By Nathan Vaughan, News Staff

In only its first full season of existence, the women’s club ice hockey team is making its presence felt on the East Coast.
Friends Meredith Harclerode and Chelsea Dietz started the team last year. They are vice president and president, respectively, of the team. The pair have played together since sixth and seventh grade and started the team because they said they wanted to continue playing hockey in college, but without the time commitments of the varsity team. They started the group through people they met and word of mouth. At the first practice they only had five players, one of which was the goalie, Dietz.
The club team is different from the varsity team in a few regards Horclerode and Dietz said. First, the time commitment is considerably less and they only practice a few times a week, when ice time is available. Also, players can join after the season has started ‘- they are always looking for new players for next season.
‘ The team is constantly under the constraints of their tight budget of $2,000, they said. Due to the expensive costs of hockey, which far exceed their budget, the team is forced to collect dues from members, and they must purchase their own equipment, like sticks and pads. They are supplied all the necessary pucks and were given one set of older uniforms from the varsity team,though the squad is currently saving up to purchase another set. They only have road jerseys and need a second set so they can compete in the playoffs if they qualify.
‘We definitely want to go Division I next year,’ Dietz said. ‘It’s financial considerations. Probably the only reason we are holding back is money.’
The team is currently playing in Division II. They are 10-0 against fellow Division II’ competition and are currently ranked No. 1 in the East Region. The team has just one loss, against Division I Rhode Island, and also boasts two wins over Division I Penn State. They are a perfect 7-0 at Matthews Arena and 9-0 in NEWCHL play, their conference.
‘The reason why we are Division II is because this is our first year,’ Dietz said. ‘So we didn’t want to jump into deep water and get trampled. So we started at Division II to do well, which has gone well so far.’
Their offense has been incredibly potent this season, which goes along with their stifling defense and dominant goal play. They have been held to under five goals only five times all season. Conversely,’ they have scored in double digits a total of seven times, three of which they scored 15 or more. They have let up a total of 10 goals, four of which came against URI in Rhode Island. Other than that game they have only let up more than one goal once, a 4-2 win over Division I Penn State.
They have six players with at least 20 points. They are lead by McKenzie Power who has 20 goals and 18 assists for 38 points. In a close second is Harclerode who has tallied 18 goals and assists for a total of 36 points.
Due to budget constraints they aren’t able to hire a full time coach, and instead have a head coach and two assistants who donate their time. The head coach and one of the assistant coaches also works for the men’s club team.
The team has nine games remaining in their season. Of those nine, four are in the friendly confines of Matthews Arena.
‘The team gets along great,’ Harclerode said. ‘They have great chemistry on and off the ice. Everyone gets along and works hard. We are working hard to keep our number one ranking.’