TCNJ Ice Hockey Alumni
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TCNJ Ice Hockey History
The TCNJ Club Ice Hockey team began in the late 1970's at Trenton State College with a small group of students who had an interest in ice hockey. They began an on campus club that played pickup ice hockey games on Tuesday nights at a local rink. The club informally continued like this until the 1980's when the team began playing two games against both Rider University and Monmouth University each year. This began the hockey team's intercollegiate competition. The team's first jerseys, modeled after the original Buffalo Sabres uniforms, were made at this time.
In 1994, Chris McHugh began the team's first interactions with the Delaware Valley Collegiate Hockey Conference (DVCHC) and the Lions began to play exhibition games against DVCHC member teams. In the 1995-1996 season Mike Balone and Ed Kirwin convinced the president of the DVCHC to bring on Trenton State College as a probationary member team for the 1996-1997 season. The Lions would open in the western conference and play against Millersville University, Franklin & Marshall, Kutztown, and others. The Lions were shaky at first and did not win many games but it was the first year the team was recognized as a legitimate club team, and there was not much funding from the college. In the following season (1997-1998) the Lions were made a full member of the DVCHC. They won their first game in the league as a member team, defeating Kings College by a score of 6-0. Other big games for this season included a win over LaSalle and a tie against Lafayette.
In 1998-1999, the team was put into the Eastern Conference of the DVCHC and was coached by Tim Devlin, who led the team to 4 wins. The Lions boasted 4 all-star selections to the 1998-1999 all-star team, including Joe Griffin, Jesse Shatsoff, Nate Cohen and Ed Kirwin.
In 1999-2000, the Lions again finished the season with 4 wins.
In 2001-2002, the Lions had a record-breaking year, stunning the league with victories in their first 6 games including one victory over returning champions St. Joseph's University. The Lions made the playoffs for the first time beating Franklin & Marshall in the quarterfinals and losing to Temple University in the semi-finals. In September of 2002, the team retired jersey #34 in recognition of John Basiak, who graduated in May 2002. John stood in net four years for the Lions and graduated as the team's first ever goaltender with a winning record.
In 2003-2004, the team finished fourth in the DVCHC but lost to Bucknell in the quarter-finals of the playoffs.
In 2004-2005, the Lions had their all-time best finish, placing second in the league after regular season play. However, the Lions lost a tough game to Temple University in the semi-finals of the playoffs. The team proudly retired the jersey of #23, Brian Godfrey. In 4 years Brian had scored over 120 career goals, more than any other player in the club's history. He also received the DVCHC league MVP award in his senior year, as well as an all-star selection for all four years he played.
The Lions' most successful season, thus far, was the 2005-2006 season. Without a coach, the Lions led themselves to the DVCHC playoffs. In the semi-finals, they battled hard and topped the Marauders of Millersville. With this win, the Lions gained their first birth to the DVCHC Championship Series. In game one TCNJ showed the Scranton Royals that they were a team to be reckoned with, winning by a score of 4-3. The Lions lost game two by a score of 4-2, bringing the championship to a third and deciding game. This high scoring final fame ended with the Lions losing by only one goal. Even though they did not bring home the championship, the Lions were proud of their efforts in their first championship series. Freshman Alex Gorden won the DVCHC Playoff MVP Award.
In the 2006-2007 season the Lions joined the newly formed Great Northeast Collegiate Hockey Conference (GNCHC), formed by the six previous members of the DVCHC and Rowan. The Lions finished 9-3-0 in division play, and 12-11-1 overall. The Lions strong divisional play was enough to earn them the 3rd seed in the playoffs after losing a tiebreak to Muhlenberg College. The Lions rolled over quarterfinal opponent Millersville before falling to eventual champion Muhlenberg in the semifinal game. The Lions won the GNCHC Low Goals Against Average Award, and Sophomore Alex Gorden was named to the 3rd team ACHA D2 Northeast All-Star team.
In 2007-2008 The Lions looked to build off their successful first campaign in the GNCHC, which added new members CW Post and Kutztown in the offseason. The Lions went 14-0-0-2 in league games, with their only losses coming in overtime to Scranton and Rowan. The Lions came into the GNCHC playoffs as the 1st seed, and defeated LaSalle in the semifinals before meeting rival Rowan in the championship game. Unfortunately the Lions were given their first regulation loss in league play, dropping a 5-4 decision on a late 3rd period penalty shot. Despite the disappointment of losing in the championship, the Lions had an amazingly successful year going undefeated during the regular season, with Lions players leading the league in nearly every statistical category. Freshman Elie Klein was awarded the GNCHC MVP Award, and was named to the 3rd team ACHA D2 Northeast All-Star team.
Following their successful 2007-2008 season, the Lions applied and were accepted to the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Hockey Conference (MACHA) and will compete against such local teams as Rider, Temple, UPenn, and Seton Hall in their first season.