Philadelphia, PA – 14 games down, 15 to go.
It’s hard to believe that the Temple University Ice Hockey Club is already halfway through the 2019-20 season. The Temple Owls have already played most of their home games at The Igloo at Mt. Laurel (nine games), with only four remaining by the time the second semester rolls around. The club traveled for three games in addition to two games in the Philadelphia College Hockey Showcase at the end of September, in which it came second in the six-team tournament.
What a Difference One Season Makes
The 2019-20 Owls currently sit third in the ECHA exactly halfway through their schedule with a record of 3-1-4-0-0 (W-OTW-L-OTL-SOL) for a total of 11 points in the three-point system.
At this time last season, Temple was winless through the first half in the conference. It took a 4-2-2-0-0 record in the second half of the schedule to sneak into the playoffs as the sixth seed with 15 points. Five of those six wins came against teams that failed to make the playoffs, with only one win in all 16 conference games against an opponent that made the playoffs (3-2 OTW vs. Navy, Feb. 1, 2019).
This season, two of the four conference wins have come against playoff teams from last year (5-2 W vs. Villanova Oct. 11, 2019, 4-1 W vs. William Paterson Oct. 25, 2019). In addition to that mark, the Owls have not fallen under .500 at any point this season with a current overall record of 7-1-6-0-0. The last time the Owls finished a season above .500 was 2014-15, Temple’s first year back in division one.
Fresh New Air
First-time Temple head coach Pat Carroll, along with his assistants Frank Blust and Kevin Rider, have employed major changes in philosophy and professionalism throughout the club. 15 of the team’s 29 players are newcomers, with 11 being freshmen. Through Carroll and his coaching staff’s recruiting, over 50 student-athletes tried out for the team, breathing new life into the program.
Michael Irey, Mike Walker, Brandon LaBumbard and Matthew Guinette stand out among the rest of the freshmen.
Irey (7 goals, 6 assists), who played tier-three junior hockey, is scoring at over a point-per-game pace in 11 games.
Walker (3 goals, 7 assists), who along with Guinette won their league championship for Pennridge High School, has cemented his status as an elite playmaker.
LaBumbard (3 goals, 5 assists) is the oldest player on the team at 25 years old. He served in the United States Marine Corps for four years prior to attending Temple University and also played for the Toronto Eastlanders in the Greater Toronto Hockey League.
Guinette (3 goals, 1 assist) has given the Owls stability on the blue line and has shown he has the ability to take a wicked slap shot.
In net, newcomers Joey Galitski (3-0-2-0-0, .901 SV%) and Steven Glik (1-1-0-0-0, .941 SV%) have produced huge moments as freshmen. Galitski recorded a shutout in his first collegiate start against the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and Glik backstopped the Owls to a monumental 3-2 overtime victory over Towson Oct. 19.
The Old Crew Still Reigns
Charles Ghiazza, Brendan Ondick and Nick Van Allen lead the brigade of Temple scorers, but it shouldn’t surprise anyone.
Ghiazza (10 goals, 10 assists) finished fourth in the nation with 32 goals last year. He leads the Owls in goals and points and is joined by Brendan Ondick as the dish-kings. The Owls’ captain reached the 100-point plateau with a 2-goal, 2-assist game at Cornell Oct. 4. He became the first player since former captain Ryan Dumbach to score 100 points for the Cherry and Ice.
Ondick (7 goals, 10 assists) comes in front of Ghiazza in points-per-game ratios. Ondick has scored 1.55 PPG in 11 matches, while Ghiazza’s 1.54 PPG comes in 13. Ondick led the club with 50 points in his first season back in 2017-18. He is next in line to hit the 100-point mark with 94 career points.
Van Allen (5 goals, 9 assists) is the active-leader in games played for the club with 124 matches under his belt. “V.A.” played 22 games last year and left the team after the first semester to focus on his studies in preparation for graduation in May of 2019. He returned to the club this season and is still working towards graduation.
Ben Auerbach (3-0-4-0-0, .944 SV%) has gotten off to the best start of his career in goal for the Owls. The senior tendie is five wins away from surpassing his highest win total with the Owls (seven in 2018-19) and is currently crushing his previous high-mark in save percentage (.922 in 2017-18).
What’s Ahead?
The Temple Owls will play five more games this semester before the winter break. All games will be at away and neutral venues. They’ll travel to West Chester to take on the Golden Rams Nov. 15 before playing in a showcase at Hatfield Ice against George Mason and Rutgers Nov. 22 and 23. Following Thanksgiving, the Owls will travel to the New Jersey Devils’ practice rink to play the New Jersey Institute of Technology Dec. 6 and will wrap up the 2019 year at Drexel on Dec. 7.
Five of the Owls’ remaining eight ECHA games are against playoff teams from last year (West Chester, Drexel, Villanova and Navy twice). Temple’s final three ECHA games will be against Penn State Berks Feb. 1 and Lehigh in a home-and-home Feb. 14 and 15.
Temple will only play at home four more times this season while playing away for 11 games. Navy will visit the Owls Jan. 17, West Virginia will join Temple in an interconference matchup Jan. 25 and 26, and Lehigh will finish the season for Temple Feb. 15.
The TUICE Network will broadcast ten more games throughout the season. In addition to the four home games remaining, the media team will travel to West Chester Nov. 15, Villanova Jan. 18, Penn State Berks Feb. 1, Virginia Tech Feb. 7, and Liberty Feb. 8 and 9.
About the Temple University Ice Hockey Club
The Temple University Ice Hockey Club was founded in 1940 and has played in the top division of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA), the top league for club hockey in the United States, since 2015. Temple plays in the Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association (ECHA) alongside geographical rivals in Villanova and Drexel. The Temple Owls play at The Igloo at Mt. Laurel at 3033 Fostertown Road, Mt. Laurel, NJ. They have made the playoffs in four-straight ECHA seasons.
You can watch Owls games live on the TUICE Network at TempleIceHockey.com or the Temple University Ice Hockey Club YouTube Channel.
Originally published on TempleIceHockey.com