April 13, 2024
Congratulations to our FAU Ice Hockey Club AAU All American award winners. Senior David Israel and graduate student Matias Weir were named to the 1st team and freshman Rocco Bruno was named to the second team. Israel was also honored with the 2023-2024 MVP Award! Owl Nation is proud!
The awards were given during the AAU College Hockey All-Star Challenge weekend at the Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs Florida. David, Matias, and Rocco were all named to the CHS (College Hockey South Conference) All Star Team and competed against other AAU Conference Teams from the Atlantic Region, Metro NY, New England, and upstate, NY.
January 6, 2024
The Florida Atlantic University Ice Hockey Club of Boca Raton, Florida, has just revealed plans to add an additional team for the 2024 – 2025 season. A Division III team will complement their existing Division II team currently competing in the AAU College Hockey league.
Over the past several years, the Ice Hockey Club reported an extraordinarily high number of skilled student-athletes who had expressed interest in participating with the club team. With an increasingly stable organizational structure, the Ice Hockey Club feels the time is right to grow.
Entering the second semester of its 2023 – 2024 season the Division II team enjoys an AAU D2 National #1 ranking with ten games remaining before post-season play begins; nine of which are HOME games. Visit https://fauhockey.org/schedule/ for a complete game schedule. Home games are played at the Florida Panthers Ice Den in Coral Springs, FL www.panthersiceden.com
The Florida Atlantic University Ice Hockey Club is a member of the AAU College Hockey League www.aaucollegehockey.org and is also a proud member of the College Hockey South Conference www.collegehockeysouth.com
For more information, sponsorship opportunities, or to get involved, please get in touch with General Manager Scott Grosky at ScottG@FAUHockey.org or call 954-275-3275.
Wesley Chapel, Florida, 11/4/23
The Florida Atlantic University Hockey Club captured the championship trophy in the First Annual College Hockey South Conference “Battle at the Beach Tournament” with a 5-2 win over the University of Central Florida. The Owls reached the championship game by defeating the University of Tampa D2 squad 9-2 on Friday night. Sophomore Gunnar Stevens (4-0-1) provided excellent goaltending in the semi-final vs. Tampa D2, saving 30 out of 32 shots. At the same time the Owl offense came alive, scoring 9 goals in the contest. The FAU offense was led by senior David Israel with 2 goals and 3 assists, and graduate student Matias Weir added a 3-goal “hat trick” and 1 assist. Senior Captain Jake Friedman notched his first goal of the season and added 2 assists on the night. The remainder of the Owl scoring was supplied by senior Dante Balsamo, sophomore Anthony Campagna, and freshmen Caleb Owens.
In the Championship game, freshman goaltender Rocco Bruno (4-1-0) got the 4th win of his young career, saving 28 of 30 shots in a strong performance. The Owl offense exploded for 4 goals in the second period to erase a 1-goal deficit and take the lead for good. Goals were tallied by 5 different Owls: Matias Weir, senior Griffen Bono, freshman Emilio Stabile, and senior Myles Davidson. The only scoring in the 3rd period came off the stick of junior Doug “DJ” Randle.
Congratulations go to the coaches, volunteer staff, and all the players on your Championship! Your Owls are home for a 2-game series against UCF to finish the first semester’s play on November 17th and 18th. Come out and support your OWLS!
The FAU Ice Hockey Club would like to thank Goldie’s Gang and Florida Panther’s play-by-play announcer Steve Goldstein, for the generous sponsorship of our new practice jerseys! VAMOS GATOS!
We help South Florida’s kids by granting funds to individuals, organizations, teams, leagues, and educational initiatives. The motivation behind Goldie’s Gang is giving kids special experiences that will stay with them for a lifetime.
