Penn Quakers men's ice hockey

Penn Quakers
University University of Pennsylvania
Conference ACHA
Head coach Scott Carmack
Arena Class of 1923 Arena
Location Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Colors Blue and Red[1]
         

The Penn Quakers men's ice hockey team represents the University of Pennsylvania in the American Collegiate Hockey Association Division II.[2] Penn is a member of the Colonial States College Hockey Conference. The Quakers play at the Class of 1923 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[3]

History

Penn's first ice hockey team began competing in 1898 as a club in the Intercollegiate Hockey League, which included only 4 teams. Each season, the team played few games and had limited popularity. Despite growing popularity as time progressed, the team was forced to fold in 1927 due to insufficient funding. In 1941, Penn re-entered the hockey world, competing in the Eastern Collegiate Hockey League and winning the league title that year. The Quakers continued to compete until the team was forced to dissolve as a result of World War II. Penn's hockey program was resurrected in the 1950s and became gradually more competitive until eventually reaching the varsity level in 1965.

Penn played at the varsity level for the first time in the 1965-1966 season, finishing 16-8. To support the team, in 1968, a group of donors and the Class of 1923 joined to fund the construction of the Class of 1923 Arena. In the 1970-1971 season, the Quakers made the ECAC playoffs for the first time. The team would have similar success in the following season. The 1972-1973 season was filled with similar success under a new coach, even defeating Boston University 7-3 in the first round of the ECAC playoffs.

Following the success of the 1972-1973 season, the team began a downward spiral. The university began to tighten the team's budget, which made recruiting more difficult and caused the level of play to decline. After the 1977-1978 season, Penn's athletic department announced a plan to drop the hockey team's varsity status, along with that of the gymnastics, golf, and badminton teams, citing budgetary restraints. A 4-day sit-in resulted in an agreement between students and administration to preserve some of the cut programs, but not the varsity hockey team.

Since falling from the varsity level, the Penn Quakers men's ice hockey team has maintained its status as a club team. During this period, the team has enjoyed numerous successes, including several championship appearances and victories. Today, the team competes in the ACHA Division II and continues to call the Class of 1923 Arena its home.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Logo & Branding Standards". University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Stats - ACHA". achahockey.org.
  3. ↑ "College Hockey". cms.business-services.upenn.edu.
  4. ↑ "Our History - University of Pennsylvania Men's Hockey - Pointstreak Sites". pennquakershockey.pointstreaksites.com.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.