The Temple University Ice Hockey Club is proud to announce Jeremy Haffner as our second commitment of the 2020 offseason.
Haffner is a 5’11”, 155-pound goaltender from Wantagh, NY. Born Nov. 12, 1999, he has played in both tier-three and tier-two American junior leagues for the past three seasons.
For the 2017-18 season and part of the 2018-19 season, Haffner suited up for the Long Beach Sharks of the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL), a USA Hockey sanctioned tier-three league. From then until the end of the 2019-20 season, he played for the Wichita Jr. Thunder of the Western States Hockey League (WSHL), an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) sanctioned league.
With the Jr. Thunder, which assume the moniker from the ECHL-based Wichita Thunder, Haffner regularly faced over 50 shots per game. In his two games in 2018-19, he faced over 100 shots combined and finished with a save percentage of .826. In 16 games in 2019-20, he held a save percentage of .813.
Don’t let those stats fool you. Haffner backstopped a team that went 9-40-2, scored league-second-worst 113 goals in 51 games, and gave up a league-worst 397 goals, and allowed much over 50 shots per game.
With more committed newcomers on the way and almost half the 2018-19 Temple Owls being freshmen, Haffner hopes that the youth movement pushes Temple towards a playoff run.
“Having a bunch of younger players to grow with as the team develops is definitely going to be something that helps not just me but other incoming freshmen to grow and build chemistry,” he said.
For the past four seasons, Ben Auerbach has patrolled the crease for the Owls. Auerbach put up stellar numbers worthy of All-ECHA honors for multiple years, and one could argue that he is one of, if not, the best goaltender from Temple Ice Hockey history.
“Ben has done a great job over the years with the success of his team,” Haffner said. “I’m hoping to come in and continue his success and continue his hard work.”
Haffner joins an already pristine goaltending duo of Joey Galitski and Steven Glik. Any one of the younger netminders could take the starting spot.
Head coach Pat Carroll looks forward to that goaltending battle.
“Knowing the level of play he is used to, we expect him to come in and compete starting day one,” Carroll said. “His off-ice conditioning will be a big addition for our team to give us structure in the gym. It’ll help increase our conditioning and strength on the ice.”
Haffner will be the 11th goaltender in Owls division one history when he suits up between the pipes in the upcoming campaign.
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.