Yesterday, it became official: The Arizona Icecats' 25th anniversary was one to remember, for the wrong reason.
The Icecats (11-12-2) ended up ranked No. 14 in the last regular season poll, missing the American Collegiate Hockey Association national tournament for the first time ever.
Arizona finished one rankings spot away from the tourney, just behind rival Arizona State, a team Icecats head coach Leo Golembiewski said the UA should have swept in the Valley of the Sun a few weeks ago.
"You take a look at our record against the top 12 teams (6-6-1), and even though we basically had a .500 season, we're still certainly better than · we beat Arizona State three times out of six and tied them once," Golembiewski. "We beat Lindenwood for their only legitimate loss."
The tournament teams are Penn State, Ohio, Rhode Island, Illinois, Minot State, Michigan-Dearborn, Weber State, Iowa State West Chester, Towson, Washington & Jefferson, and the Sun Devils. No. 5 Lindenwood is ineligible.
Prior to this season, the Icecats had averaged 20 wins a year and won 80 percent of their games. In the national tournament, the UA has never finished lower than eighth.
"I never blame the kids for losses; that's my department," Golembiewski said. "The losses I take very personal, but you put them in my desk and the wins are theirs. The wins are the players'. They have always been."
Golembiewski said the year would have been much different if the team had sophomore Mike Pelletier (academically ineligible) and senior captain Keith Mitchell (back injury) during the first semester.
"If you have Mike Pelletier and Keith Mitchell the first semester, this is a whole different year," Golembiewski said. "There's no way Washington & Jefferson is a better hockey club then the University of Arizona or Arizona State University."
The Icecats went 6-6-1 during the fall semester.
"There was a lot of youth on the team, where we were expecting big things from (young players) early," said associate coach Brian Meehan. "It wasn't necessarily that they didn't give it to us, but it just took everyone awhile to gel and understand everyone's different style of play and come together and everything. That's why it took us a whole semester to get going.
"I think the second semester's been a lot stronger and been a lot more intense than the first semester. I think that's why our record second semester was much better, and throughout the second semester, we were in every game."
Golembiewski said he was proud of the entire team.
"We struggled the first semester, the first time we ever had a five-game losing streak," he said. "But you look at the second semester: We beat the No. 4 team, we beat the No. 9 team, again, we did well against ASU," Golembiewski said. "The bottom line is the people on this team are fantastic. The last month or so, the last six weeks, have been very upbeat and positive. They come to the rink and work."