Students and hockey-crazed locals alike stuffed Chaparral Ice Arena, sitting in heated bleachers and lining the sides of the rink. The Texas Ice Hockey Club skated onto the ice to the beat of fans banging on the glass.
As Texas took its positions for the opening face-off, the players stared down their opponents: rivals Texas A&M. With a series win, Texas would take home both the Texas Pride Cup and the top spot in the Texas Collegiate Hockey Conference.
“We love getting fans here,” graduate forward Brayden Stevenson said. “It gets us fired up when the rink is full, and it gets the boys going.”
The fans may have gotten a little too fired up. As the Aggies made their way to the locker room after the second period, a beer was thrown at one of the players.
As the player turned around, a Longhorn alumnus attempted to de-escalate the situation by pulling him back. In the heat of the moment, the player punched the alumnus.
“I guess he was fired up, and he kind of came back at me, but I didn’t retaliate,” 2023 Texas alumnus Jeb Barrett said. “It’s all cool — he said somebody threw a beer on him. I understand why he’d be as upset as he was.”
Purists of the sport have questioned the validity of the southern United States being a suitable market for ice hockey. It would be hard to convince the players and fans who packed the rink Friday night otherwise.
“Come down here and play,” senior goaltender Jesse Reinhard said. “A lot of people don’t know about the sport, and a lot of them love it. They just (have) got to get to know it. Southern hockey would be sweet to be big.”
Playing in the TCHA, a Division II member of the American Club Hockey Association, players have no financial assistance besides from their parents and their own pocketbooks — they do it purely for the love of the game.
“It’s important for them because they all probably played in high school,” said Reinhard’s mother, Terri Reinhard. “It’s hard to get into the majors. It’s hard to get into D1 schools, and club hockey is way more competitive than people think.”
Making their presence known, a group of Texas Silver Spurs appeared in support of the Longhorns. The Spurs did their research, singing “Jessie’s Girl” as Reinhard robbed shot after shot.
“It’s awesome to be here and support UT Athletics. That’s what we do,” Silver Spurs senior Jake Taylor said. “It’s just awesome to be here and enjoy the environment.”
Holding off a late-game push by the Texas A&M, Texas won the game 3–2. Then, traveling to College Station the next night, Texas fought back from a 2–0 deficit, coming home with a dominant 11–3 victory.
Clinching the top spot in the TCHA with a record of 17–6–2 and one game left on their schedule, the Longhorns have their eyes set on their first league championship and a run at nationals.
“I think we need to make a run and make an appearance at nationals and show people that Texas has hockey,” Stevenson said.
