MSU men’s hockey raises funds for national tournament travel

Bozeman, Montana – After automatically qualifying for the national finals during their regular season, the MSU Men’s Hockey team is seeking funds to travel there in March.

As a club sport at MSU, the team only receives 3% of its funding from the university, which means that team members and sponsors provide the vast majority of the club’s income.

They are currently ranked No. 3 overall and No. 2 in the West Division by the American Collegiate Hockey Association.

The squad claims that despite participating in nationals for the third consecutive year, they truly believe they have a chance of winning given their performance this year.

“Every single person has earned their spot to be here and done everything that they can to make this team as successful as it can be and obviously it’s paid off in the regular season and we’re excited,” said senior center Orion Herman.

Steven Irick, a junior, asserts that he shares the team’s optimism about winning the national championship.

“This year we’ve kinda been the team to beat all season. We took it to Mary’s in our own barn and gave them their first loss in two years, so I’d say that we’re going there with a different attitude than we’ve had years prior,” Irick said.

The squad hopes to raise about $50,000 through GoFundMeto to attend the national competition, which begins on March 17. They have already raised more than $16,000. The money will be used for hotel, meals, and other travel-related costs.

The neighborhood has previously assisted the team in achieving its objectives. In order for the team to participate in the regional championships in 2019, Allegiant Airlines provided 28 seats on a flight to Arizona as a donation.

One of the team’s main objectives has been to serve the community and give back. According to Irick, the team leads MSU in terms of community involvement, helping out at primary schools, skating with young teams, and shoveling snow in Big Sky.

They are currently hopeful that some of that local assistance will enable them to travel to Boston and win the national championship.