KU News Release

Feb. 19, 2009
Contact: MIke Krings, University Relations, (785) 864-8860.

Successful season, loyal following are goals for KU hockey team

LAWRENCE — We’ve all heard the story about the young man who grew up in Kansas, shooting hoops in his back yard, dreaming that some day he would hit a game-winning shot in Allen Fieldhouse.

Now, take that tale, freeze it and you’ve got the story of Brent Pitts, a senior from Olathe and goalie on the University of Kansas hockey team.

That’s right, hockey team. Thousands of people around the world have cheered for the Jayhawks on the hardwood, gridiron and diamond. But there are also devoted fans who gather at Pepsi Ice Midwest to watch a group of young men who, forgive the cliché, are truly playing for the love of the game.

Hockey is a club sport at KU. That means it’s not an official sport supported by the athletics department. Players don’t get scholarships, and they practice and travel on their own time.

“You get a little bit of help from the university, but basically you’re run by the members of the team and the coaches, whoever they may find,” said Eric Wyer of Hutchinson, who in fall 2008 was team president and received a bachelor’s degree in accounting. “We’re basically like a student organization that competes in an athletic environment.”

The team of about 20 players organizes its own practices, travels on its own and plays club teams from other universities throughout the Midwest. The Jayhawks are members of Division II of the American Collegiate Hockey Association. This year, for the first time, the team plays in the Mid-American Collegiate Hockey Association, known as the MACHA, a conference within the association. The conference includes schools in Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Illinois and Missouri. Naturally, Missouri is the arch rival. That game always draws the largest crowds.

Not all schools have club hockey teams. The presence of the club has influenced the decision of many young men looking at schools. Pitts didn’t choose KU specifically because of the hockey club, but it didn’t hurt.

“I played a year of junior hockey in St. Louis and made it back here to Kansas, and fortunately enough, KU had a club hockey team, and I was able to continue playing,” Pitts said. “It was a perk, being so close and being in state. I was at the decision of KU or K-State, and KU had a hockey team, so that helped my final decision.”

Wyer said they always encourage potential players to consider which school is the best academic fit, but to remember the club is there if they’re not ready to hang up their skates yet.

Pitts played all the sports he could as a kid. He started taking skating lessons at age 6 and moved on to hockey shortly thereafter. He laced up the skates for many years as a member of club teams and traveling teams and for a year as a junior player in St. Louis before joining KU’s team.

The team draws a good deal of its players from hockey-crazed states such as Minnesota but has regularly drawn players from St. Louis and Texas, both hotbeds of talent, as well as homegrown Kansas kids. The club’s coach, Tom Prendergast, often will travel to amateur hockey tournaments to recruit players. Players also recruit on KU’s campus by posting fliers and through their Web site.

The club’s season starts in September and ends in February and includes a schedule of about 30 games. This year started out well: KU swept the University of Nebraska’s club team and improved the all-time series record to 12-0 in favor of the Jayhawks. The team was among the top six clubs in the conference and qualified to play in the MACHA tournament Feb. 20-22. The team will play Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville at 1 p.m. Feb. 20. If all goes well, KU could play in the national tournament at the end of the season.

Although it may not be high profile or make the TV highlight reels, the opportunity to stay on the ice is reward enough for the club members.

“We have to pay to play,” Wyer said. “Everybody on this team, they just want to keep playing hockey as long as they can. This is the last level of competitive hockey a lot of us will get to play.”

Like any passion, once a person has a taste of it, they don’t want to give it up. For hockey players, the skates, sticks, pads and pucks are unlike any other experience they’ve known.

“It’s a pretty unique feeling having someone shoot a puck at you from anywhere between 80 and 100 miles per hour,” Pitts said. “It’s kind of a rush, actually.”

Members of the 2008-09 hockey team are listed by hometown, major, level in school or degree earned, parents’ names (when available), high school attended and team position, office or role.

JOHNSON COUNTY
From Lenexa 66215
Riley Leonard Norris, freshman in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, son of Dale Norris; Shawnee Mission West High School, Overland Park; forward.

From Olathe 66062
Brent Allen Pitts, senior in sport science, son of Larry and Cathy Pitts; Blue Valley West High School, Overland Park; goalie.

