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Goalies aid hockey club's improvement
By Stephanie Riebe
Collegian Reporter
While many Hillsdale College athletes are
able to practice in the sports complex or another indoor facility
during the cold temperatures of January, the club hockey team
has found themselves spending more and more time conditioning
in the great outdoors.
The time they spent practicing outside last
week was not enough to bring the team a victory, however. The
Chargers were back on the ice Saturday when the team lost, 9-0,
to Lansing Community College in Lansing.
In the past the Chargers have struggled with
having a low number of team members at their games, and it was
no different on Saturday. The Chargers faced another game with
a limited amount of players on the bench.
"We were missing a great number of players,"
senior goalkeeper Graham Polando said.
"Particularly our more skilled ones,
and that hurt us irreparably. It's tough to win games when all
but a couple of minutes are played in your own end."
The loss was a disappointing way for the team
to resume their season after a long semester break, but the
players and their coach continue to remain optimistic as the
club's first season draws closer to an end.
"I think the players are very dedicated
to the fact that we are building a program," coach Adam
Lussier said. "I think the fact that they are part of bringing
hockey back to Hillsdale keeps them going. They are proud to
wear the blue and white."
"I don't think we played as well as we
would have liked," sophomore captain Dan Douglass said.
"When we played LCC earlier this season they were a team
we thought we could skate better against later in the season."
Douglass said the team was left to their own
to continue to condition and skate to stay in shape for the
second half of the season.
Since the team has been back together, the
majority of their practice time has been spent out on Craig
Conner's outdoor rink in Hillsdale.
"A few of us are out there practicing
as much as we can," senior Kristal Korzon said.
Even though the outdoor practice rink may
be a bit colder than the indoor rink at Optimist Ice Arena in
Jackson, it is cheaper for the team.
In past months the Chargers have had limited
practice time because ice time at the Jackson arena has been
too expensive for the club.
"We have been fortunate to skate on the
Connors' outdoor rink," Douglass said.
The Chargers' losing streak did not end before
the semester break. On Dec. 13 the team lost, 14-2, to Jackson
Community College at Optimist Ice Arena.
This defeat was frustrating for the Chargers,
but the team said they also saw improvements in their play.
"We played some of our best hockey in
that game," Douglass said.
"We were really starting to come together,
and starting to do some things we had not done before, as far
as systems and plays."
The Chargers' next game is Sunday at 9 p.m.
against Albion College in Jackson at Optimist Ice Arena.
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