Arren Romeril is from Amherstburg, Ontario,
near the U.S. border with Canada. As a third-year student studying business administration,
he is 560 miles from home.

BY JONG CAMBRON

Romeril, who is goalie and captain of the newly formed men’s club ice hockey team, is less homesick because four of his teammates also hail from Ontario.

“Looking at our team this year, it is very nice to see the number of Canadian-born players and all of them from the province of Ontario,” says Romeril. “We can relate to certain things, and we have that feeling of home.”

A new Saints club hockey team took to the ice this year with Arren Romeril, from Ontario, Canada, in goal.

The inaugural team is also comprised of players from Ukraine, New York, Arizona, Colorado, Ohio, Minnesota, Texas and the St. Louis area. The team has good chemistry, says coach John Hogan. “They have something in common in being on a new team,” says Hogan. “The 21 guys get along really well and are striving to build a strong program here at Maryville.”

Romeril came to Maryville after earning his associate’s degree from Williston State College in North Dakota, where he was a member of the hockey team. Romeril led the Saints to its fi rst win in team history when he stopped 36 of 39 shots to pick up the 4-3 win in a shootout against Indiana University in mid-September.

“On our current roster, we have only three players who have college hockey experience,” Romeril says. “Winning that game versus Indiana was something I wanted for the 18 other players on the roster who haven’t played college hockey before. I wanted them to cherish the win and understand what it takes to make it in this league.”

The team competes at the Divison II level in the American Collegiate Hockey Association. There are three divisions with Lindenwood and Missouri State having Divison I teams. Maryville will also face off against St. Louis University, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and the University of Missouri at Columbia.

The Saints currently play home games in Affton, Missouri. By early fall of 2019, the team will move to its home rink in Chesterfield, Missouri, where an 84,000 square-foot facility with two sheets of ice is under construction. Maryville will be the only university team to call it home.