When thinking of hockey at UNC, the first thoughts that come to mind are of Erin Matson, Karen Shelton and the dominant field hockey program. But there’s an ice hockey team representing the Tar Heels too, and it’s in the middle of a whirlwind stretch which has seen a championship game postponed due to a power outage and an exhibition played in front of 20,000-plus spectators in NC State’s Carter-Finley Stadium, just days after the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals had played on the same ice.
Ice hockey at Carolina is still just a club sport for now, but with more and more support coming both for the Tar Heels and the program at NC State, there are some eyeing a potential move to the NCAA to become a Division 1 sport.
Henry Foster, a junior winger and team captain for the Tar Heels, joined 97.9 The Hill’s Michael Koh to discuss UNC’s season so far and the road ahead for the program.
Click here to listen to their full conversation.
Michael Koh: I know the result wasn’t what you wanted (UNC lost, 7-3), but the outdoor game at Carter-Finley looked like a pretty spectacular setting. What was that whole day like?
Henry Foster: Yeah, it was pretty surreal. We didn’t get the result we wanted, but it was an exhibition game and we got to play our entire team. So I think everyone really appreciated the opportunity and the day was awesome. We got to get to the rink at around 4:30. There was the alumni game for the Canes going on before, so we got to see legends on the ice, like Cam Ward, Rod Brind’Amour and so many others. So we got to sit around and watch that. All the guys just having a good time. And then when it’s time to start warming up, the place started filling up. There were people cheering us on and yelling at us both ways. It was really special, everything leading up to it. And then we stepped on the ice and it turned into any other hockey game after a little while, but not really. When you were sitting on the bench looking up at the crowd, it was pretty cool.
Michael Koh: When you first heard that you were gonna play in an outdoor game, what went through your mind?
Henry Foster: This was almost a year in the making. They announced the [NHL] Stadium Series roughly at this time for next year. So last year when we figured out it was gonna be at Carter-Finley, we were just kind of sitting on a team bus going to some game. And we were like, ‘Wow, like that’d be pretty cool if we could do that. How would we do that?’ We got in touch with State because they’re hosting it. We got in touch with the NHL. A lot of emails, a lot of grunt work. Our [executive] team did a great job and we got it put in place and finalized around the new year. And then the excitement just kind of built from there.
Michael Koh: All worth it, right?
Henry Foster: Oh yeah, absolutely. I mean, it was the best hockey game I’ve ever played. It was such a cool experience.
Michael Koh: Had you ever played in an outdoor game before that?
Henry Foster: I’m from Connecticut. There’s a few outdoor rinks, but nothing to that degree.
Michael Koh: This whole season I feel like the notoriety of the hockey program has gone up and up, from going viral to now having the outdoor game. How have you seen the notoriety of the program grow through this season compared to seasons?
Greatest goal in @ACCHockey history?#GoHeels @NHLNetwork @HeyBarber pic.twitter.com/d0g1GsKtEP
— Carolina Hockey (@UNCHockey) January 15, 2023
Henry Foster: I came in as a freshman in 2020. We didn’t even have games. And then last year, as a sophomore, we started to get a little bit better as a program and we had a few people coming out regularly to games, which was pretty cool. This year I think the PNC [Arena] game in the fall really kicked things off when we beat State, kind of put our names on the map. And then our regular home games started getting much more crowded. Obviously the goal and the jerseys and this game, everything’s just kind of kept elevating and elevating and I think it just proves hockey belongs in the south. And hopefully we can keep growing the game for other schools around here and hopefully get some Division 1 programs soon enough.
Michael Koh: Being a student athlete on a club team, you’re obviously not on scholarship or anything like that. What is that balance like?
Henry Foster: It’s a real commitment and for all the players and the team. You have to really want to play the game. The basketball team and football team obviously work incredibly hard, but they have a lot of assistance and help with balancing that incredibly tough schedule. Our schedule isn’t as tough, but we’re kind of just taking on this extra commitment all onto ourselves. Scheduling buses, figuring out how we’re gonna get there for weekends, trying to file excuse forms if we have to miss a Friday. It’s a lot of work, but I think it’s all worth it. And all the guys just kind of have the same feeling that we just love the game so much and have a great time playing and playing with each other. We’re willing to put in the extra work.
Michael Koh: When does your season begin and end?
Henry Foster: It’s a long season. We’ll get back to campus in early August. We’ll have our first captain skates towards the end of August, tryouts and practices, and then our first games would be towards the middle to end of September. And then that runs basically until the end of the semester. We get a break for winter break, and then we come back. We’ll have five weeks from the start of the second semester through our regionals this year. So it’s kind of a sprint in the second half, but yeah, most of the first semester and the five or six weeks in the second.
