From The Daily Nebraskan

By Michaella Berg

The Husker men’s club hockey team is preparing for its second consecutive D3 club championship tournament. This year’s American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) National Championships will be hosted in Frisco, Texas.

With the team’s recent success, students are beginning to take notice and are attending games more often. However, it wasn’t easy for this team to get its second bid as it has a completely new team from last year.

The team took a chance by starting freshman goalie Bennett Stanchfield at the beginning of the season. The decision paid off, as Stanchfield finished the regular season with a .910 save percentage and allowed only 52 goals.

“It’s definitely intimidating,” Stanchfield said. “But I caught up to the pace pretty quick”.

Going into the tournament, this Husker team is hungry for wins. After experiencing its first national tournament last year, its goal is a little different this time around. 

“Last year we were just happy to be there; we wanna go and make a statement,” sophomore forward Jordan Hank said. “At the end of the day, we just want to have fun, but winning makes it that much better.”

Hank has made some noise this season, leading the team in points with 66.

Coming together as a team is what helped lead this team into the tournament. According to Hank, even his personal success has been a team effort.

“I take a lot of passion in this,” he said. “I do whatever I can to help my teammates.”

After going into the tournament last year with little experience, the Huskers are ready to take the challenge head on and believe in the talent they have.

“I think this year, we all bought in,” Hank said. “We didn’t necessarily have the same confidence level last year, and we have picked it up, especially second semester.”

The team started slow but won nine of its last ten games to finish 18-11 in the regular season. The hot finish has given the team confidence to make a run at a national title and show what its are capable of.

According to forward Chris Brown, that confidence is only increasing as the Huskers prepare to face some tough teams in the tournament.

“We’re ready to win some games,” Brown said. “We’re looking to make a statement for ourselves.”

The Huskers begin their tournament run on March 26, against the University of Michigan in Frisco, Texas, at 10:30 a.m.

(Originally published at http://www.dailynebraskan.com/sports/unl-men-s-club-hockey-prepares-for-nd-national-tournament/article_39ee6f4c-46bd-11e9-ba1a-d3916905b878.html)