A typical Thursday afternoon on Chancellor’s Walk is guaranteed to see heavy foot traffic, frantic bicyclists trying to maneuver through the crowd and the entire UNC Wilmington men’s club hockey team running down the 2,416-foot walkway. They come equipped with loud mouths, horns and microphones; it’s a loud and effective way to get fans to attend their games and increase their popularity.

The team plays at the Wilmington Ice House. The sound of slapping sticks is unavoidable and standing is a necessity; there are few bleachers in the Ice House. Packing in almost 600 fans per game has been the norm for the men this season.

On Saturday, Feb. 1, the UNCW men’s club hockey team, ranked eleventh in the league, took on seventh seed Liberty University in what would be their last home game of the season.

During the first period, UNCW scored their first goal five minutes into the game. Later  in the period, they scored back-to-back goals less than a minute apart. At the end of the first period, UNCW was leading 3-2.

The second period featured a five-on-three power play, numerous fights, strong defense, and great saves by the goalie. It ended with UNCW up 7-4.

“I have never seen a game like this before,” junior Brenna Beggi said after the second period. “There were a lot of great assists and the energy in the rink never died down.”

UNCW continued their dominance against Liberty in the third period, scoring four goals to Liberty’s two. UNCW dominated their last home game of the season 11-6.

The team plays in the Blue Ridge Hockey Conference and competes against a variety of teams spanning most of the east coast, in locations such as Charlotte, New York, Pennsylvania and Chapel Hill. Some of the teams they play include East Carolina University, Duke, North Carolina State University, and University of South Carolina.

But as the team becomes more successful, challenges arise. Not only are their dues $1,500, but they face the constant struggle of not being excused from class when game time conflicts, not to mention the lack of advertisement from the school itself.

“We don’t get advertisement or publicity from the school,” said senior president Blair Bigwood. “We have to advertise ourselves to get all the fans and attend meetings and requirements that varsity sports don’t have to go to.”

“Our biggest source of advertising that we do is through our Facebook page and by posting events,” said assistant captain Scott Edwards. “Everyone on the team invites people in the area to our game through Facebook.”

Attending a hockey game not only shows support for the team, but a portion of the gate sales help finance the club. It pays for ice time to practice, as well as allowing them to play their games.

Another way the team advertised this year was by giving interviews on a couple of local radio stations. This was the first year the team has done anything like this. The increased publicity led to two sell-out games.

“The two interviews that we had on the radio this year before our games turned out to be the two games we sold out this year,” said captain Joe Callahan. “We sold out against NC State and USC. We won both of those games.”

Attendance during the games reached up to 700 fans this season.  The hometown support has helped the team comprise an impressive 8-2 record at home.

“It’s fun playing in front of that many people,” said Bigwood. “Their excitement and energy translates over to you. It makes you want to make something happen.”

This team is not only filled with an enormous amount of talent, but their chemistry is alive on and off the ice.

“When you spend as much time together as we do each week between practices and traveling on road trips together, you develop pretty strong relationships with everyone on the team,” said Edwards.

To stay up to date on events and games, be sure to check out their Facebook page at or follow them on Twitter.