On October 26 and 27, the Hogs took on the Texas Tech Red Raiders.  The two teams had not met since the 2010-11 season and, going into the weekend series, the Hogs owned a 2-1 all-time series lead against the Red Raiders.  Friday night’s match-up also saw the program host its third annual “Pink the Rink” event co-sponsored by the University of Arkansas School of Law.  The Law School generously organized the creation of t-shirts and a silent auction, which featured items like a Razorback Tailgate Pack including snacks and fan gear; a Hallow-Scream Movie Night basket, and handmade custom jewelry.  The team was also honored to have the University of Arkansas’s own Provost Sharon Gaber drop the ceremonial opening face-off.

On the ice, the Hogs did not disappoint–posting an 8-1 win that saw the team get scoring contributions from eight different players.  The goal scorers were Johnny Stromp, Erik Robinson, Mason Brower, Martin Sunsdtedt, Forest Mudgett, Trent Ritchie, Justin McDowell and Jansen Polk.  Kevin Scheer made 15 saves en route to his fourth win on the season.  Overall, the Hogs outshot the Red Raiders 48-15.

Saturday’s game brought more of the same.  The Hogs outshot the Red Raiders 69-18 and scored six goals in the process.  Once again, the team saw scoring contributions from six different players.  The Arkansas goal scorers were Taylor Jones, Easton Oliver, Martin Sundstedt, Connor Crumblish, James Nemeth and Johnny Stromp.  The win was the Hogs’ fourth in a row and improved their record to 8-7-0.  Spencer Mulgrew backstopped the team with sixteen saves and earned his third win on the season in the process.

Looking ahead, the team has a bye this coming weekend (11/2 and 11/3) but travels to Olive Branch, MS, and Pelham, AL, for several critical games against Alabama, Ole Miss, and Florida Gulf Coast–last year’s top-ranked South Region team.

 

 

 

The Ice Hogs (6-7-0) return home this coming weekend to take on Texas Tech University (2-4-0) and, in doing so, will co-sponsor the Third Annual Pink the Rink event to raise breast cancer awareness.  The event, co-sponsored by the University of Arkansas School of Law, will feature commemorative t-shirts.  Proceeds from the t-shirt sales will go directly to our local chapter of Susan G. Komen.

Since last playing at home on September 28 & 29, the Ice Hogs have been busy on the road.  They lost two close contests in Springfield, MO, to a talented Missouri State (D2) squad on October 5 & 6, after which the team drove north for a trio of games.  The weekend began on October 13 with a 3-1 victory over northern powerhouse Grand Valley State University.  The weekend’s success continued on October 14 when the Razorbacks defeated GVSU by a score of 6-2.  The two-game sweep of GVSU marked both the Hogs’ first wins in the state of Michigan and the first time a Razorback squad has swept a Northern Region opponent.

The Hogs’ final day in Michigan on October 15 saw the team take on the defending the National Champion Adrian Bulldogs.  The Bulldogs entered the game having not lost a game since October 21, 2011.  Although the Razorbacks played the Bulldogs close in the first period, Adrian ultimately handed the Razorbacks a 7-1 defeat.  As talented as the Adrian team is, the 44 minutes in penalties called on the Razorbacks also contributed to their demise. That was more than half the total assessed on the Hogs in their previous 10 games.

Most recently, the Hogs enter the weekend having just swept conference rival Mississippi State to open SECHC conference play.  The pair of games pushed the Hogs to within one game of .500 and gave their Head Coach, Brian Gallini, his 100th collegiate coaching career win.  Against Texas Tech specifically, the Hogs are 2-1-0.  The teams last hooked up during the the 2010-11 season when the Razorbacks swept a pair of games by a score of 5-3 and 6-2 on October 8 and 9, 2010.

Game times for both games on 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.  More detailed ticket information is available here.

 

After dropping a pair of games to Missouri State (D2) in front of a raucous Springfield, Missouri, crowd, the Ice Hogs (2-6-0) head north to Michigan for the first time in the program’s history.  The team leaves this Friday and will take on Grand Valley State University twice–once on Saturday at 8 pm EST and again on Sunday at noon EST.  As fans will remember, the Hogs split with Grand Valley in dramatic fashion last season.   After dropping game one by a score of 3-1 on Friday night, October 14, 2011, the Razorbacks rebounded in game when Jimmy Nemeth scored in the eighth round of a shootout.  Needless to say, a rivalry between the two programs was born that night.

