ASU D3 hockey team fundraises for trip to nationals

TEMPE, Ariz. - One of Arizona State's ice hockey teams is fundraising to pay for its trip to nationals in March in St. Louis, Missouri.

The team has to pay $25,000 to cover flights, hotels and transportation for the players, the team's GoFundMe reads.

"On top of tuition, it makes playing the sport they love expensive as the university does not financially support ACHA club hockey," the GoFundMe said.

What they're saying:

"We just won our conference. It was our first year in the conference and we won it. I got an automatic bid into nationals," the team's head coach, Joe Lappin said. "We beat a lot of good teams. We lost a total of six games. All six games were against the 1, 2 and no. 3 seeds. We're right there with everyone else."

ASU Men's ACHA D3 Club Hockey Team plays more than 30 games a season, including showcases.

"With the ACHA, every kid that's on the team actually has to pay for the travel," Lappin said.

He says at the start of each season, the players pay about $4,500 each. Then, for nationals, it costs them an additional $800.

"For a college student, that's a lot of money," he said.

Lappin says, in general, the sport of hockey is expensive.

"They're college kids, so they're all working on the side and playing hockey. They're all funding it themselves. $4,500 for a college student, plus tuition, is very hard to do for a lot of the kids " he said.

The students are using GoFundMe to cover the costs of nationals.

A fundraiser was held during one of NHL's 4 Nations games at University Tavern on Mill Avenue. A portion of the food and alcohol sales went toward the team's costs for nationals.

"It's a great group of kids that have all come together this year and accomplished something that at the beginning of the season we didn't know would be in our reach," Lappin said.

Hockey in the Desert:

Lappin, a former ASU hockey player and Chicago native, says hockey is alive and well in the desert.

Despite Arizona losing the Arizona Coyotes in 2024, there are several leagues and teams to watch. Arizona State itself has five teams.

"I was part of the first-ever NCAA team at ASU," Lappin said. "It's taken off, as you could see, as the division 1 NCAA team is doing very well this year, and they got the new rink."

He says there's a lot of hockey to watch in Arizona.

"As far as youth programs, high school hockey, and just at ASU itself has five teams. Three ACHA teams, one women's team, and one NCAA team," Lappin said. "As far as hockey in the desert, I would say that it should be here based off of how many people are playing it around the Valley."

What's next:

The national tournament is March 18-22.

What you can do:

If you'd like to donate to the team, click here.