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UCF
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Editor's
note -- While the University of Central Florida’s football
team gets the lion’s share of sports headlines on campus, a
number of other programs are carrying the Golden Knights’ colors
into competition. Knightwire.com will look at some of those other
teams in a series of articles. * * * * * When most UCF
students start thinking about “ice time,” it’s probably
in terms of what will be floating around inside their next cold
drink. But for the
players on the Golden Knights hockey team, ice time is all about
practice -- late night practice -- and games played all around the
Southeast. Hockey at UCF
is a club activity, but through a combination of financial support
from the university and the emotional drive of head coach Sean Weaver
, the program is developing beyond the physical limitations of hot
weather and the availability of ice.
“We are
trying to put together a top-flight program,” said Weaver in
a telephone interview prior to his team’s Oct. 12 game versus
the University of Florida in Jacksonville. “We play at the
Division III club level, but we want our kids to think in terms
of being the best we can be.” The UCF hockey
team plays in College Hockey South, along with Florida (Gainesville),
Florida State University (Tallahassee), University of South Florida
(Tampa), Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Daytona Beach, Fla.)
and the University of Georgia (Athens). The team receives
financial support through the university, but the $8,000 to $10,000
stipend is less than a third of the program’s $35,000 budget
for 2001-2002. Weaver said the rest of the funding comes from sponsorship
sales and team fundraising efforts. “A lot
of players at the club level have to go into their own pockets for
expenses,” Weaver said, “but I told our kids I didn’t
want that to happen this year. All of our players try to sell ads
during the summer, and we’ll have some car washes, which raise
money and also lets us meet the public. We also sell T-shirts, and
we get half of the proceeds. “Most
of the money goes toward traveling expenses and ice time. We travel
as a team. The hotels, buses and food are all paid for. I don’t
want the kids driving themselves to games, because we have some
long road trips.” The Golden
Knights will play a 25-game schedule, plus league playoffs. They
opened the season Sept. 28-29 with a two-game set against Division
II Tulane University, dropping a 9-7 decision Friday night before
a 4-4 tie Saturday at the RDV Sportsplex in Maitland. All but one
of the team’s home games will be played at RDV, starting at
10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. (Click
here for complete schedule.) The team practices at RDV on Tuesday
and Thursday, 10:30 p.m. to midnight.
Weaver said
his young team is starting to gel. With 12 returning sophomores,
15 incoming freshmen and one junior, Weaver feels the squad will
have a chance to develop together over this season. Most of the
players come from South Florida and the Tampa area. The defense
is bolstered by goaltender Chris Hughes, a sophomore from Brandon,
Fla., who is “one of the better goalies in our league,”
said Weaver. Up front, sophomore center Dave Montgomery of Tampa
is back after leading College Hockey South in scoring for parts
of last year. Weaver, 29,
has been the volunteer head coach for two years while working full-time
as a logistics coordinator for pallet distributor CHEP USA in Orlando.
He played club hockey for four years at Iowa State University. “I
love the game so much,” he said. “There were so many people
who put so much time and effort into my career that I felt it was
time that I gave something back. “I feel
like we’re making progress. Last year we had a $21,000 budget.
This year it will be $35,000, and in four years I’d like to
get it up to $75,000. There is word that a new rink is going to
be built in Oviedo, and we might be able to play prime-time games
there. “But what
I really like is the quality of the kids. We have some really good
hockey players who want to work hard. I look forward to this season.” * * * * * Related links: UCF hockey home page; College Hockey South
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