The Ohio State men’s club hockey team celebrates during the Ohio State-Louisville game Nov. 18, 2021. Credit: Courtesy of Savannah Deuer
When Ohio State’s ice rink was closed to the public in January, the men’s ice hockey club endured a month of competitive disadvantages.
As on-campus activities were restricted from Jan. 9 to Feb. 1 due to the omicron variant, the club moved practices off campus. Without the ability to practice at the Ohio State Ice Rink, the team also had to cut its number of weekly practices down from two to one.
With the changes to practice, club president Alex Vineyard, a third-year in aerospace engineering, said the team was at a disadvantage compared to its competition.
“We’re at an inherent disadvantage at each and every game for teams that are still able to practice,” Vineyard said. “It was very frustrating.”
Student Life Recreational Sports told the ice hockey club it was not allowed to play or practice at the ice rink on campus, club treasurer Declan Rooney, a third-year in finance, said. One of the biggest issues that arose for the club ice hockey teams as a result was ice-time expenses.
Rooney said this caused a financial problem, as ice rinks around Columbus charge almost twice the hourly rate of the Ohio State Ice Rink. Vineyard said this financial struggle weighed heavily on the club.
“The really tough thing, I would say, has been the kind of financial handcuffs that we were put in,” Vineyard said.
Ohio State held a home game at the Taft Coliseum in the Ohio Expo Center against Ohio University Jan. 21.
Ohio State spokesperson Dave Isaacs said in an email the university was looking to slow the spread of the omicron variant by limiting on-campus activities.
“The situation with COVID, especially the Omicron variant, meant that protocols, including those for club sports, needed to be adjusted at the start of the spring semester,” Isaacs said. “We recognize that this can be frustrating to all of us. However, the benefits of containing the spread of the disease far outweigh any short-term inconvenience.”
The Office of Student Life announced the resumption of club sporting events and gatherings Feb. 1.
Having less time on the ice means the team is less prepared for games, and both Rooney and Vineyard pointed this out as a big disadvantage to the team.
“We weren’t able to run a lot of our practice systems that we would run,” Rooney said. “We were having to send those out in emails from the coaching staff for people to look over on paper.”
Not being able to have a normal number of practices affects the quality of play in any sport. When fighting to stay alive in a competitive environment, every game counts, Vineyard said.
Now that recreational sports have resumed on-campus activities, the Ohio State men’s ice hockey club can prepare for Tri-State Collegiate Hockey League Playoffs as normal.
“We don’t play a whole lot of games, so we need to try and get as many points as we can in order to make our playoffs,” Vineyard said.
The Buckeyes will take the ice for their league playoffs Friday through Sunday.
