Holy Cross College’s First Hockey Team is in Action
Although this has been a pretty mild winter, the Saints have seen a lot of ice during their inaugural hockey season. Led by an experienced and talented alumnus, the team is sure to have years of smooth skating ahead.
Holy Cross College student Greg Meola was caught up in the excitement. HC was joining the NAIA, and talk of new athletic teams and clubs was abuzz all over campus. There was one problem however. Meola wasn’t hearing anything about his favorite sport: hockey.
He went to work drumming up talent and talking to college leaders. When it became obvious the interest was there, Meola got the green light he’d been waiting for; then he got the final piece of the puzzle he’d been waiting for, Coach Michael Mitchell.
Mitchell, a Holy Cross College alumnus, has been playing hockey since his youth. He had been recruited to go to the University of Notre Dame, but the program was cut at the last minute. Not knowing just what to do, Mitchell found a home at Holy Cross College. He later went on to play for a club team at Indiana University that won a national championship. He has been pretty much coaching youth ever since, and now he’s back home at Holy Cross College as head coach of the new team. Meola is the defensive assistant coach, and Keith Mentz is the offensive assistant coach.
Mitchell says he’s been pleasantly surprised with the quality of skaters on his team.
He says, “I did not expect to have such good players in the general student population. The team that we have today consists of students that had no idea that the College had a hockey team when they applied. I, along with the other coaches, am really looking forward to the next few years when we can recruit players to come to Holy Cross to play ice hockey.”
The Saints have 18 players on the hockey team and play home games at the Ice Box in South Bend.
For more information about Saints hockey, go to www.hcc-nd.edu/prospects/athletics/hockey/
Published 1/15/2007 by Sara Kassen