HWS News
14 February 2025 • Athletics Hobart Club Ice Hockey Returns with Playoff Aspirations By Annabel Ramsay '25
Club Hockey gears up for the playoffs, wrapping up their packed Spring 2025 schedule.
Hobart Club Ice Hockey is in full force this season as they prepare for a crucial stretch of home and away matchups entering the playoffs. The team will face off against Hamilton in the playoffs on Friday, Feb. 21. Last week they entered the spring slate with a 7-4-1 record, with the club holding the No. 4 spot in the AAU D3 national rankings.
The program’s resurgence has been remarkable. During the 2023-24 academic year, Oliver Tauscher ’25 and John Meskan ’24 spearheaded an effort to elevate club hockey from informal skates to structured practices and competitive games. “We got all of the gear we needed, and booked all the games we could,” Tauscher recalls.
Building on that momentum, the team welcomed a new head coach, Jayme Hurwitz, for the 2024-25 season. Together, Tauscher and Hurwitz worked to establish the club in an intercollegiate league and put together an ambitious schedule. Now competing in the Upstate New York Collegiate Hockey League at the Division II level, Hobart faces opponents such as Cornell, Ithaca, Le Moyne, Hamilton and Colgate.
The team will play approximately 15 games this season against a mix of divisional and non-divisional opponents. In the fall semester, students packed The Cooler in downtown Geneva to watch Hobart secure victories over Canisius and Geneseo.
For Tauscher, the experience has been invaluable. “Club Hockey has made a significant impact on my experience here. I have been able to network, meet people with shared interests, and it helps me establish a healthy work-life balance.”
“Re-starting this team has taught me how to be a leader and take initiative,” adds Tauscher noting, it’s an experience he wouldn’t have been able to experience at a larger school.
Declan Curry ’25 joined club hockey during the fall semester of his first year on campus, after meeting several upperclassmen who encouraged him to play. “The team has really been through a transformation. It began as just basically hanging out, and now it’s really a formal team with a coach, uniforms and league competition,” Curry says. The experience, he says, has helped him expand his social circle and build meaningful connections through a shared passion for the game.
Prospective students interested in joining the team next year or would like to learn mire can follow the club on Instagram at @hobartclubhockey_ or emailing HobartClubHockey@hws.edu.
Top: Members of the Hobart Club Ice Hockey team celebrate with fans after scoring a goal against Canisius University.
