Why GVSU hockey?
The Grand Valley State University Men's Ice Hockey Team is an American Collegiate Hockey Association team participating in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Hockey Association. Hockey has been a tradition for the Lakers since the mid-70's and has grown into a national contender in the past years. Consistently a top team in the region, Grand Valley was the GLIHA Tournament Champions in 2003 and placed second in 2005.
GVSU is coached by Denny McLean. McLean has a illustrious hockey career including seven years of playing professional hockey and 23 years of coaching. He was drafted by the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League and 7th overall by the Calgary Cowboys of the now defunct World Hockey Association. He finished his career with the Milwaukee Admirals of the IHL and decided to focus on coaching.
He was essential in the creation of the local Grand Rapids Owls Jr. B program and has coached throughout the ranks of hockey, from beginners to many different Junior programs across the state. He looks to lead the team to success in the future and improve every player who plays for GVSU.
The new Division III program offers students the chance to continue playing hockey competitively while increasing their skill and awareness of college hockey. This team was created to futher increase the depth of the program. Players on the Division III team are crucial to the success and development of GVSU hockey. Division III plays nationally ranked teams such as Northwood University, Wright State University and Hope University, to name a few. The team is competitive and travels throughout the Midwest in look for competition.
Throughout the season GVSU plays a combination of both ACHA Division 1 and 2 opponents. In addition, exhibition games with NCAA opposition are planned for the future. Games are played against ACHA opponents such as the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Western Michigan University, the University of Illinois, Oakland University and many others throughout the nation.
Grand Valley State University provides a very viable option for players both coming out of the junior ranks and high school to continue their playing careers. Here are just a few facts for players to look at:
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Level of Play - Top ACHA hockey, like GVSU, is comparable to a mid-range NCAA Division III program. ACHA teams often play exhibition games against Division III teams and the scores are usually very close, with the ACHA teams often coming out on top. In addition, within the past few years, some ACHA teams have played and beaten NCAA D1 opponents. ACHA Division II teams, like Grand Valley, are made up of a mix of Junior A, Junior B, Midget AAA and top high school players who decided to go to college rather than play junior hockey. GVSU also has plans to move to the ACHA D1 ranks within the next few years.
Top Facilities - Grand Valley plays all of its home games out of the brand-new Georgetown Ice Arena. Built in 2004, this state-of-the-art facility features two ice sheets and is found one mile off the Allendale campus. Within this arena, GVSU has its own locker room complete with TV and DVD player, equipment room, coaches office and individual stalls for players to keep their equipment. Players also have full use of the team skate sharpener and receive team gloves, helmets, and pants, and in addition to team warm-ups and apparel while playing for GVSU. Team buses and hotels are provided for all away trips.
Strong Fan Support and School Recognition - With the new rink on campus, the team often gets the support of a few hundred to upwards of 1000 fans from both the college and surrounding areas, with this number increasing every year. In addition, the school newspaper provides weekly coverage of the team and the hockey team is currently working on having games broadcast over the air.
Low Costs - For ten consecutive years Grand Valley has been named one of “The 100 Best College Buys in the United States” by the Institutional Research and Evaluation in Georgia. GVSU is one of the most affordable public universities in Michigan. Most NCAA DIII programs are at private colleges who can easily charge 15 to 30 thousand a year in tuition. In addition, the GVSU Hockey program is almost fully funded by the University and required very little dues from the players. Players are also offered many opportunities to do simple optional fundraisers which can easily cover these costs. This makes GVSU a clear choice over almost any NCAA DIII program or Junior players.
Quality Education - Grand Valley received the distinction of one of the “Best Midwestern Colleges” as designated by The Princeton Review this past year and currently has the second highest entering high school GPA in Michigan. With a small facility to student ration of 18-1, yet still offering over 200 academic programs, GVSU gives a student the feeling of a small private college with the benefits of attending a large university. With main campuses located in Allendale and Grand Rapids Michigan, students enjoy a wide variety of cultures and experiences at Grand Valley. More information and application information can be found at the GVSU homepage.
Hockey players with above average skills who would like to extend their playing careers while attending Grand Valley State University are invited to contact our coaching staff by email and fill out the recruiting questionnaire found on www.gvsuhockey.com. You will be added to our recruit database and will receive information on any prospect skates that we hold. In addition, we highly recommend that you visit the campus, tour our locker room, and/or meet with the coaching staff. A meeting with the coaches along with free tickets for recruits for the viewing of a GVSU Hockey game can be set up through email.
Please visit our 'Contact Us' page within this site for more information on how to contact the Division III team. This can be found here.