From Overland Park 66213
Cameron Jon-Lawrence McCulley, senior in biology, son of Steven and Elizabeth McCulley; Rockhurst High School Kansas City, Mo.; center.

From Overland Park 66213 and Minot, N.D.
David Michael Schiffer, junior in electrical engineering, son of Dave and Lori Schiffer; Minot High School-Magic City Campus, Minot, N.D.; forward.

From Overland Park 66221
Price McGinnis Duncan, sophomore preparing to study business; St. Thomas Aquinas High School; forward and spring 2009 team president.

From Overland Park 66224
Matthew Baker, senior in architecture, son of Jeffrey and Emily Baker; Rockhurst High School, Kansas City, Mo.; team manager.

RENO COUNTY
From Hutchinson 67502
Eric Wyer, bachelor’s degree in accounting from KU, fall 2008; son of Bill and Roxie Wyer; Hutchinson Senior High School; forward and fall 2008 team president.

CONNECTICUT
From Glastonbury 06033
Adrian Levsky, sophomore in microbiology, son of Mark and Diane Levsky; Glastonbury High School; goal tender

ILLINOIS
From Arlington Heights 60004
Glenn David Brandt, junior in accounting, son of Ronald and Jeanne Brandt; Buffalo Grove High School, Buffalo Grove, Ill.; defenseman and team secretary.

From Chicago 60655
Henry Donald Spingola III, freshman preparing to study pharmacy, son of Henry and Alice Spingola; Brother Rice High School; right wing.

From Glenview 60025
Andrew Michael Nelli, junior preparing to study business, son of Jean and Charles Nelli; Glenbrook South High School; right defenseman.

From Western Springs 60558
J.D. Malone, sophomore in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, son of Nicholas and Anne Malone; Lyons Township High School North, La Grange, Ill.; forward and team vice president.

From Wilmette 60091
Sebastian Kjell Hegevall-Clarke, freshman in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, son of George Clarke and Anneli Clarke-Hegevall; New Trier Township High School, Winnetka, Ill.; forward.

MINNESOTA
From Crystal 55422
Erik Neal Bredesen, senior in finance, son of Todd and Barb Bredesen; Totino-Grace High School, Fridley, Minn.; forward.

From Eden Prairie 55347
Dan Guilfoil, bachelor’s degree in economics and minor in business from KU, fall 2008; son of Timothy and Sandra Guilfoil; Eden Prairie High School; left wing.

From Edina 55436
Eric Hylok, senior in psychology, son of Earl and Melanie Hylok; Edina High School; assistant coach.

From Inver Grove Heights 55076
Matthew Wesley Zellmer, senior in architecture, son of Craig and Karla Zellmer; Simley Senior High School; forward and team treasurer.

From Maple Grove 55311
Joshua Neal Delesha, freshman in history, son of Ann Delesha, Osseo High School, Osseo, Minn.; forward.

MISSOURI
From St. Louis 63123
Adam J. Paulitsch, senior in architecture, son of Elizabeth and Jacob Paulitsch; Mehlville Senior High School; goalie.

Kevin Walden Kiske, junior preparing to study business, son of Jerome and Kathleen Kiske; Christian Brothers College High School; defenseman.

NEW JERSEY
From Howell 07731
Kevin M. Kolbenschlag, sophomore preparing to study business, son of William and Pegee Kolbenschlag; Christian Brothers Academy, Lincroft, N.J.; left defenseman.

NORTH DAKOTA
From Minot 58704 and Overland Park, Kan.
David Michael Schiffer. See JOHNSON COUNTY

OKLAHOMA
From Bartlesville 74006
Grant Earl Worden, freshman in aerospace engineering, son of Scott and Debora Worden; Bartlesville High School; left defenseman.

TEXAS
From Dallas 75219
Noah Timothy Kutchin, freshman in political science, son of Joshua and Heidi Kutchin; Lake Highlands High School; left wing.

From Plano 75093
Ryan Daniel Dunn, freshman in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, son of Robert and Suzzane Dunn; Plano West Senior High Schoo; left wing.

Justin Thomas Jez, sophomore preparing to study business, son of Jim and Cheryl Jez; Plano West Senior High School; defenseman.

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