Michael Koh: You mentioned tryouts. It sounds like it’s a pretty open team, right?
Henry Foster:Historically that’s been the case. When I was a freshman, we only had 22 skaters. This year was the first year we actually had to make cuts. You could only have so many guys on a team before things kind of spiraled out of control, which was sad, but it was exciting to see at the same time. You don’t want to relish seeing anybody getting cut, but the fact that our program’s becoming competitive and people want to join, it was exciting to see.
Michael Koh: So you have a big game against Penn State coming up, is that right?
Henry Foster: The ACCHL championship. That is this Thursday. It was a terrible story and kind of the club hockey mantra. We went this past weekend to Winston-Salem. They were having the playoffs there. We got a first-round bye, played Saturday and won to advance to the finals on Sunday. We got to the rink and a power line went down and the power went out of the rink. And Penn State, also a club hockey team, they had budgeted for only those two nights at the hotel and the three days with the bus. When they couldn’t get the power on, after about an hour and a half they decided to call it and they had to bus home. So we both qualified for regionals luckily. And the day before regionals start, we’re just gonna meet at the same rink and play our championship
Michael Koh: Is the ACCHL similar to the makeup of teams in the regular ACC or is it a whole different mish-mash?
Henry Foster: I’d say similar and different. There’s a few leagues within the ACCHL to provide for the skill discrepancies. Our league includes us, NC State, Penn State, Virginia Tech, Wilmington, and Rowan. So six of us in the Elite Division, I think they’ve coined it. That’s just kind of a subsection of our league, which is the ACHA [American Collegiate Hockey Association], which is comparable to the NCAA only in structure, not in skill. So this weekend we’re going to regionals and that’s ACHA regionals. We’re in the southeast ACHA region and if we make the finals there, we qualify to go to nationals. That would be the equivalent of the NCAA tournament.
Michael Koh: Have you ever been to nationals before?
Henry Foster: No, we have not. Our last year was our first year at regionals, which is a big step for us. This year, we’re looking to build on that and continue, but we haven’t gotten an Admiral’s Cup, which is the ACCHL playoff, in quite some time. So we’re excited for Thursday. We’re gonna keep our minds there first.
Michael Koh: I saw an interview with your coach, Jeff Volkman talking about potentially moving up to NCAA to be a varsity sport. Is that something that you and team have discussed as the notoriety has grown?
Henry Foster: It’s an interesting topic because just for the love of hockey, we want to see D-1 hockey come to UNC. We think the south would embrace it. We think it’d be a huge success. It’d be awesome for North Carolina. We also love our club team and there’s no doubt that that club team’s gonna continue. If we get a D-1 team I think it’s only gonna make our team grow stronger by bringing the presence of hockey to North Carolina. So yeah, I think all of us are really excited at the possibility of a D-1 team coming here. And with all the speculation of Division 1 conferences, I think there could be something in the works of a couple years down the line. It wouldn’t be crazy in a decade if we saw the Tar Heels have a D-1 hockey team.
Michael Koh: It would be a pretty long timeline, wouldn’t it? This has all sorts of logistical challenges.
Henry Foster: Yes. It would definitely be a challenge to tackle. But I don’t know, I think just based on what we’re seeing at the NHL level through the college level now, it makes a lot of sense. And I know there’s people at UNC who, if they set their minds to it, can accomplish this feat. We’re sitting back and crossing our fingers because we think it’ll all be pretty fun.
Michael Koh: For fans who are interested in supporting the team, either financially or by attending a game, what are some resources that they could use?
Henry Foster: We have a website and you can get there through our Instagram if that’s easier. We’ve got a bunch of merch up for sale. Specifically, our new white jerseys are on sale, I think until the end of the week, which is awesome. And then our actual jerseys are always on sale. Hoodies and sweatshirts and t-shirts and things like that, which you can always buy if you wanna support the team financially. We don’t typically charge admission for games just because we think everyone should be able to come and watch, but there’s always a donation accepted through the team Venmo account. So there’s plenty of things to do. And all the information’s on our website and our Instagram.
Michael Koh: And you guys play at the Orange County Sportsplex in Hillsborough, right?
Henry Foster: We do normally.
Michael Koh: Now I’m just saying: State got theirs at Carter-Finley. Are you thinking about an ice rink coming to Kenan Stadium in the near future?
Henry Foster: We think that would be awesome. The trouble is building the actual rink. The NHL did a great job at Carter-Finley, but now that we’ve seen that it can be done and it’s such a great turnout, it wouldn’t be impossible to think that it could be a tradition in North Carolina for years to come. But I don’t know, maybe that’s wishful thinking. I like to think it’s a real possibility.
Featured image via UNC Hockey on Twitter
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