University of Tampa roller hockey finished its season with a 15-2-3 record, winning the Southeastern Collegiate Region and earning a bid to nationals in Madison, Wi., beginning April 6.
Headed by seniors Jeff Kotcher, Rob Harrison and Rowan Porter, the hockey team is a club sport and part of campus recreation.
For its 2011 campaign, the team is participating at the Division I level, competing against the likes of Arizona State, North Carolina State, Michigan, Penn State and many more.
Kotcher’s brother Brett formed the squad in 2006 as the second roller hockey team he has created. Brett started the roller hockey team at Valley Stream South High School in Long Island and is also the coach of the UT team.
The team does not recieve UT funding so the coach spends his own paychecks on the club for travel purposes.
The team’s season is spread out over the course of two semesters. This past season, they’ve played tournaments in Snellville, Ga., Ft. Myers, Fla., Old Bethpage, N.Y. and West Palm Beach, Fla.
5’11’’ Captain Jeff Kotcher led the team and conference in points during the season and is the team’s highest point scorer over its history. The defenseman credits himself with a majority of the recruiting for the team.
“If you look at our roster, almost 80 percent is from the northeast. I recruited people I knew of and told them to come to Tampa. In turn, over the years we have been successful,” said Kotcher.
Other key roller hockey contributors on the team include Cameron Rowand and Rob Harrison. Rowand has piled up 50 points on the season and is third in the conference with 26 assists. Harrison has compiled 39 points this season and holds the club’s mark for most games played in the four-year history.
Over the previous three seasons, the team has had increased success. In the 2007-2008 season, UT lost in the Sweet 16 in Ca. In ‘08-’09, they lost in the Elite 8 in Feasterville, Pa. Last season, UT finished fourth in the country, playing its last games in San Jose, Ca. This also served as the last season the team competed in Division II before making the jump to D-I.
Roller hockey differs from ice hockey in a few regards. Ice has five on five competition, plus a goalie, and applies the offside penalty, while roller hockey is four on four, with a goalie but no offsides’ penalties.
The reason for these variances make for a quicker-paced and higher scoring game. It can be more attractive for the fan to watch than the typical hockey game most people are accustomed to.
What goes unnoticed when thinking about ice hockey being more well-known than roller hockey is that there are in fact some professional players who have been active in roller hockey their entire lives.
Professional NHL players such as Bobby Ryan, USA Silver Medalist and Anaheim Ducks forward, played roller his whole life. Lee Sweat (Vancouver Canucks), Pat Maroon (AHL Minor League) and Henrick Lundqvist (New York Rangers) have played their whole lives as well.
UT roller hockey may not get much recognition, but regardless, they have found success since the team was created.
“It’s like we are pushed to the side,” Kotcher said. “But realistically we have been the most successful sport organization since we have started going to nationals four out of five years of existence.”
The team practices in Temple Terrace, just down the block from Busch Gardens. They skate usually once or twice a week, and twice a week before tournaments.
According to Sam Sherman the team has bonded well through getting to know one another on road trips.
“The team chemistry is great,” Sherman, a member of the team, said.“We are all solid friends who have a ton of fun together on the road. That’s how team chemistry forms – through road trips and adversity in the rink.”
The squad will face North Texas, Buffalo and West Chester at the nationals tournament.
Kotcher hopes to continue on the quest to blossom as a team and generate awareness for UT roller hockey as one of the premier athletic teams on campus.
Tim Shanahan can be reached at tshanahan@spartans.ut.edu.
Tim Shanahan covering hockey? Will wonders never cease? Well, I guess good sports writing is good sports writing. Always a pleasure to read his columns.