The Temple University Ice Hockey Club is proud to announce its first recruit of the 2020-21 season, Jeffrey Gross from Skipjacks Hockey Club of the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) Premier Division.
Gross is a 6’2”,168-pound forward from Hershey, PA.
Gross played with the Skipjacks for the past two seasons, scoring 38 points in 78 games. The majority of his point-haul came last season when he scored 14 goals and 17 assists in 38 games.
He also played high school hockey for Lower Dauphin and was named captain for his senior season of 2018-19. He scored 14 goals and 10 assists in his 16-game final year.
Head coach Pat Carroll spotted the forward and reached out to him, but Gross wasn’t originally interested in donning the Cherry and Ice.
“At first, when Pat first reached out, I wasn’t interested in the Temple. I’d never heard too much of the program, but then Pat told me where he came from and what he plans to do with the program. It caught my attention,” Gross said.
“His size is a plus, especially on the defensive side of the puck and in shorthanded situations,” Carroll said. “He is strong on faceoffs and hard to move off the puck.”
Gross says that he enjoys the chippier side of the game, keeping the puck along the boards and using his frame to both knock others off the puck and keep control of it. He’s a silky smooth skater, and he frankly should be; his mom was a figure skater and his dad was a goaltender. They both put him on skates at the age of three.
“He can play a physical game if needed, but he also has the skill to score,” Carroll added. “He will be a big addition for us in all situations.”
In 2017-18, the forward played junior hockey in the Eastern Hockey League (EHL) Premier Division for the Philadelphia Revolution alongside current Temple Owls player Logan Hurwitz.
“He made it sound like a great team, great bonding, a great brotherhood,” he said.
That brotherhood was the selling point.
“It definitely sounds like something I want to be a part of.”
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.
You can watch Owls games live on the TUICE Network at TempleIceHockey.com or the Temple University Ice Hockey Club YouTube Channel.