Missoula Welcomes Back the Bruins and Prepares for UM Club Hockey
If you've wanted to take in a hockey game in Missoula - it's been a Missoula Bruins game that you would watch at Glacier Ice Rink. Well.....that was normally the case.....until the team was forced to play all of their games on the road because of COVID restrictions. But the Bruins have just announced that they'll be able to resume playing games at home beginning this weekend! You can read the announcement from the team Facebook page HERE.
Now, back to my point about your hockey choices in town being the Bruins or nothing - that's about to change as the University of Montana Hockey Program will field a hockey team that will compete in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division 2. Yep, club hockey is returning to UM and they'll play home games at Glacier Ice Rink beginning in the fall. It'll allow players the ability to play competitively while earning a degree from the university.
The plan is for the Griz Hockey team to play about a dozen home games during their first season of play - with a schedule to come during the summer.
The thing about club sports is that players have to pay their own way and the team isn't financially supported by the university. It'll be a labor of love for players that want to play competitive hockey but otherwise wouldn't have the option.
Opponents will include Montana State, University of Providence (Great Falls), Montana State Northern, Eastern Washington, Idaho, Gonzaga and more. I'm not the biggest hockey fan around but I would totally sport one of those jerseys - they look pretty cool!
If you or anyone you know is interested in playing hockey for the University of Montana's new squad - recruiting forms can be filled out HERE.
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