The St. Louis region and the state of Missouri have become a hotbed of hockey, with registrations increasing by nearly, 50 percent in just four years, and with teams and leagues dotting the metro east area.
The St. Louis region and the state of Missouri have become a hotbed of hockey, with registrations increasing by nearly, 50 percent in just four years, and with teams and leagues dotting the metro east area.
BY JONG CAMBRON
Maryville University is contributing to this expansion by tripling its ice hockey presence this year after the University announced it would be adding a second club men’s team and a new women’s ice hockey club team.
“As more and more players enjoy the sport at the youth and high school levels, Maryville wants to offer these same players the opportunity to continue to compete while earning a quality college education,” said Lonnie Folks, ’82, ’98, Maryville’s director of athletics and recreation.
Maryville hired Tom Lange, a St. Louis native, to be the first coach for the women’s team earlier this spring. He currently coaches the St. Louis AAA Blues U19 women’s team. Lange has also coached the AAA Blues U16 and U14 squads.
“His background when it comes to women’s hockey in St. Louis the past few years is unmatched,” said John Hogan, Maryville’s director of hockey operations. “His connections and local knowledge will help us build our women’s program quickly and the right way. Tommy’s enthusiastic, inclusive and integral approach to the women’s side of the game is exactly what we were looking for — many of the same qualities we pride ourselves on here at Maryville University.”
Lange also has a distinguished playing resume as he has played nearly a decade of pro hockey with stops in the International Hockey League, the East Coast Hockey League, the Central Hockey League, the Southern Professional Hockey League and with a professional team in the Netherlands.
As a coach, the first player Lange signed to be a Maryville Saint was Emma Gerwitz, a St. Louisan who played defense for Lange on the St. Louis AAA U19 squad. Lange added another St. Louisan to the team a month later when Emily Shaw committed to play goalie for Maryville.
Since then, he’s received commitments from players from Illinois, Washington state and California and has dipped into Canada for several recruits. Paige Stelzer, one of the Illinois recruits, helped lead her high school team to the 2019-2020 Class 1A championships.
Stelzer and her teammates will begin their college hockey careers playing as a member of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) at the Division II level. There are over 50 women’s teams in the ACHA DII placed in three regions. Maryville will be assigned to the West region with the University of Notre Dame, University of Nebraska, Ohio State University and other schools located in the Midwest.