March 9, 2014
The news broke through
either a Twitter update, a Facebook status, or maybe even a text message reading;
Boston Bound. The NAU Division II Ice Jacks are heading to Marlborough, Mass. for
the ACHA National Championships over spring break.
The season didn't come exactly easy for the
Ice Jacks this year, but it was all well worth it. After ending their season with a 27-11-1
record overall and topping out with 55 points this season, the Ice Jacks are
ready to take a break. Well, not really.
Despite the regular
season being over, Coach Travis Johanson will make sure the men are in tip-top
shape when it comes time to go to nationals.
With this 30-day dry period without hockey, the men will train five days
a week with more intense practices on the ice.
"It's going to be
big." Johanson says. "Everybody's gotta be working their a-- off
because we don't skate for 20 days. It's
gotta go walls to walls practice." Johanson said there won't be any
changes in how the team practices, but "system wise, just go over the same
stuff because we have to be better in our own zone."
With a handful of
graduating seniors on the DII team, heading to nationals is something that put
a big smile on all of their faces. The
mindset for each player can be considered very diverse. While some of the players would prefer to
relax and take it easy, others think that hitting the ice hard is the way to
go.
"Hopefully we take
it serious and keep building as a team, bonding, try to get stuff off-ice in between
so we can go out together," said senior forward Zach Vachris. "Grab
some lunch, spend as much time together before we go to the natty's, just so
that way when we're there, we get all the bumps in the road out."
Senior captain Dylan
Butenhoff said the team is working hard to make the most of its nationals bid. "It's
all about bearing down. Practices have got to pick up tempo, gotta pick up the
intensity." Butenhoff says, "we have a good team, we have all the
good talent we need, we just need to put it into place and bear down these next
couple practices and head out to Boston and win a couple games."
Going to Boston was on
this team's mind from day one, and this isn't their first trip there
either. Vachris was one of the men who
have actually been to the nationals before.
The only difference with this trip, Vachris will be on the ice. The
fifth-year senior missed the Ice Jacks' previous nationals appearance in 2012
because of an injury.
"It feels good.
It's been my fifth year, so going once before to Nationals when I was hurt
kinda sucked, but now we're here so it's all good" Vachris adds.
The road to the
nationals wasn't as easy as some might think. In their journey to a successful
season, there came much dedication. As
these men have to raise $12,000 to send them to Boston, simply qualifying for
the tournament might have been the easy part.
The men were able to
qualify for the Nationals after ending their season second in the West Division.
The men were able to qualify by tying to Utah in their last home game, as well
as take the WCHC Championship win in California
There has yet to be a
bracket released, but their pool is set.
NAU will face Grand Rapid State, Liberty, and New Hampshire in the
Nationals. Liberty has a record of 28-8,
followed by the Ice Jacks at 27-11-1, Grand Valley State with a 19-7-1 record, and
New Hampshire falls last with a 19-16-1 overall season record.
As spring break for NAU
begins on March 14 and ends on March 23, the Ice Jacks will be in Boston to
begin the first day of the Nationals on March 21 to face New Hampshire. Their
second game will be against Liberty, and their third game is against Grand
Valley State. These games are located at
Northeastern University as the 2014 ACHA National Championship game is
scheduled for March 25.
