FOR HOCKEY – By Rob Pelaez – STAFF WRITER
Hofstra seems to be left in the dark ages when it comes to our athletics. The teams we have seem to be improving every year, however there are some students, including myself, who just want more. I’m sure I’m not the only one here who is proud of my school, so why not have another team to boast about? We’ve tried out football, and sadly it doesn’t seem like it will return in the foreseeable future. Why not try hockey next?
The New York Islanders used to play right next to us. They may have moved to Brooklyn, but the stadium is still intact. The amount of support, heart and dedication that this one strip of land has for that hockey team and the Nassau Coliseum is unmatched to most.
Yes, the Coliseum has also had its fair share of wear and tear, but there are other alternatives. There are plenty of schools who use facilities outside of their campus, including professional venues for their games, so why can’t the Pride?
If men’s basketball can play at Madison Square Garden, who’s to say a potential future HU hockey team couldn’t?
Long Island hockey has been a standard for the past 40 years, and there is no need to deprive these fans of the sport any longer.
Out of the four major sports that exist in the nation, Hofstra only offers two of them. As stated before football, is non-existent. Not having a football and/or hockey team at the school has certainly turned away a handful of recruits and talent that would help Hofstra thrive academically as well as athletically.
The amount of talent that has been produced locally was largely influenced by the Islanders proximity to the population of Long Island. It’s always something special when homegrown talent can make it onto their favorite childhood team, and it attracts more of an audience than one would think.
Sports, whether they are collegiate or professional, have become a constant in society and almost impossible to ignore. It is a part of our culture and also rakes in a sizable income from the paying public.
Having some sort of prominent college hockey program on the Island would bring in more attendance, income and recognition for Hofstra.
Hofstra sports, which have finally started to rise from the dead since the programs have a solid foundation to build on, so why not add another one to the resume? There are limited schools in the area that students can attend to provide them an excellent education and hockey team.
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AGAINST HOCKEY By Alex Mitchell – STAFF WRITER
By Alex Mitchell - STAFF WRITER
The question remains, though, of who would serve as opponents to the Pride. Each team at Hofstra is affiliated with the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) conference. No school within the CAA runs a hockey program, as it isn’t a CAA sport. Northeastern is the exception to the rule.
The Boston-based CAA school has both men’s and women’s NCAA Division I hockey. It’s played in a separate conference. They’re in the Hockey East Association (aka Hockey East); which is the SEC of college hockey. The powerhouse conference includes Boston University, Boston College and Providence College, to name a few. Since 2009, a Hockey East team has won the NCAA tournament four times. Northeastern has only had two tournament appearances since 1993, both of which came as first round losses. Plus, so far their men’s team hasn’t won a conference game this season. It’s safe to say Hofstra couldn’t waltz into Hockey East.
Because Hofstra is Division I for all sports, downsizing for hockey is awfully improbable. The men’s team would most likely join the Atlantic Hockey Conference. This fairly new Division I conference features Sacred Heart University and Canisius College, two schools that are on this season’s Hofstra men’s basketball schedule. Some other Atlantic Hockey schools are Robert Morris, Mercyhurst, Holy Cross and West Point.
While Hockey East is primarily a cloister of New England teams, Atlantic Hockey plays the same role for schools just south of there, hence why Hofstra would find a niche in that conference; but they wouldn’t find success. Only four Atlantic teams have ever made it past the NCAA tournament’s first round, only for all four teams to lose in the second round. Granted if Hofstra were to get a program going, it would go nowhere.
For the women’s team, there isn’t even Atlantic Hockey. It’s only a men’s conference. Most Atlantic Hockey schools with a women’s program belong to The College Hockey America (CHA) conference. Naturally, Hofstra would follow that trend. Just like the men’s team, they would still be against all odds to succeed. Mercyhurst is the only CHA team to reach the NCAA tournament’s final round, once. Wisconsin shut them out by five.
Establishing a program is one thing, establishing a winning one is another. Hofstra currently lacks the means for consistent success in NCAA Division I hockey.
