The Razorback Hockey team is pleased to announce that Blake Sibley has formally committed to play at Arkansas.  A 6’1″ 195 lb. defenseman from Fort Worth, Texas, Sibley recently finished his second season with the NAPHL AAA HC Dallas program and, prior to that, logged time with the WSHL Dallas Snipers.

Described by former coach Brian Wood as a “very disciplined and physical defenseman,” Coach Wood added that Sibley will “make a great player and teammate.”  Sibley will be reunited with Chris Weatherly, his teammate on the 15-16 HC Dallas Tier I roster.

Said Sibley, “I chose the University of Arkansas because I was impressed by the accomplishments of the hockey program. I am excited for the chance to be a part of that continued success. Combined with the University’s commitment to educational excellence, I feel that it offers me the best opportunity to be successful in my studies while allowing me to continue playing hockey at a high level.”  Sibley makes the third HC Dallas player to commit to Razorback Hockey, joining Chris Weatherly and current Razorback, Christophe Jobin.

Sibley becomes the eighth player in the 16-17 recruiting class, joining the following players:

F-Drew Hill (Dallas Jr. Stars, NA3HL)

F-Garrett Jackson (McKinney Northstars)

F-Alex Kueser (Eureka High School)

F-Chris Weatherly (HC Dallas AAA, NAPHL)

D-Alex DeGuire (Skipjacks Hockey Club, USPHL)

D-Dominic De la Guardia (Portland Jr. Pirates, USPHL)

D-Jake Jones (Bobcaygeon Storm, GMHL)

The Arkansas hockey program recently finished its first season fielding two teams.  After a post-season reshuffling in the final 15-16 rankings, the Division I team finished #21–the highest finish in ACHA history for any team in its first DI season after moving from DIII.  The team’s #21 finish also gave Arkansas the best finish of any of the five teams that made the jump to Division I this season.  Meanwhile, Division III’s twenty-eight win season was good for third in the SECHC and tenth in the Pacific Region.

The 2016-17 Division I & III schedules will be released in early summer.  All home games are played at The Jones Center for Families in Springdale.

 

The Razorback Hockey team is pleased to announce a pair of commitments:  F-Alex Kueser (Eureka, MO) and F-Garrett Jackson (McKinney, TX).

Garrett Jackson, a 6’0, 185lb., forward from McKinney, Texas, spent last season playing for the McKinney Northstars for Coach Cary Archibald.  A recipient of numerous awards from his program, including the Character Leadership Award (14-15), Assistant Captain (14-15), and Breakout Player of the Year (14-15), his Northstar team won the Texas State Championship in 2015.  This season, Jackson was recognized as a member of the All-Academic Team and selected to play in the upcoming April 5, 2016, AT&T High School Hockey League All-Star Game.

Said Jackson, “I chose Arkansas because it had all the aspects I was looking for in a University including the opportunity to further my experience as a hockey player. Razorback Hockey has the reputation of a hardworking program with an exceptional coaching staff.  I look forward to having a great season as a Razorback and being a part of this program.”

For his part, forward Alex Kueser joins the Razorback Hockey program from Eureka High School in Eureka, Missouri, where he posted 33 goals and 27 assists during the 15-16 regular season.  Serving also as his team’s captain, Kueser’s 60 points was good for placement as one of the top five leading scorers in the entire Mid-States Hockey League.  A versatile player who has played both forward and defense, Kueser recently appeared in his league’s All-Star game on March 6.

According to Sam Boyer, Assistant Coach for the Eureka Wildcats, “[t]his season resulted in the highest regular season finish in our history due to Alex’s drive, determination, and leadership.”  About his decision to choose Arkansas, Kueser commented, “I was impressed to see how much the program has developed over the past few years and I hope to contribute to its continued development.  I knew that Arkansas was the best fit for me because of its commitment to both academics and athletics.”

Jackson and Kueser join F-Drew Hill (NA3HL), D-Dominic De la Guardia (USPHL), F-Chris Weatherly (HC Dallas AAA), D-Jake Jones (Bobcaygeon Storm, GMHL), and D-Alex DeGuire (Skipjacks Hockey Club, USPHL) as the sixth and seventh members of a 16-17 recruiting class that now has five different states represented.

