Photo Courtesy of Susquehanna Athletics
By Ashley Nace
On the mountainside of Sunbury inside a little ice-skating rink, you may hear “Right Back Where We Started From” playing down the hall in a locker room. This locker room is home to Susquehanna’s Club Ice Hockey team, whose been skating through the competition this season with a record of 13-1-1.
But it has not always been this way. Though it was not always bad, as the team ended their 2024-2025 season with a split 10-10 record, there were seasons where a win was hard to come by. “We were good,” said Senior assistant captain Dylan LaGreca, “but like, we would always just get really burnt out, like in the games.”
While the Riverhawks may be having a better season this year than those past, that’s not to say other factors haven’t played into that success. So, what has changed? More players, more support, and a brotherhood of members who have good character through and through.
The team, with 18 guys rostered this season, has more members than typical. LaGreca, along with sophomore assistant captain Caleb Harrison and junior captain Andrew Pisano, all commented on how important having numbers is to the ice hockey team.
“I got to college and it’s got a club team, and you know, at the time there was only like seven kids on the team,” LaGreca explained. Recruiting people for the ice hockey team has never been the easiest, as it’s a club team, he explained. But there’s something different about this group of players that draws so much attention.
Coach Drew Wright said that the current team is much more extroverted than past teams. Whether it be Greek life, other sports or clubs on campus, the team is very involved and active in the University.
“They are, consistently, they’re just good people,” Wright said.
The team has a loose, fun environment. That support goes beyond hockey, as well. “It’s not even like hockey, too, like academics,” Pisano started. “On and off the ice we ask if anyone needs help.” LaGreca also joined Pisano in explaining how great of a culture the team has this season in particular, and how much fun he’s having.
Harrison, the youngest of the captains, commented on how welcomed he was to the team as a freshman and how that support continues: “I know first week I was here, they were inviting me to hang out with them, like first week on campus,” Harrison said.
Whether it be grabbing a meal together, hanging out on the weekends, or helping each other with academics, the team is always there for each other. “Like, from the beginning, they were, they were trying to be friends, and it’s just a great community that way,” Harrison said.
And their community extends well beyond just the team. Having players that are such active members on campus as these, the games draw quite a crowd. If you attend a Susquehanna ice hockey game, you’ll find a cluster of about thirty students lined up behind the glass of the net. And that’s not including the fans in the bleachers.
“Knowing people support us, knowing people have our back, knowing they’re going to be with us through the thick and thin, and knowing that they’re going to support us either way, it’s really humbling,” Harrison said.
Pisano even shared that, during the periods the Riverhawks are scoring on the net their fans are standing behind, they score more goals.
But despite the chemistry, fans and record, the team puts in the work and time. Pisano and Harrison explained that, while the team may only have two practices and two games a week, it can be time consuming: “They’re Wednesday and Thursday nights, and they’re pretty late,” Pisano said.
Coach Wright said, “It’s a pretty legitimate program. We put a lot of time into it.” But for Coach Wright, the hundreds of hours a year are worth it. “I just enjoy coaching a lot. I love working with the guys,” he continued.
For some players, they’re just starting out; for others, their time on the ice hockey team is coming to an end. Whether they have a good season or a bad season, the ice hockey team always finds a way to pull through.
The Susquehanna Club Ice Hockey team has a lot of ground left to cover as they prepare for the first round of playoffs on Feb. 28.
But eventually, after the puck hits the back of the net, the clock strikes 0:00, they’ll be ready to do it all over again, for another practice, another game and another season.
Right back from where they started.