Thanks to immense community support, over the last 2 decades Goldie’s Gang has distributed funds to many in need in South Florida. Assisting kids and families is the pride of the organization and the commitment to continue the support is paramount. So, thank you all for your support, and please know this process wouldn’t be possible without you.
www.Goldiesgang.com
E: goldiesgang@gmail.com
(954) 543-1009
February 2, 2023, FL Live Arena, Sunrise, FL
The FAU Ice Hockey Club, at the request of the Florida Panthers and the NHL, performed a “mock skills competition” at the FL Live Arena to assist with video pre-production for the NHL All-Star Skills competition. Sophomore defenseman Ryan Brockett (Wallingford, CT) won the Fastest Skater event and Junior forward Jake Friedman (Lighthouse Point, FL) won the shooting accuracy event hitting all 4 targets in just 5 shots. The team was joined by Lynn University goaltender Chris Graham. A great time was had by all. The team would like to thank the Florida Panthers and NHL for the invitation and opportunity.
Collegiate Hockey Federation to join with the Amateur Athletic Union in establishing AAU College Hockey
January 19, 2023; Wellington, FL – The Collegiate Hockey Federation (CHF) and the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) will partner to launch AAU College Hockey, a new model of collegiate hockey in the United States, the organizations announced in a joint statement today. The program will commence with the 2023-24 hockey season and be operated as a varsity-level sport under the AAU, representing a key part of their new Collegiate Division. “We are excited about the launch of the AAU College Hockey program”, said J.B. (“Jo”) Mirza, AAU President. “The Amateur Athletic Union strives to provide unique, quality participation for athletes of all ages. This initiative will allow student-athletes to continue to play the sport they love at a high level while also pursuing their post-secondary education.”
“The mission of the CHF since our inception has been to raise the profile of our valued student-athletes, dedicated member programs, and loyal conferences,” said Mark Purowitz, Collegiate Hockey Federation Chairman. “We believe the move to AAU College Hockey and partnership with the oldest and most reputable sports organization in the country demonstrates our commitment to achieving this mission.”
Considering that less than three percent of all youth and junior players in the United States can play “traditional varsity” NCAA collegiate ice hockey for less than the 140 school programs available across Division I and Division III, the CHF, and AAU have come together to create another class of varsity hockey. While Division I NCAA schools will retain the sole purview of offering athletic scholarships, AAU College Hockey will offer its participants significant options for playing a very high level of college hockey while continuing to make education their highest priority.
“AAU is extremely excited at the opportunity to help establish another level of varsity hockey for our collegiate programs that raise awareness of the talent these student-athletes have and should be recognized throughout university athletic programs, noted AAU Board Member and National Hockey Chair Keith Noll.
The Collegiate Hockey Federation, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, will assume the legal and financial aspects of AAU College Hockey and continue to maintain control of its organizational structure while taking advantage of everything the AAU brings to its student-athletes as the premier governing body across 45 amateur sports and over 770,000 members.
AAU College Hockey will initially include Men’s Division 2 and Division 3 levels, as well as a Women’s Division, while a committee has been empaneled to plan for a projected launch of a Men’s Division 1 program in the 2024-25 season. Additional plans for new events under AAU, including AAU High School Hockey Recruiting Showcases and AAU College Hockey Invitational Tournaments for schools in each of its six conferences, are under consideration.
“The needs of our members are of primary importance as we continue to grow and expand, and our players-first approach guides everything we do across the CHF. As a ‘players first’ organization, we are constantly striving to offer our members the best experience in collegiate hockey and believe this step forward raises the recognition for our current and future student-athletes playing a high level of college hockey while gaining a first-class education”, added Scott Solomon, Collegiate Hockey Federation Executive Director.
The new AAU College Hockey National Championships will replace the Fed Cup Tournament for the first time on March 10-15, 2023, in West Chester, Pennsylvania, wherein forty collegiate programs across CHF Divisions 2 and 3 will compete for national championships.
About the Collegiate Hockey Federation
As the governing body to more than 140 collegiate hockey programs, the mission of the Collegiate Hockey Federation (www.chfhockey.net) is to provide for and enable the best hockey experience for collegiate student-athletes in the United States. For more information, visit www.chfhockey.net.