Despite not having an official Division I hockey team to call their own, Fairfield University does have a Club Hockey team. The program has built a winning culture and is consistently one of the top club hockey teams in the nation, thanks in part to a large contingent of players from the Northeast, a hockey-crazed region.
Heading into the Empire Playoffs, the squad has compiled a 14-6-1 record, to go along with a 9-2-1 conference record, defeating the likes of Sacred Heart University, Fordham University, Cornell University, and Ramapo College of New Jersey along the way, all of whom are also held in high regard in the club hockey world. They have scored 111 goals, while giving up 75 to obtain a respectable +36 goal differential.
The club season is divided into two halves, with the first half paralleling the fall semester, running from Sep. 23 with a matchup against the University of Delaware, to Dec. 4, in which they faced off against the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. The Stags took the loss to kick off the season, 4-3 in Newark, Del. They proceeded to go into their winter break on a positive note, defeating Massachusetts Maritime Academy, 8-5 at The Rinks at Shelton in Shelton, Conn.
The second half coincides with the spring semester, with the second half of the regular season beginning on Jan. 28 in a tilt against Fordham University in Bronx, N.Y., before concluding with a battle against Fordham at The Rinks at Shelton. The Stags took the win in the Big Apple, 6-2, before a rematch awaited them approximately three weeks later at their home rink in Shelton. The rematch went strongly in Fairfield’s favor, as they obliterated the Rams, 12-3 in their final on-ice regular season battle of the season.
The Stags now will play host this weekend to the Empire Playoffs, with two scheduled games this upcoming weekend against unknown opponents. The Stags have had success in this tournament in the past, with the program taking home an Empire Cup in 2020, according to the club’s official Instagram page.
The Stags also have a strong chance of making the Collegiate Hockey Association (CHA) tournament, which will begin next month. The tournament championships will be held this season at the Ice Line Quad Rinks in Westchester, Pa., beginning on March 10 with the championship game on March 15. According to the CHA’s official rankings, the Stags rank sixth in the 2022-23 National Division rankings to go along with a 97.17 overall rating.
For more information on the Fairfield club hockey program and club sports as a whole, please visit www.clubsports.fairfieldstags.com.
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