A Look at Oswego State Club Hockey History

By Greg Feiden

In the fall of 2003, the Oswego State Men’s Club Ice Hockey team was initiated. Under the leadership of then player coach Matt Collins, the team gathered a couple of times a week, during the winter months of the school year, in order to play, more or less, as a recreational team. During this 2003 season, the club team played a grand total of 2 games against other local schools and garnered a budget of less than $3000.

The very next season, in 2004, the club team began to strengthen its roots, garnering several new players as both freshman and non-freshman joined the program in the hopes of participating in a competitive season and with a marginal budget increase. Getting off to a shaky start, there was much dissatisfaction amongst teammates as to what direction the team wanted to head in. Many strived for a program which mimicked the style of a Junior Varsity program, while others were content with just gathering to play pick-up hockey. In the end, the team had a healthy mix of the two, with the team competing in 15 games, many of which were against the same teams. It was here that Collins led the team to a greater level in their third season; the American Collegiate Hockey Association.
2005 brought about another new beginning for the club team as they entered into the New York Central Hockey League (NYCHL) alongside many of the same local schools the college started out playing against. The number of games played that year also increased from 15 to 20, filling most of the weekends during the fall and winter months. The once scrub team of Open Hockey players began to blossom into a competitive team garnering respect from the team in the area, and from around the nation. 2005 also brought about the loss of a crucial aspect of the team, Collins was set to graduate, leaving the team he founded and nurtured behind.

Continuing in the NYCHL as a member of the larger governing body, the ACHA, the club team found that with a major budget increase, they could become even more competitive. During that season, the new Head Coach of the team, James Peacock of Mexico, NY was announced; a promotion from the assistant coaching job he held the year before. With Peacock’s enthusiasm and knowledge of the game along with a growing foundation of rookie and veteran players, the Oswego team expanded their competition from the same old group of local teams, to all the teams of the nation when they travelled to both Chicago, IL and Lynchburg, VA to play against two top 10 ranked teams. They came away from those weekends with the respect of teams in the ACHA, setting the club up for a championship fifth season.

In 2007, Oswego had a breakout year backed, once again with the coaching of Peacock and the officers behind the scene who were able to once again garner a large budget as well as draw in local support from the community. This was the year of the inaugural SUNY Upstate Charity game in which the Oswego team competes against the Upstate Medical team in order to raise money for the Hospital, which is to be held annually as the first game of the season. Tryouts for the team also set a record, as more than 50 players tried out for the team, indicating the growing reach of the program into the high school system, drawing seniors who want an alternative to varsity athletics. 2007 also saw the Oswego State team win the inaugural Tri-State Cup, the playoff trophy for the Northeastern Collegiate Hockey League (NECHL) and new league Oswego helped found with several other teams, including: Rutgers, Cortland State, Binghamton, St. Bonaventure, Penn State Berks, and Ithaca College.

The legacy of the Oswego State team lives on as they embark upon their sixth season as a club, and fourth as a member of the ACHA. With another great group of players returning and new players entering, Peacock and the team venture forth, each year creating history for the club.