Club Hockey Takes to the Ice

By Tom Schreier

The Santa Clara club ice hockey team, which last season finished fourth place in the Pacific Collegiate Hockey Association, has a wide range of personalities.

Joobin Mozaffarimehr has played hockey since he was five years old. After playing for the Junior Sharks he went to Walpole, Massachusetts, just south of Boston, to pursue Division I hockey, but was never given a roster spot at the NCAA level.

He currently plays club hockey at Santa Clara, where the team is entering its fifth season since becoming officially recognized as a club sport back in 2006.

"I went out (East) wanting to play Division I," said Mozaffarimehr. "But... if you have size and finesse, they're going to take that player over just finesse and small."

The roster on the official team site does not have his height listed, but he is clearly south of six feet tall.

Now, he just plays hockey for fun.

"I'm the resident goon, I guess," Mozaffarimehr said. "When I first came in I didn't understand. I came from a league where you're allowed to fight."

Fighting is allowed in junior hockey leagues, which are designed to get players ready for professional hockey, but not allowed in college at any level — club or NCAA.

"Last year I probably had more games suspended than I played," admitted Mozaffarimehr.

Jackson Morgus is another player that has aspirations beyond the club level.

This season Morgus tried out for the Stockton Thunder, a minor league affiliate of the San Jose Sharks. He was among one of the last players cut.

"I felt I was in a good spot," said Morgus, who was planning on returning to Santa Clara for his senior year regardless if he made the team.

Among the 30 participants at the camp was a player who played over 100 games of experience in the National Hockey League and another player who had been the second-leading scorer in the league in which the Thunder compete. Other players at the camp had played at Division I programs in the Midwest or East Coast.

"The thing that had gotten me prepared is basically just the fact that I had been playing and had been working hard preparing myself for that," said Morgus. "The Santa Clara program facilitated it."

Chris Tanzola is from Mullica Hill, New Jersey and went to high school in Philadelphia. He is a huge Philadelphia Flyers fan and can be seen wearing the team colors around campus.

Team captain Brett Johnson is from nearby Morgan Hill and started a hockey team at Bellarmine College Preparatory. He has been playing hockey since age five.

The team goaltender, Christina Wood, is the only woman on the team. She grew up playing roller hockey in Monterey, California. From an early age, Wood decided to break the local stereotype for female athletes, saying she didn't want to play softball like everyone else. With that decision in mind, Wood transitioned from roller hockey to the ice during high school. She has grown up playing with ‘the boys.'

Head coach Brian Gray, an Ottawa, Canada  native who has coached hockey in the Bay Area, enters his first season at the helm knowing he has got to get this group to mesh. So far, Gray has been commended by his players.

"He's done a pretty good job with what we have," said Wood, "because this is the widest range of skills I've ever played with."

Gray understands that is the nature of the beast with club hockey.

"With Santa Clara being a Jesuit university and a top-notch education, (hockey is) a bonus," said Gray. "The kids want that top-notch education and they see that Santa Clara has a club team, that kind of helps them along."

Gray has encouraged diligence on his team, ensuring that the players show up to practice every day and remain in good condition if they want to achieve their ultimate goal  in the PCHA: the Adams Cup.

"He's a little serious for my taste," admitted Mozaffarimehr. "I was just one of those kids who didn't show up for practices last season. I just showed up for games, I didn't care."

"But this season if I don't show up, I don't play," said Mozaffarimehr. "It's not worth it."

The hard work has paid off so far as the Broncos have already defeated two Division II teams, Cal and Stanford, by wide margins. In two contests, Santa Clara beat the Cardinals 8-6 and 14-5. The Broncos shut out the Golden Bears, 10-0.

Contact Tom Schreier at tschreier@scu.edu or (408) 551-1918.