SPORTS
UVic hockey still going strong into year five
Oct. 28, 2010
Patrick Cwiklinski

When the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League (BCIHL) was established in 2005, it was done with the intention of building a high-calibre league where student athletes could demonstrate their on-ice prowess while receiving a higher education. Five years later and the UVic men’s hockey club remains a proud part of its successful progression.

Harry Schamhart, coach of UVic’s men’s hockey club and a founding member of the BCIHL, says the prospect of obtaining varsity status just to join the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) league is not one of the club’s goals — especially if it means they’d be forced to leave such a promising league that’s grown so much since its inception.

“The reason we started the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League was because we knew there was a niche for hockey in the province,” said Schamhart.

“It was to develop a provincial hockey program for student athletes in the province. The goal for us was never to go CIS — the goal was to build this program.”

Filling that niche is something that Clint Hamilton, UVic’s director of athletics and recreation, feels they’ve succeeded in, in addition to providing on-campus leadership.

“The men’s hockey club student leaders have just done a tremendous job in terms of growing a club and providing leadership,” said Hamilton. “They’ve been part of a new college league in B.C. that’s been created and they deserve a lot of credit for the leadership they’ve provided.”

The league’s transformation from a mere fantasy into a serious university hockey league allows players like fifth-year UVic student and right-winger Corey St. Laurent, who’s been with the club from the start, the opportunity to play competitive hockey in university.

“We’ve made a league out of nothing,” said St. Laurent.

“When I came to this school, this hockey club was nothing more than a group of guys getting together on Friday night at 10 p.m. and playing a little shinny and maybe once a year going over to Simon Fraser University and just kicking a puck around with those guys.”

Today, the club is stronger than ever, garnering media attention, and acquiring sponsorship deals. They’ve even managed to maintain an affiliation with the Victoria Salmon Kings of the ECHL — a team that is in full support of the club and their continued evolution.

“The UVic men’s ice hockey club is a great program that has athletes and coaches that work very hard on and off the ice,” said Jeff Harris begin_of_the_skype_highlighting     end_of_the_skype_highlighting, assistant general manager and director of media and community relations for the Salmon Kings.

“The program continues to grow in both talent and skill on the ice as well as the professionalism of the overall program. We are very proud to be affiliated with UVic.”

Since the sheer cost of hockey is so high, the club has also been proactive in their attempts to gain financial support through fundraising.

“We can always use funding and volunteers,” said Schamhart. “We need game-day volunteers, we want to raise the profile on campus, we want students to come to the games. What I want is that every player on this team be sponsored by a company within the community and that company is paying them to go to school, that’s the ultimate goal for us.”

Though the club still has a ways to go, their growth is a positive indication of things that have already happened as well as the bright future the club has as a part of the BCIHL for years to come.

“It’s all a part of playing for the team and we try to let everybody who wants to play for this team, everybody who’s on the team this year, know that at the very beginning of the year that it’s not just going out and playing hockey,” said St. Laurent. “There’s more to it than that and, quite frankly, I’m proud of what we have done over the last five years.”