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Welcome
Welcome to the Mount Saint Mary's University Ice Hockey website. It is our hope that this website will keep alumni, family members, friends, and perspective students informed about MOUNT HOCKEY.
Mission Statement
The Mount Saint Mary's University College Ice Hockey seeks to create and sustain at atmosphere that allows each member to develop his or her personal, social, physical and spiritual development. The team seeks to inspire members to strive for excellence, to be committed to one another, to provide a safe and healthy atmosphere for recreation, and to encourage members to take responsibility for the planning and the exercise of duties necessary to sustain a vibrant team.
Service Project
The MOUNT SAINT MARY'S UNIVERSITY ICE HOCKEY organizes two food drives each year, one in preparation for Thanksgiving and the other during the Lenten season. The non-perishable food that is collected is donated to the Emmitsburg Food Bank. Over the last several years, we have collected and donated about 2,000 food items per year.
Purpose
The Mount Saint Mary's University Ice Hockey seeks to provide opportunities for students to pursue physical fitness in an atmosphere of friendship and teamwork. Enjoyment for team members will come from the knowledge that they have strived for excellence in play, have developed their hockey skills, and have cultivated friendships among their peers and with faculty. The sport of hockey is physically demanding and requires players to work together as a team. Loyalty, commitment, perseverance, and even humility, are some of the virtues that our team hopes to inspire among its members.
As a team, we are open to all students of the seminary and university, male and female, and will strive to provide a hospitable atmosphere for healthy and happy interaction. Hopefully, our team will contribute to all Mount students' sense of belonging and will provide an opportunity for their physical and personal gifts to develop.
Opportunities
MOUNT HOCKEY offers three different opportunities for students to participate:
History
Fr. James Donohue, C.R. (faculty member in the Theology Department), Kevin Koffenburger (class of 1997), and Chris Blakoff (class of 1997) began the team during the Fall of 1996. During the 1996-1997 and the 1997-1998 seasons we struggled with between five to seven players, because the newly recruited people who graduated continued to deplete our numbers. We wondered if we would ever arrive at that critical mass that is needed to be successful.
The break-through came about, however, during the 1998- 1999 season, when we expanded to twenty-two active club members, who were really a diverse lot: 1 faculty, 2 MBA students, 2 seminarians, 6 freshmen, 3 sophomores, 7 juniors, and one son of a faculty member. At the end of October we began to meet and to plan our options. We began to play at the Doris I. Billow arena in Waynesboro on Rt. 16 in Pennsylvania. Every Friday from 5:15-6:45 we participated in the arena's open hockey skate. Each player paid $5 and there were usually two goalies and about 30 skaters.
Early in 1999, we were approached by one of the managers at the rink about playing other local college teams. We began to practice and we played our first game against Gettysburg College. Gettysburg did not have any weak skaters and more than half of our team had never played in a game before. With some strong goaltending, great team work, a six goal performance from one of the sophomores (Christopher Maurer, class of 2001), and a hat- trick from a cagey veteran priest, we won 14-6. We played and defeated Mount Alto and Shippensburg later in the semester. The future was looking bright!
During the 1999-2000 season, we entered our team into the Cumberland Valley Men's League where we played a local college team (Gettysburg) and ten adult teams from Waynesboro and Hagerstown. We finished our first season, as a team in a league, with a record of 18-4-2.
With the closing of the ice rink in Waynesboro, we joined the Frederick Men's Hockey League, where we have played three seasons, winning the championship twice (2000-2001 and 2001- 2002) and finishing in first place during the league play twice (2001-2002 and 2002-2003).
Our newest challenge came when we decided to join the Mason-Dixon Collegiate Hockey League during the 2001-2002 season. We have been very competitive in a hard-hitting, fast- skating league. We have qualified for the playoffs in each of our first two years, losing to Georgetown University (2001-2002) and Wagner College (2002-2003) in the playoff tournament.
IN REMEMBRANCE
On February 11, 2000, Eric Lenfest died while returning to the Mount from Emmitsburg. A varsity soccer player, Eric brought hard work, determination, and a team commitment to the hockey club. He had a great wrist shot and a smile that always showed how much he enjoyed playing the game of hockey. Eric made a great contribution and continues to be missed by his family, friends, and teammates. The MOUNT HOCKEY TEAM retired Eric's number "9." We also have a large trophy on which we engrave the accomplishments of the club and its players each year. The main plate on the trophy commemorates Eric. May he rest in peace.
Benefactors
Over the years there have been a number of people who have worked behind the scenes to enable and support the MOUNT SAINT MARY'S UNIVERSITY ICE HOCKEY. Among the people listed below, who have each made significant monetary donations, is President George Houston. Each year he has covered the costs of jerseys and socks for new players. He has been instrumental in helping us as a club, and we are deeply grateful to him and our other significant donors.
President George Houston
Mr. and Mrs. J. Franciose
Mr. K. Joyce
Rev. James Donohue, C.R.
Mr. and Mrs. M. Stocker
Mr. and Mrs. J. Cleary
Mr. and Mrs. C. Lenfest
Dr. Robert Ternes