Sports > April 7, 2005

By Don Pogoda

Old Gold & Black Reporter

Of the club sports’ seasons here that are the most enduring, the club ice hockey team’s has to be one of them. With their first game on Oct. 1, the team’s season lasted throughout the remainder of the fall, the entire winter and recently concluded in the spring.

Suffering a hard 5-3 loss April 4, the Deacs finished second in the Piedmont Hockey Association for the second straight season.

“It’s kind of sad that the season’s over,” club president senior Max Langfitt said. “But looking back on the year, this was probably the most talented team we’ve had and the most fun I’ve had playing hockey during my four years here.”

The club ice hockey team plays in the PHA, a men’s ice hockey league here in Winston-Salem in which games are played at the Annex, right next to Joel Coliseum.

The PHA season consists of 24 games throughout the year and seven teams with players from around the Triad.

The regular season begins in mid-October with playoffs usually ending at the beginning of April.

Aside from playing in the PHA, the Deacs also played exhibition games with collegiate teams as well. This year alone, in which the Deacs played more games than ever before, the team traveled to Durham, Charlotte, Chapel Hill, Greensboro, Fort Bragg and Nashville.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that next season will be the best Wake has ever had,” sophomore Chris Lee said, “and I’ll also say that next year, we are beating Duke.”

With 27 players, Langfitt and vice-president senior Tyler Jordan did an exceptional job balancing the playing time. Each player was given the chance to play in the PHA and exhibition games.

The team consisted of three players in the MBA program, six seniors, five juniors, five sophomores, and a class of eight talented freshmen. Most of the players come from the north east, but some come from as far north as Canada and as west as Colorado.

After closing out the season with a record of 21-11-2, the Deacs captured the PHA Regular Season Title for the third consecutive year. And the team is only getting better.

“I’m really excited about this upcoming season; we’ve got a strong roster with very talented players,” Lee said.