March 1 & 2 when they take on the University of Texas-San Antonio.