photo by Inessa Brutsky
At first glance, freezing temperatures, post-midnight start times and a lack of funding would seem to be enough to doom a small club team.
So how does the UK hockey team make the Lexington Ice Center a popular destination long after most people have gone to bed? Add a few hundred college co-eds, a pinch of late-night hysteria and a little Garry Glitter music and allow ingredients to chill.
"It's a crowd like no other," said Alex Robinson, a UK junior defenseman.
"This crowd provides a huge advantage for us," Robinson said. "We can hear them chanting before the game from the locker room. It gets everybody pumped up."
| Friday March 14th | 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
| #4 Kentucky Cool Cats (23-13-2) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |  |
| #3 Bryant University | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
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| Thursday March 13th | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | F | |
| #4 Kentucky Cool Cats (22-13-2) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| #2 Eastern Washington | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | |
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| Wednesday March 12th | 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
| #4 Kentucky Cool Cats (22-12-2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| #1 Davenport | 1 | 6 | 1 | 8 | |
UK Hockey players, coaches, alumni, and their families are invited to attend the 2007-08 season annual Awards Banquet Saturday April 19th. Full details can be found on the Alumni page.
The University of Kentucky Hockey Team will be hosting a spring skate for prospective players for the 2008-09 season on Saturday April 12th at the Northern Kentucky Ice Arena in Crescent Springs, Kentucky.
After a pair of big wins in the Southeast Regional Tournament this weekend, the UK hockey team will venture to Fort Meyers, Fla., to compete for its first national championship.
The Cool Cats defeated fourth-seeded Wagner College 4-2 Friday and third-seeded William Patterson University 3-2 Saturday in the Southeast Regional Tournament in Washington, D.C. With the wins, UK qualified for the American Collegiate Hockey Association Division II National Tournament for the first time in 13 years.
Snapping off 12 consecutive victories, the Cats' win-streak goes all the way back to first week of December and helped earn them a bid to the ACHA Division II Southeast Regional Tournament in Maryland. UK will battle it out with the other teams in the SE ranked #3-10, with the top two teams from Regionals joining the #1 and #2 ranked teams from the SE at the National Tournament. A good test for Kentucky leading up to the tournament will be facing #6 Indiana this weekend in a home and home series.
Most athletic teams have one dream and one goal at the beginning of a season: win a championship.
But before a team can be crowned champion, it has to qualify for the postseason. The UK hockey team (18-9-2-0) helped its cause toward that goal in a big way over the weekend with two resounding 6-2 victories over the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Riding a 8-game win streak the Cats have finally broken into the top 10 teams in the ACHA's Division II Southeast region. If the Cats can keep up their winning ways they can look forward to a trip to the SE Regionals in Washington, D.C.
While you were sleeping last Saturday, the University of Kentucky Cool Cats ice hockey team was beating the puck out of the University of Dayton Flyers, improving to 12 wins, nine losses and two ties.
Play started at midnight. I'd never been to a hockey game in my life. I went to check out fan support and the fun. Games can get loud, so if you consider hearing loss fun, it was a riot.
The UK hockey team took to the ice last weekend looking to take another step toward their dream of making it to the Division II National Tournament for the first time in 14 years.
With just over a month until the Regional Playoffs, where UK will have the chance to play its way into the National Tournament, the Cool Cats are trying to put the final touches on their season as they prepare for postseason play.
The 3rd and final ranking for the 1st semester of the 2007-08 season has been released by the ACHA. Despite splitting with #5 Ohio State, the Cats remained #11 - just one spot out from an invite back to the regional tournament. The Cats will have to come out strong in the second semester to keep their post-season hopes alive.
The 2nd ranking of the 2007-08 season has been released by the ACHA. Kentucky dropped to #11 in the Southeast after a loss and a tie to #8 Wright State. The Cats have their work cut out for them as they face #5 Ohio State in a bid to keep their post season hopes alive.
The UK hockey team is finally starting to achieve the results it expected coming into this season. The Cool Cats notched a pair of victories against Bowling Green at the Lexington Ice Center over the weekend, improving UK's record to 7-7-1.
The Cool Cats put on an offensive clinic in Saturday night's game, an 8-1 thrashing of the Falcons. The win was UK's third straight after the team lost seven of nine contests, a welcome turnaround for a team that expects to contend for a championship this season.
The 1st ranking of the 2007-08 season has been released by the ACHA. Despite a bumpy start to the season, Kentucky grabbed the #9 spot in the Southeast conference. The Cats have their work cut out for them as they face #8 Wright State next week and #5 Ohio State at the end of the month.
After dropping seven of the first 12 games to open its season, the UK hockey team started to turn its performance around Saturday night at the Lexington Ice Center.
The Cool Cats defeated Miami (Ohio) 5-1 thanks in large part to some inspired play from senior goalie Drew Matichak. Despite the Cool Cats' early-season struggles, the senior has been a force between the goalposts, and his teammates are starting to feed off his consistent performances.
The UK hockey team dropped two close games this weekend, losing 4-3 and 3-2 to Kennesaw State at the Lexington Ice Center.
The Cool Cats fell behind 2-0 in Saturday's 3-2 loss after the Owls scored two goals within 44 seconds of each other. UK tried to climb back in the game midway through the third period when junior forward Daniel Ampleford scored the Cool Cats' first goal.
At this point in the season, the UK hockey team is far from achieving its goal of competing for a championship. "This is not where we want to be," said Mike Barnes, a senior forward and captain.
Last weekend, the team traveled to Rochester, N.Y., to participate in the 4th Annual American Collegiate Hockey Association Division II Showcase. The event had teams from 16 different colleges and universities across the country, but it left a nasty aftertaste for the Cool Cats. The team arrived back in Lexington late Sunday night disappointed after finishing the tournament with a 1-1-1 record, bringing their season record to 4-4-1.
After starting the season 3-0, the UK hockey team suffered a setback Saturday night, falling to Lindenwood University 8-5 at the Lexington Ice Center.
The Cool Cats battled throughout the night but never seemed to be able to overtake the Lions. Still, head coach Rob Docherty thought UK played well.