The Arkansas hockey program recently finished its first season fielding two teams.  After a post-season reshuffling in the final 15-16 rankings, the Division I team finished #21–the highest finish in ACHA history for any team in its first DI season after moving from DIII.  The team’s #21 finish also gave Arkansas the best finish of any of the five teams that made the jump to Division I this season.  Meanwhile, Division III’s twenty-eight win season was good for third in the SECHC and tenth in the Pacific Region.

The 2016-17 Division I & III schedules will be released in early summer.  All home games are played at The Jones Center for Families in Springdale.

The Razorback Hockey team is pleased to announce that Drew Hill has formally committed to play at Arkansas.  A 6’0″, 185 lb, forward originally from Ontario, California, Hill comes to Fayetteville having amassed more than 100 games of junior experience with the Ontario Avalanche (WSHL), Southern Oregon Spartans (WSHL), Topeka Capitals (NA3HL), Cincinnati Swords (NA3HL), and Euless Jr. Stars (NA3HL).

Said Hill, “after first being contacted about playing for University of Arkansas, I quickly learned that they have both a great hockey program alongside great academics.”  He added, “[i]t was easy to see that the University of Arkansas will be a great fit for me to spend my college hockey career.”

Hill joins D-Dominic De la Guardia (USPHL), F-Chris Weatherly (HC Dallas AAA), D-Jake Jones (Bobcaygeon Storm, GMHL), and D-Alex DeGuire (Skipjacks Hockey Club, USPHL) as the fifth member of a 16-17 recruiting class that now has four different states represented.

The Arkansas hockey program recently finished its first season fielding two teams.  After a post-season reshuffling in the final 15-16 rankings, the Division I team finished #21–the highest finish in ACHA history for any team in its first DI season after moving from DIII.  The team’s #21 finish also gave Arkansas the best finish of any of the five teams that made the jump to Division I this season.  Meanwhile, Division III’s twenty-eight win season was good for third in the SECHC and tenth in the Pacific Region.

The 2016-17 Division I & III schedules will be released in early summer.  All home games are played at The Jones Center for Families in Springdale.

The Razorback Hockey team is pleased to announce that Dominic de la Guardia has formally committed to play at Arkansas.  A 5’10″, 180 lb, defenseman originally from Flower Mound, Texas, de la Guardia recently completed his final season of junior hockey with the Portland Junior Pirates of the USPHL.  A 1995 birth year, de la Guardia has compiled substantial junior experience, including time with the Rochester Ice Hawks (MnJHL), Connecticut Nighthawks (EHL), and New Jersey Jr. Titans (MetJHL).

Said de la Guardia, “after visiting with the players and coaches I was convinced that the University of Arkansas is where I wanted to play college hockey.  The organization is committed to winning a National Championship, which has always been my goal since day one.”  From an academic standpoint, de la Guardia commented, “I strongly believe that the Walton School of Business will prepare me for life after graduation.  I am very excited to follow in the footsteps of six of my Panamainin relatives by attending the University of Arkansas.”

De la Guardia joins F-Chris Weatherly (HC Dallas AAA), D-Jake Jones (Bobcaygeon Storm, GMHL), D-Alex DeGuire (Skipjacks Hockey Club, USPHL) as the fourth member of the 16-17 recruiting class.

The Arkansas hockey program recently finished its first season fielding two teams.  The Division I team’s final ranking of #23 is the highest finish in ACHA history for any team in its first DI season after moving from DIII.  The team’s #23 finish also gave Arkansas the best finish of any of the five teams that made the jump to Division I this season.  Meanwhile, Division III’s twenty-eight win season was good for third in the SECHC and tenth in the Pacific Region.

The 2016-17 Division I & III schedules will be released in early summer.  All home games are played at The Jones Center for Families in Springdale.

The Razorback Hockey team is pleased to announce that Alex DeGuire has formally committed to play at Arkansas.  A 5’6″ defenseman originally from Overland Park, Kansas, DeGuire recently completed his season with the Skipjacks Hockey Club of the USPHL.

Said DeGuire, “I knew that Arkansas would be a great choice for me because I’ve seen how far the program has come along since it first began.”  DeGuire added, “I also appreciate how serious they are about academics and athletics.”

DeGuire joins F-Chris Weatherly (HC Dallas AAA) and D-Jake Jones (Bobcaygeon Storm, GMHL) as the third member of a growing 16-17 recruiting class.

