Pitt club hockey poised for national bid

The Pitt Division I club hockey team lost six forwards to graduation last year — including its… The Pitt Division I club hockey team lost six forwards to graduation last year — including its all-time leading scorer — and earned no votes in the preseason top-25 poll.

With a new coaching staff taking over and a roster filled with seven freshmen and just three seniors, few people expected the Panthers to make an impact on club hockey this season.

But now the Panthers (16-5-2) are ranked No. 22 in the nation and are in position to qualify for the national championship bracket. After a loss to West Virginia on Monday night — the Panthers went 1-1 against their rival this season — Pitt is now second in the division standings behind John Carroll University.

In order to qualify for a bid to nationals, Pitt needs to win the division title or move inside the top-20 mark nationally.

Forward Robert McDyre might be the key to that success.

McDyre — one of the squad’s three seniors — is averaging nearly one goal and one assist per game.

“He always makes a play when needed and will be a strong player for us in the next couple weeks,” freshman forward Matt Johnson said.

McDyre has 40 points through 22 games this season, including four game-winning goals, and he has become a leader for the younger athletes.

“He is a good leader on and off the ice,” freshman Brian Stein said. “We sometimes need to rely on him to create offense and score a goal.”

Led by first-year coach Stu Rulnick, Pitt Division I club hockey plays in the College Hockey Mid-America Conference of the the American Collegiate Hockey Association.

Club sports teams compete with teams from other universities, but their athletes aren’t on athletic scholarships and the teams aren’t governed by the NCAA.

Rulnick arrived at Pitt after serving as an assistant coach at Duquesne. He took the job as the Panthers’ head coach after Tom Rieck stepped down from the position after eight years.

As a new head coach facing the loss of key veteran players, Rulnick focused on giving his young squad strong leadership.

“He does a good job at getting players to believe what he is saying,” Johnson said. “You can tell he has your back. You want to go out there and play hard for him.”

Thirteen Big East teams play in the American Collegiate Hockey Association and one, West Virginia, joins Pitt in the Mid-America Conference along with Duquesne, Youngstown State, Washington & Jefferson, Slippery Rock, Indiana University of Pennsylvania and John Carroll.

Mercyhurst and Robert Morris will join the conference next year.

Currently, 376 teams play club college hockey and, much as in varsity college sports, the schools are split into levels. Division I consists of 57 teams, while Division II has 162 teams. Division III is made up up 157 teams.

Pitt also has a Division II club team.

Hiring Jerry Bass and Dan Hestin as his assistant coaches, Rulnick immediately had an impact on the Pitt’s squad. Bass has nearly 25 years experience as a hockey coach and Hestin was the Mid-America Coach of the Year at IUP.

Bass said the success this season has been the result of a team effort — and that includes Pitt’s defense. Pitt has only allowed 52 goals this season, which is the fourth-best in all of the ACHA.

“Our defense and goaltending have been outstanding,” Bass said. “These guys really overachieved this season”

Bass said sophomore goalie Robert Behling — who ranks third in goals allowed in the nation and is responsible for 13 wins on the year — has been “a wall in goal.”

Behling had a .94 save percentage during his freshman year and has carried that success to this season. In his first full year starting,  he has a .91 save percentage.

“He keeps us in the game and always makes the big save,” Johnson said. “We always feel real confident with him in the net.”

The Panthers will look to pick up a win on Saturday at 10:20 p.m. when they host Duquesne at Bladerunners in Harmarville. Pa.