This past weekend, former and current players and their families gathered on campus to celebrate the 20th Year of LMU Hockey. Founded in the 2005/2006 season, after two previous iterations on campus, the LMU Hockey program celebrated the 20 year journey and growth of the team.
Team General Manager, Tyler Goeckner-Zoeller, spoke first, outlining the early years of the team, and the tremendous growth the past few years especially. He shared his message of thanks to the volunteers who have helped throughout the years, including student volunteers, parents going above and beyond and a special thanks to Al and Adele Tipon.
Chris Miller, the original founder of the 05/06 reboot, spoke about his years with the team and founding the club with a Facebook message in a speech filled with laughs.
Former captain Gabi Rodriguez spoke of his time with the team and a memory of his time at LMU when attending his former teammates wedding, and then Al Tipon spoke, recapping his favorite memories of his 20 years with the team.
The Lions were proud to induct two members into the LMU Hockey Hall of Fame, with 2012 graduate and former captain Bobby Arnold being inducted into the players category. Bobby is most famous for his infection grin and being the All Time Leader in penalty minutes in program history!
The Lions also inducted current Faculty Advisor and Medical trainer, Sarah Strand, into the Hall of Fame in the founders category. Sarah has been instrumental in the growth of the team, and keeping the players safe and healthy during and between games.
Finally, current M2 captains Connor Kaczmarek and Foster Krueger spoke about their time on the team, and their favorite memories of the past few years.
The Lions want to thank everyone who made it out to celebrate with us, and look forward to continued growth and lifelong friendships of our players.