This year, northern powerhouse Grand Valley is off to a good start.  After posting 4-0 and 9-6 victories over Lawrence Tech University and Lansing Community College, respectively, the Lakers dropped a close pair of games to a talented Robert Morris-Peioria squad this past weekend.  The Lakers are led in scoring by Nic Bectel ( four goals in four games), Dalton Brennon (three goals and an assist in three games), and Chris Norkus (two goals and two assists in four games).  Goaltender Jiri Aberle has backstopped the Lakers for three of their four games and posted an impressive 1.60 GAA in the process.

After the Hogs complete their visit to Grand Rapids, they’ll head south to Adrian College.  Adrian is the defending ACHA DIII 2011-12 National Champion and has gotten off to a fast start this season.  In three games this season, the Bulldogs are a perfect 3-0-0 and have outscored their opponents 12-4 in the process.  The Bulldogs’ balanced attack is led by Colin Gilead (three goals in three games) and Daniel Hudson (one goal and three assists in three games).

From an outsider’s perspective, the Ice Hogs are off to an uncharacteristically slow start.  Prior to dropping to games against Missouri State, the Hogs posted their only two victories against Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville by a combined score of 20-0.  In these first eight games, the Razorbacks have received scoring contributions from players of all classes.  Sophomore forward Forest Mudgett has led the way in overall scoring with four goals and seven assists.  Senior forward Martin Sundstedt has chipped in five goals and four assists while senior forward Johnny Stromp has posted two goals and five assists.  Receiving contributions from a variety of sources is nothing new for the Razorbacks.  “Inside our lockerroom, we expect everyone who is in the lineup to make an impact every shift,” said Head Coach Gallini.   He continued:  “With that in mind, we do not think of ourselves as a top line, second line, etc., type of team that’s populated by specific individuals.  Instead, we work hard to think of ourselves as a deep and well-balanced team.”

This weekend’s trip marks the first time the Razorbacks have ever traveled to Michigan.  Follow their path throughout the weekend by staying up to date on the team’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/razorbackhockey) and their Twitter feed (www.twitter.com/razorbackhockey).

The Ice Hogs (0-4-0) return home this weekend, September 28 & 29, to take on Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville (2-0-0).  This weekend marks the first time the two programs have played one another.  The Hogs are coming off a challenging pair of weekends against two ACHA Division I opponents — the University of Central Oklahoma and the University of Oklahoma — and are anxious to play for the first time this season in front of their home crowd.  The Hogs are currently led in scoring by junior forward Billy Dolan (3G, 1A) and sophomore forward Forest Mudgett (1G, 2A).

Southern Illinois enters the weekend having swept Wheaton College (ACHA DIII) in a pair of games on September 21 and 22.  Jay Albers leads the Cougars’ offensive attack, having notched five goals in two games last weekend.  The Cougars took game one from Wheaton by a score of 4-3 and earned a dominant 9-0 victory in game two.  Southern Illinois boasts a tradition dating back to 1996 that includes multiple conference championships and numerous appearances in the national rankings.

Game times for both games on Friday and Saturday are 7:30 pm.  Season ticket information is available here.  Tickets are also 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.

After dropping a pair of games to the University of Central Oklahoma (ACHA-DI) last weekend, the Ice Hogs (0-2-0) head back to Oklahoma to take on another Division I opponent–the University of Oklahoma.  The University of Oklahoma Hockey club finished the 2011-2012 regular season ranked 7th nationally with a 26-13-2 record after a 6-3 loss to Penn State in the quarterfinals of the ACHA DI National Championship Tournament.  In their only prior meeting, the Hogs dropped their home opener last season to the Sooners by a score of 7-3.

Friday’s contest will get underway at 7:30 P.M. while Saturday’s game will have a 4:00 P.M. faceoff.

