The Hamline men’s ice hockey team will have a new home arena for the 2013-2014 season. The team will move to an arena closer to campus, making attending games more convenient for players and fans.

After two seasons at the Vadnais Sports Complex, over ten miles from the Hamline campus, the team will begin playing this year at Oscar Johnson Arena. This arena is located just north of campus off of Energy Park Drive.

Head Coach Doc DelCastillo, entering his second year behind the bench for the Piper hockey team, had many positive thoughts on the move.

“I couldn’t think of a better place to play at in terms of location to the campus,” DelCastillo said.

“Playing at Oscar Johnson [Arena] means the players can get to practice quicker and our fans don’t have to go as far for home games.”

The move also creates stability for the program as the team will be able to schedule their classes around the regular practice time.

“Players won’t have to miss class this year because we have practice at an unusual time,” DelCastillo said. “That won’t be an issue this year because we know when we will be practicing each day.”

The move to Oscar Johnson will be the third time in the past 4 years the men’s hockey team will play at a new arena, but DelCastillo says this move will be long term.

“We have signed a multi-year lease to play at Oscar Johnson and expect to put our brand on the arena and make it our home,” DelCastillo said. “We hope to pack it full of fans each night for a great college hockey atmosphere.”

The men’s hockey season doesn’t officially start until the first day of try-outs on Oct. 15, but DelCastillo said the team has been working out together since the beginning of the semester. DelCastillo chose not to speak about his expectations about the roles individual players will have on this year’s team until the start of the season. However, he did say the team will have consistent leadership carrying into this season from last year, which is unusual for a college hockey team.

“All of last year’s captains will be back,” DelCastillo said.

With the return of so many leaders, Hamline’s men’s hockey team hopes to get back to the level they were at 3 years ago when they won the MIAC regular, and postseason titles before advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals. Many of the seniors on this team were first-years during the 2010-11 season, and some were in the lineup regularly. This experience has taught the upperclassmen what it takes to be a championship team.

Hoping to add to the depth of this year’s Piper hockey team are four transfer students coming from D-III schools outside the MIAC, and first-years from across the nation who will try to make the team later this month.

“Hockey is played all over North America and we have players from many different areas including Canada,” DelCastillo said.

With the continued increase in number of players coming to Hamline from junior hockey, DelCastillo has to recruit a much larger area than a decade ago when many players came straight from high school.

Once tryouts are held, DelCastillo will share his expectations for this year’s team and the roles he expects certain players to fill. One thing he felt was important to mention was the first official event for the men’s hockey team at Oscar Johnson Arena.

Besides the first day of practice for the hockey team on Oct. 15, the men will have their first event at Oscar Johnson Arena on Saturday Oct. 26. The men will take on the Hamline women’s hockey team in an exhibition game to kick off the start of the season, and welcome the men’s team to their new arena.

The first regular season game for the men’s hockey team will be on the weekend of Nov.1 at the MIAC Showcase in Blaine. The first home game at Oscar Johnson Arena will be on Nov. 15 against UW-Eau Claire.

Fans who attend men’s hockey games this year may get a little more entertainment than in previous years if they stay until the game ends. The MIAC conference will become the first D-III men’s hockey conference to adopt a shoot-out at the end of a tied overtime period. This means that if the third period ends in a tie and no team scores during the five minute overtime then a shoot-out will break the tie to determine the winner. This means that on the MIAC conference scoreboard winning in regulation or overtime will be worth three points, winning in a shootout will be worth two points, losing in a shootout will be worth one point, and losing in regulation or overtime will be worth zero points.