The Arkansas hockey program recently finished its first season fielding two teams.  The Division I team’s final ranking of #23 is the highest finish in ACHA history for any team in its first DI season after moving from DIII.  The team’s #23 finish also gave Arkansas the best finish of any of the five teams that made the jump to Division I this season.  Meanwhile, Division III’s twenty-eight win season was good for third in the SECHC and tenth in the Pacific Region.

The 2016-17 Division I & III schedules will be released in early summer.  All home games are played at The Jones Center for Families in Springdale.

The Razorback Hockey team is pleased to announce that Jake Jones has formally committed to play at Arkansas.  A 6’0″ defenseman originally from Nashville, Tennessee, Jones recently completed his season with the Bobcaygeon Storm in the Greater Metro Junior Hockey League (GMHL).

Said Jones, “after reading about the great strides that the program has made in just two years after seeing them at the SEC showcase, it’s clear that Arkansas is committed to furthering its hockey program.”  Jones added, “after visiting the campus, I decided that Arkansas would be an excellent place for me to further my education and hockey career.”

The Arkansas hockey program recently finished its first season fielding two teams.  The Division I team’s final ranking of #23 is the highest finish in ACHA history for any team in its first DI season after moving from DIII.  The team’s #23 finish also gave Arkansas the best finish of any of the five teams that made the jump to Division I this season.  Meanwhile, Division III’s twenty-eight win season was good for third in the SECHC and tenth in the Pacific Region.

The 2016-17 Division I & III schedules will be released in early summer.  All home games are played at The Jones Center for Families in Springdale.

The University of Men’s Ice Division I Ice Hockey team finished its inaugural Division I campaign with a sweep of the WSHL Dallas Snipers on February 12 & 13.  The final pair of wins pushed the Hogs’ final record to 17-15-3.

Looking back on the season, the DI Razorbacks made a habit of defying predictions.  At the outset, no one had Arkansas on the national scene in the preseason and, by all accounts, most thought the team would struggle in its first season of Division I play.  The team was moreover picked to finish last in the pre-season WCHL poll.

But wins over Oklahoma, Colorado, and Central Oklahoma–the defending National Champion–started to change both minds and perceptions. A sweep of arch-rival Alabama and collecting 6 of 8 points from Missouri State in their four contests helped further announce the team’s arrival on the Division I scene.  Collectively, those results earned Arkansas fifth overall in the WCHL and kept Arkansas in the national rankings throughout the season for all but two ranking periods.

Final WCHL Standings

More impressively, though, the team’s final ranking of #23 is the highest finish in ACHA history for any team in its first DI season after moving from DIII.  The team’s #23 finish also gave Arkansas the best finish of any of the five teams that made the jump to Division I this season:

#23 Arkansas
#26 Missouri State
#34 Illinois State
#37 Alabama
#54 Temple

As the historic season winds down, Arkansas says goodbye to graduating seniors Co-Captain Ryan Machos (#20), Assistant Captain Mason Brower (#13), Luke Seibold (#21), Travis Robbins (#77), Co-Captain Michael Tallo (#16) and Assistant Captain Chris Green (#4).

As we say goodbye to our six seniors, we are excited to introduce our new recruiting class.   Stay tuned during the off-season for stories about the newest incoming Hogs who will compete for a roster spot in August.  Thank you again to all of our fantastic fans for another memorable season.

On Friday, February, 19, at 9 am CST, the DIII Razorbacks (#10 Pacific, 28-3-1 overall) will play for their season against Marquette University (#3 Pacific, 23-4-2 overall) in the first round of the Pacific Regional Tournament (full bracket immediately below).

All four regional site tournaments will begin tomorrow as teams from across the country will compete for the remaining spots at the National Tournament.  Of the fifteen ranked teams in each region, only the top ten are eligible for national post-season play.  The top two teams from the final ranking period receive an automatic bye to the National Tournament.  That leaves open spots at the National Tournament for two teams from each region.

To fill those spots, teams ranked third through tenth in the final ranking period compete in a Regional Tournament held somewhere in their specific region.  This year’s single elimination Pacific Regional Tournament takes place in Lincoln, Nebraska.  At the conclusion of the four regional tournaments, sixteen teams are left standing.  The sixteen team field is then ranked for purposes of the National Tournament and each of the sixteen teams is placed in one of four pools.

