Brotherhood.
At a place like Texas A&M, there are a multitude of places to find it: the Corps of Cadets, a fraternity, a student organization.
However, for a select group of men, they choose to find it on top of sheets of ice as members of A&M’s club ice hockey team.
“I’m also in Greek life here, and it’s just not the same brotherhood as you have as a hockey team,” junior forward Nicholas Leone said. “I live with my hockey team. I hang out with my hockey team every day.”
Leone’s journey to the A&M ice began at UCLA, but when a goalie on his U18 team began to rave about how much he loved playing as a member of the Aggie roster, Leone said his plans changed.
“I was going to go to juniors because that’s how you get to NCAA,” Leone said. “But all my friends went to juniors and just had a bad time. So, I decided to go to school, and then they had a hockey team at A&M, and a good culture and fans. And I love it.”
For most of the players, it was the culture of the team and the university that drew their attention.
“Playing for A&M, with the fans and the Spirit of Aggieland, you’re playing for something bigger than yourself,” senior forward Christian Spearman said. “So, it feels good contributing to something that’s that good.”
The two-time Texas Collegiate Hockey Conference champions compete across the country throughout the fall and spring semesters in a rigorous game schedule; however, without the distinction of an NCAA athlete, these players lack the level of resources most student athletes receive to juggle these schedules. The team — made up of engineers, STEM majors and more — have to manage their own time balance.
“Our practices are very late at night,” Spearman said. “So, our coaches make it to the point where you can balance school and hockey. On trips, guys bring their laptops and if we’re not skating, doing any lunches or having a game, they’re doing work. It definitely teaches you self management and discipline.”
For freshman rookies like Andrew Green, they fall back on prior experience to find their footing. Specifically, Green played travel hockey throughout high school, where he would leave school for days at a time and had to learn to make time for academics where he could — a lesson he continues as a part of A&M’s engineering program.
“It’s just time management,” Green said. “And with college, it’s not easier, because you’re given more, but you have a bunch of time to actually do that stuff.”
Along with balancing aggressive academic schedules, the A&M ice hockey program competes at a high level without the same resources given to NCAA teams.
“At DBU [Dallas Baptist University] they’re considered NCAA athletes,” Green said. “They’re considered a football player, regardless of what that is. So they get to use the football gym. You get a personal trainer and meet with them weekly. But then again, the school is willing, you know?”
Members of the team are responsible for contributing to charges such as ice times, equipment and traveling, but sophomore forward Cade Willis said it adds another layer.
“The biggest thing for me is that we pay dues to play and we’re not getting paid to play like DI players,” Willis said. “To me, that makes it more real, because it means something. Everyone wants to be there; you’re paying money to be there. So, you can see it whenever we play.”
Beyond the resources, time and funding, there is something greater that the players care about, and A&M has it in spades — dedicated fans. From ticket sales to Instagram followers, the team’s following continues to expand, Spearman said, largely because when new people attend games, they become new fans.
“We have one of the largest, if not the largest, following of any club sport at A&M,” junior forward Nate Polinsky said. “If you’re looking at the numbers, we sold out the Texas game last year in under 24 hours. Football culture here is huge, obviously. And since it is in the South, hockey does kind of take a backseat to that. But there’s a lot of people who come out, and I think it’s only going to keep growing.”
As coveted as the Texas games are to the fans, they hold a special place in the hearts of the players as well. For Leone, his best memories are found in the fight against the orange and white.
“In the away game my freshman year, we were down 3-1 going into the third period,” Leone said. “I scored a goal to tie it up to make it 3-3. And then I scored the goal to put it ahead. And that was one of the best moments because when we walked off the ice after we won, it was just awesome seeing all the UT fans chipping.”
Though the Lone Star Showdown returns to Kyle Field this year, the rivalry has always persisted on the ice, with the team always playing at least one home and one away game against the Longhorns.
“What’s great is you play in Austin and that’s such a hostile environment, and then you come home to all the Aggie fans that just embrace you and love you,” Leone said. “They make us feel like we’re a Division I program. The way we get treated and the way our coaches operate, it’s just the best experience we can have.”
For the 2024-25 season, A&M ice hockey is ready to compete and ask that anyone who is interested come check out a game — and to their dedicated fans, they’ll see you from the ice.
“There’s already a link in our bio and it takes you right to the page for tickets for the upcoming game,” Polinksy said. “And also, if you want to go to Spirit on the day of, you can get tickets there. But you never know when a sellout is going to happen, or anything like that. So I’d say just go online, look at the link in the bio and you can get tickets.”