 

 

Season ticket information for all Ice Hogs is now available!  VIP passes will be available from today (9/20) through the end of our first home game (9/29).  There are a limited number of VIP passes so act quickly!  Click here for more information:  season ticket information

Tryout dates and times are set for the Arkansas Men’s Hockey Team. From August 16-19, players will compete for a spot on the 2012-13 roster. Tryouts begin with off-ice testing on the 16th followed by three on-ice days. This year’s recruiting class is the most geographically diverse in the program’s short history, featuring players from Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Connecticut, New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Colorado.

Players who would like to tryout but have not yet expressed interest in doing so should contact Assistant Coach Collin Hesse at collin4hesse@gmail.com for more information. Any full-time undergraduate or graduate student enrolled at the University of Arkansas is welcome to tryout for the team.

Tryouts are free and open to the public. All sessions occur at the Jones Center in Springdale, Arkansas. The schedule is as follows:

August 17: 10-11:45 am

August 18: 3:30-6:45 pm

August 19: 12-1:15 pm

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark- The 2011-2012 season for the Arkansas Razorbacks is now in the books with a successful 22-6-0 record, and many of the players were recognized for their on-ice efforts, as well as a few for their off-ice efforts.

Goaltenders Brendan Desjardins and Nick Jabs as well as forward Garth Derry were named to the SECHC All-Academic team.

Brendan Desjardins was also named to the third-team All-South Region of the ACHA and the first-team All-SECHC.

Justin Gaddy and Easton Oliver were named to the third-team All-SECHC.

The Ice Hogs will be well represented on the SECHC All-Star team which will play in April in Philadelphia, the Arkansas players that will be there are: Brendan Desjardins, Justin McDowell, Justin Gaddy, Matin Sundstedt, Clay Kasten, and Easton Oliver.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark- The following quote was given by the Razorback Hockey Team via their Facebook page, “We have elected to voluntarily withdraw ourselves from participation in the SECHC playoffs. We respect the DIII Commissioner’s ruling to suspend us from the post-season and the ACHA Rules Committee’s decision to uphold that suspension. Our program at its core teaches honesty, ethical behavior, accountability, responsibility, and trustworthiness; we do not think it consistent with those values to participate in SECHC post-season play while suspended. We thank our fans, our seniors, and the SECHC for their support. We are already looking forward to a fresh start next season.”

It’s a shame for what has happened in the past week, but you live and you learn, and all you can do is look forward to what the next season has to bring.

Although the past week has brought a lot of turmoil, we can’t let it overshadow what the Ice Hogs have done this season, it was most definitely one to remember. Razorback Hockey was in route in for a third straight South Eastern Collegiate Hockey Conference Title, and they were going to potentially be the first team in conference history to get an automatic bid to the National Tournament, as well as be legitimate contenders for a National Title.

The Hogs opened up their season with a true test against D1 Oklahoma, but fell by a score of 7-3. Arkansas used that game as a great learning experience for the rest season.

Following big wins over Missouri State D3 and Auburn, as well as 2 losses to Lindenwood University, the Razorbacks were set to face Grand Valley State University, a native Michigan team. This would be the first time a Michigan team has ever came to play a southern team, this was seen as the biggest two games in the programs history at the time.

The Hogs fell 3-1 in the first game, but bounced back to win game two 6-5 in a dramatic 8 round shootout.

Arkansas lost their first and only conference game to Ole Miss on Novemeber 12th, but never lost a game since then.

During the 13 game win streak the Hogs put together, they saw the biggest wins the program has ever seen. First by beating the University of North Texas twice who was 22-1-0 at the time, followed by a win over the University of Central Florida who ranked 2nd in the southern region, and finally the two wins against rival Alabama for the top spot in the west.

The Ice Hogs finished with a record of 22-6-0, and 9-1 in the SECHC.

Martin Sundstedt led the team in goals and assists with 23 apiece, and a leading point total of 46.

Brendan Desjardins finished with a 12-5-0 record along with a 2.79 GAA and an 0.88 Save Percentage.

Next season is sure to be another exiting one given all the young guys the team has, but according to Head Coach Brian Gallini, the off-season workouts is what really has to be taken care of in order to keep the core group together and transfer in to success next season.

This season had its fare share of ups and downs for the Razorbacks, but it was undoubtedly a season to remember.