The South Eastern Collegiate Hockey Conference will again have to settle for less than a full roster of teams for the 2012-13 season.
Arkansas will be back after being hit with ACHA sanctions related to player eligibility on the eve of post-season play.
But two other clubs won’t be along for the ride. Kentucky, which competes at the DII level, will again play an independent schedule.
Louisiana State is the other non-player in 2012-13. SECHC commissioner Kenny (Sarge) Day said the Baton Rouge-based club, which sat out last season, simply does not have enough players to ice a team.
“All of the original student-athletes who started the program have graduated and moved on, and the team was unsuccessful in recruiting new players to fill the void,” Day said.
Complicating LSU’s situation, the club had experienced issues with its home rink and received minimal support from the university, according to Day.
Elsewhere in the SECHC, Mississippi State, which has played before some of the ACHA DIII South Region’s largest crowds, in Tupelo, Miss., still must acquire a head coach.
Gone is Paul Thornton, a U. S. Air Force officer, who has been reassigned to a base in Minnesota.
The MSU club is trying to track down USA Hockey-certified coaches in Mississippi and the Memphis area.
There is a great rink an hour away in Lafayette, LA for LSU to play at…one hour’s drive is nothing. MSU drives 2.5 just to practice. Problem solved.
i would be interested in becoming the head coach,general manager and team fundraiser for LSU in order that they participate in ice hockey in the SECHC!!!
i am a canadian from toronto,canada who has the knowledge and desire to help you relaunch the team! i will be in new orleans at the end of october and i plan to meet with school officials at that time! i will also contact u of kentucky and u of missouri in order that they participate in the division 3 re-formed SEC ice hockey conference!!!!
I am a student at LSU currently and have been really upset with the lack of support we are getting with hockey. Do you know what it is going to take to field a team for next year? I really want to play SECHC and represent my Tigers.