Roller hockey returns to ECRHA

The St. Joe’s Roller Hockey club returned to play in the Eastern Collegiate Roller Hockey Association (ECRHA) this month after a one-year absence. Unfortunately, the team posted three tough losses this past weekend.

On Oct. 21, the team traveled to Sewell, N.J. for games against Hofstra University, Drexel University and the University of Delaware. In the first game against Hofstra, St. Joe’s scored first but lost 1-0 in overtime. Despite a comeback in the third period, they fell to Drexel in the second game. The last game against Delaware was close, with St. Joe’s losing by one goal.

The team is currently 0-5-1 for the regular season in the ECRHA, with one win in an exhibition game.

Last year, the Roller Hockey club moved up to Division I play from Division II, but their top player, Matthew Engle ’17, suffered two fractured legs in a car accident and could no longer play for the season. When the team requested to move back down to DII, they learned that they would have to sacrifice going to playoffs in order to do so. The team decided to withdraw from the ECRHA altogether. They are back this year as a DII team.

Club president, senior Kevin Dougherty, said the team has a number of new players this year, with four freshmen, one sophomore and one transfer joining.

Dougherty attributes this increase of new players to the team being “a little more proactive before the activities fair and recruiting players.”

Treasurer and senior Robert Jankiewicz said he was initially attracted to roller hockey for its more relaxed nature compared to ice hockey. The team uses lower level weekend games, such as exhibition games, as their practices instead of meeting during the week, which Jankiewicz said is an easier fit for his schedule.

Many of the players on the team have a history in ice hockey but instead decided to play for the roller hockey team in college. This is a tough transition since there are a few key differences between the sports, with the main one being skating on ground instead of  ice.

For Dougherty, another difference is the lower level of violence in roller hockey. Checking, a staple of ice hockey in which the defender physically obstructs the progress or movement of an opponent, is not allowed in roller hockey.

“I think there is more of a level of respect between the teams in roller hockey than there is in ice hockey, depending on who you play,” Dougherty said.

Much of the success as a team comes from the players’ past experiences in ice hockey, and their ability to work well together.

“It helps us function as a team, because there’s no animosity between people, we’re all getting along,” Jankiewicz said. “Everyone kind of accepts their role on the team.”

The team dropped two games, one to Syracuse University and one to Statae University of New York Oswego, on the weekend of Oct. 28 at Yellow Breeches Sports Center in New Cumberland, Pa.

The Hawks will play next in Feasterville, Pa. when they take on Boston University, Hofstra University, and James Madison University all on Nov. 18.