Prior to an idle weekend last weekend, the Hogs are coming off of a season-saving 3-2 win over Vanderbilt to claim third place in the SECHC conference tournament.  As the final rankings reflect, Arkansas ended up needing that win to clinch a spot at this weekend’s Regional.

Safely in the Regional Tournament with the #3 seed, Marquette played in the Mid-America Collegiate Hockey Association Silver Division playoffs last weekend.  Marquette won the tournament with wins over Loyola University, Aurora University, and Iowa State.

Arkansas has never lost to Marquette in their few meetings.  The teams last met in Springdale on October 17 & 18 of 2014 when the Hogs defeated Marquette 7-0 and 7-3.  The only other games likewise saw Arkansas sweep the series when, in 2013, the Hogs traveled to Wisconsin and earned 4-1 and 6-1 victories on October 20 & 21.

Puck drop is scheduled for 9 am on Friday.

On February 12 & 13, the #19 Division I Razorback Hockey team (15-15-3) welcomes the WSHL Springfield Express.   The Hogs enter the weekend after having taken 3 of 4 points from Missouri State last weekend.  In game 1 against the Bears, Arkansas welcomed the Law School and treated the capacity crowd to an eight goal offensive outburst.  The eight goal performance comprised the biggest offensive surge for the team all season.

After honoring its senior class, the Hogs had a tougher road in a substantially more competitive second game.  The team found itself down 2-0 after the first period on Saturday but rallied to score four unanswered goals.  But the 4-2 lead melted over the course of the third period and the Bears tied the contest in regulation.  Neither team scored during an overtime that saw both teams trade chances.  The Bears earned the victory in the ensuing three-round shootout. The weekend performance vaulted Arkansas to its highest ranking all season–at #19.

Meanwhile, the DIII Razorbacks traveled to Nashville for the SECHC conference playoff tournament last weekend.  After a 21-2 drubbing of LSU in the first round, Florida knocked the Hogs out of the tournament behind a 7 goal effort.  But, in the third place game, the Razorbacks pulled out a 3-2 victory against Vanderbilt–avenging an earlier season 5-0 disappointment and taking two of three games from the Commodores on the season.

Next up for the Division III Razorbacks is the Regional Tournament.  Held in Lincoln, Nebraska, on February 19 & 20, the Hogs will play for the opportunity to earn a bid to the National Tournament.  The DIII Hogs are idle this weekend.

The puck drops for this weekend’s DI games at 8:30 pm on Friday and 4:00 pm on Saturday.

On February 5 & 6, the #22 DI Hogs (14-15-2) are set to host WCHL conference rival, #20 Missouri State (17-17-0).  The Razorbacks enter the weekend on a four-game skid, having most recently dropped a pair of contests to the University of Oklahoma last weekend by 5-1 and 7-3 scores.  The Ice Bears, meanwhile, come to Springdale on a four game winning streak.  After dispatching DII Missouri by 10-1 and 4-0 scores earlier last month, Missouri State swept Illinois State last weekend in its final home series of the season.

The season is on the line for both clubs.  In order to safely make the National Tournament, the Hogs and/or Bears would likely need to be #18 or better in the National Rankings.  Although the top twenty ranked teams ostensibly make the final field, that number is reduced by other conferences who have both autobids and teams in those conferences that are outside the top twenty-five.  Stated differently, unranked teams who win an autobid conference will kick out ranked teams within the top 20.

The puck drops against Missouri State at 7 pm on Friday, February 5, and at 4:00 pm on Saturday, February 6.  Friday is Law Night and Saturday is Senior Night.

The season is on the line for DIII as well.  The DIII Razorbacks travel to the SECHC conference tournament to compete for the program’s sixth conference title.  Arkansas has never lost a game in the SECHC tournament in five previous appearances.  The DIII Hogs enter the critical weekend after having swept DII Kansas last weekend.  Arkansas opens the tournament as the #1 seed against LSU on Friday, February 5, at 8 pm.  The game will be broadcast live here.  A complete downloadable tournament bracket is below.

Meanwhile, the SECHC announced all-conference awards this week and five Razorbacks were recognized.

First Team ALL SECHC:
Ross Miller
Forest Mudgett
Sky Chambers

2nd Team ALL SECHC:
Hutton Kalik
Renaud Gaboury