Samantha Beck/ Winonan

Winona State University’s hockey club entered the arena of club sports on campus and is here to stay, despite the large costs and fees.

Taylor Moon, a senior at Winona State, joined the club to be head coach, but it turned out he would be taking multiple positions in the club including president and treasurer.

Sean Hale, a player for the club, praises Moon for all his hard work.

“It’s always a good time playing under coach Moon,” Hale said. “The guy has a lot of heart and puts a lot into the team.”

Moon said the team’s members are a mix of all ages.

“We are a very young team comprised of a few juniors and the rest sophomores and freshmen,” Moon said.

Going into this year, Moon said they are going to “rebuild.”

“We consider this year a ‘rebuilding’ year after a turnover rate of nearly 75 percent of our players,” Moon said.

There are 15 skaters and two goalies in the club this year, and Moon said he is looking to expand the numbers next year after the September tryouts.

“Anyone is invited to participate in the tryouts,” Moon said. “Experience is not necessary, but it is highly recommended.”

The club plays in the American Collegiate Hockey Association.

The club’s record is 1-9, but they still have another eight games to play next semester, three of them home at Bud King Ice Arena. The club does not have any more games for the fall semester, so the players can focus on their studies around finals, Moon said.

“This year has been tough,” Moon said. “We’ve had a hard time adjusting. Our semester break is very much needed.”

A reason why it is hard to adjust may be the fact that the club can only practice for one hour once a week.  “Practices are limited due to the high costs of ice rental,” Moon said.

A regular practice starts with stretching then into face-paced skating drills to simulate game speed.  After, Moon said the players work on flowing passing drills, and then Moon allows a break to catch their breath.

The last half hour, the players decide what drills they feel they like to work on.  “Lastly, I like to end the practices with some type of competitive game,” Moon said.

These practices are too few according to Moon.

“An hour of practice per week is not near enough time, but it is the best we can do. We make the most out of it,” Moon said.

The hockey club is trying to improve their standing “within the community as well as

the university” due to their new place amongst other clubs, Moon said.

Moon said there will be more fundraising events and game times posted via social media.