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Northern announces addition of men's club hockey to its athletic department
For the first time in the history of Havre, college hockey will be played come this winter.
Earlier this week, Montana State University-Northern announced it is starting a club hockey team in its athletics department. The men's hockey team at MSU-N will compete in the American Collegiate Hockey Association at the Division II level.
“We have been talking about adding hockey to our lineup of athletic programs for many years,” said MSU-Northern’s Athletic Director, Christian Oberquell. “Hockey in Havre is booming right now and we have some very good skaters right here in our backyard and with our proximity to Canada, we feel that we can put together a very competitive team."
The Northern hockey team will practice and play its home games in the famed Havre Ice Dome according to Oberquell. He said the 2019 season will be a non-competitive season, which allows the program time to promote, fundraise, schedule and, most importantly, recruit. Northern will then begin competing full time in the ACHA in the fall of 2020.
The American Collegiate Hockey Association, ACHA, is a chartered non-profit corporation that is the national governing body of varsity and club-level college ice hockey in the United States. The organization provides structure and regulations; promotes the quality of play, and sponsors national awards and national tournaments.
The ACHA currently has three men's and two women's divisions and includes approximately 450 teams from across the United States. That includes the Montana State Bobcats, who made it to the ACHA DII national tournament this past March, as well as Montana Tech, which also fields a club hockey team in the AHCA.
“A new hockey club will be a great addition to MSU-Northern, and north-central Montana,” said MSU-Northern Chancellor Greg Kegel. “We have a great Havre Youth Hockey Association in place and this hockey club will be a great complement and fit in terms of who we are as a community. It’s not only a great recruiting tool, but it will also provide our students and the community with some exciting competition."
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