Roller Hockey wins first MCRHL Championship; heads to nationals
In early March, the HFC Roller Hockey Club proved its resilience against Michigan State University, clinching its first Midwest Collegiate Roller Hockey League (MCRHL) Conference Championship.
The team will advance to the National Tournament in Maine April 17-21.
The Hawks’ performance was called “stellar” and “resilient” by the National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association (NCRHA). The team was up against some heavy-duty competition: They defeated Ohio State University 7-2 and then beat MSU 5-3 to advance to the championship game, where they played MSU again and beat the Spartans 5-4.
“This is huge for our program as it’s our first time winning the MCRHL Conference Championship!” said Dr. Rick Fenwick, Jr., the head coach since the team was founded in 2017.
A national power
HFC is the only community college competing in the NCRHA for the second consecutive year.
“It is extremely challenging to win our conference championship because we have such tough competition, including OSU and MSU, but our players were able to stay resilient throughout the tournament,” said Fenwick. “They played their best game of the season against MSU for the championship. Our team captain, Chris Greco, broke his wrist in the game and is out for the rest of the season. While it is unfortunate that he will not be able to play in the national tournament in Maine, he finished his career at HFC holding a championship trophy!”
HFC Associate Athletic Director Kirk Bradley is impressed by the team’s success.
“In a short time, Coach Fenwick and his staff have built our roller hockey team into a national power,” said Bradley. “We look forward to supporting them in pursuit of the national championship game next month.”
“A great combination of experience and youth”
Fenwick is looking forward to heading to Maine in mid-April. The Hawks played Division 1 hockey this season. Although HFC is technically in Division 2/Junior College (D2/JC), the NCRHA has the Hawks play in D1 because there are no other community college teams and HFC is a top-tier team that has proven it can hold its own in D1. In fact, the Hawks won the National Championship in the Junior College Division in 2022.
“It is the hardest trophy to earn, playing in D1 against the top teams in the country, but we have a veteran group of players with a mix of freshmen that makes for a great combination of experience and youth!” said Fenwick. “All of that will be needed to make a deep run in this upcoming national tournament. The team is peaking right now and playing their best hockey of the season. This conference championship has given them even more confidence and we are excited to make some noise in April!”