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.
