Healthy scratches

ew Jersey native Chris Bernard, ’04, didn’t realize how much he would miss playing ice hockey when he first arrived at the University of Richmond. He chose the liberal arts college for its size, location, and academic strengths. Bernard — “Bernie” to his teammates — tried playing club lacrosse, but that didn’t fill the hockey void.

Spiders from cold climates know that the intense winter sport promises three periods of nonstop action, thrilling maneuvers, and hard-fought scoring. Players live for the fierce competition, whooshing speeds, unreal saves, nearly telepathic passes, roaring crowds, and lifelong bonds forged in sweat-soaked protective gear.

“Toward the end of freshman year, I was settled in and had gotten wind of how the sports clubs work,” Bernard says. “And I thought, ‘So many kids here are from the Northeast; there’s no reason I can’t get a team together.’”

Club sports occupy a sweet spot between intramural and varsity sports for commitment, organization, and competitiveness. Bernard envisioned a club that could compete at the regional and even national level. He’d played hockey since around age 5, learning at an outdoor rink near home in Atlantic Highlands, about 45 minutes from New York City. By senior year in high school, he was a seasoned defenseman practicing seven nights a week and doing his homework at the rink.

“For me, it was always an escape — a fun, fast-paced, physical game. When you’re in it, that’s all you’re thinking about,” he says. “I am very competitive, too.”

Early sophomore year in autumn 2001, Bernard created a PowerPoint presentation making the case to form an ice hockey club in front of a board comprising UR faculty and staff. He talked about high student interest, spotlighted similar programs at other colleges, noted that the club wouldn’t need to use any school facilities, and laid out a plan for the team’s operation.

“In the beginning there was a lot of exaggerating on how much interest there was, how smoothly it was all going to go, how much money we needed,” he admits. “I was probably taking on a little more than I could chew.” But the board approved his plan, and he set out to assemble a team. In hockey, each team can have a maximum of six players on the ice at a time, a number that temporarily decreases whenever a player is sent to the penalty box. UR’s initial roster was only nine position players and, critically, a goalie.

“It wasn’t just undergrads,” Bernard says. “We had MBA students, law students. We had to pull from everywhere just to try and get a solid squad together.” He adds that Bryan Evans, ’04, who arrived as a goalie, played forward because the team was so desperate for players.

The next year, the Ice Spiders picked up four more players. Rookies told Bernard that the club factored into their decisions to attend UR. By the time he graduated in 2004 to pursue a career in finance, the team had grown to 17 players, won its regional conference championship, and placed 16th nationally.

Fast-forward: After more than two decades, the Richmond Spiders ice hockey club is going strong. Now playing in a tougher regional club division with a roster totaling 37, the Ice Spiders have their sights on the gleaming league championship trophy.

Bernard discovered that renting ice in Virginia was far more challenging and expensive than it would have been back in New Jersey. Undaunted, he convinced the Richmond Ice Zone, about 20 minutes south of campus, to become the Spiders’ home. He secured practice time at 11:30 p.m. Friday nights and negotiated prime Saturday slots for several games. He managed these and other club responsibilities alongside academic work for his major in business with concentrations in finance and marketing and his minor in leadership studies.

Coincidentally, in autumn 2001, a new league for area teams called the Blue Ridge Hockey Conference (BRHC) formed. League organizers heard that Bernard was assembling a team and reached out. BRHC rules specified that the club couldn’t join without an official coach, so he enlisted Dan Souza, ’04. His chief — and practically only — credential was that he was Bernard’s close friend.

“He looked at me and asked if I wanted to be the ice hockey coach,” Souza remembers. “I told him I’d never played ice hockey. He said that wasn’t a dealbreaker and added my name.”

The first two games were in Richmond against Appalachian State University. With Souza cheering from a nearly empty bench, Richmond won that Saturday and Sunday. Shortly afterward, UR defenseman Kevin Silver, C’04, introduced Bernard to Tom Occhino, GB’06. Occhino, an avid player and USA Hockey-certified coach from Buffalo, New York, worked as an engineer in Richmond and would later come to UR for his MBA.

Occhino agreed to a test run as coach in a game against Virginia Commonwealth University that the Spiders won. “I went to that first game, and it was awesome,” he says. “I’d been coaching kids. This was obviously a different level, and I love hockey, so I said, ‘Let’s do it.’”

He became head coach, bringing structure and seriousness to the volunteer role. During practices, he skated with the team, running drills. On game days, he dressed up in a button-down shirt, tie, and long black leather jacket. The players appreciated his balanced approach, and the team grew stronger.

To establish a web presence, Bernard enlisted Johanna Beyenbach, ’04, to design a dedicated site. He recruited new players through SpiderBytes. But the young team captain needed Occhino’s help, especially with logistics and budgeting. Ice rentals, referee charges, league dues, uniforms, insurance, and travel expenses for away games added up quickly. Player dues — among the lowest in the league — and university funding didn’t stretch far enough.

Bernard had to get creative. While working for the Phonathon, he discovered that his supervisor’s husband was a self-described hockey guy at a local ad agency and on the lookout for pro bono opportunities. The team became a client. Together, the ad agency and the Ice Spiders finalized designs for posters the club used for advertising and sold to raise funds.

One showed hockey tape with “Ahh ... hockey” written on it in black marker. Three students with mullets raise their hands in class, a nod to the Hanson brothers from the 1977 comedy Slap Shot. Bernard and forward Greg Kraft, ’06, wore wigs for the photo. Occhino’s mullet was real.

Early involvement, including the ad campaign, proved to be a formative experience for Souza, who went on to be the longtime editor-in-chief of Cook’s Illustrated. Earlier this year, America’s Test Kitchen promoted him to chief content officer.

“I really enjoyed being a part of something new and exciting,” he says. “It was satisfying to watch Chris build something from scratch that he really cared about.”

UR’s scrappy team reached the BRHC Championship semifinals in March 2002. Its game against Hampton Roads went to a shootout, and Bernard scored the winning goal. College of Charleston had a stronger team that year, though, and defeated the Spiders in the final.

Driving long distances for away games and practicing when other classmates were relaxing required dedication. “The guy next to you is giving up his Friday night, too,” Bernard says. “That’s where you form those bonds and friendships.”

His senior year kicked off presciently with a five-game winning streak and culminated in a decisive 5-1 win against crosstown rivals the VCU Rams to take the championship. Regional success over the club’s first three years prompted the American Collegiate Hockey Association to invite them to nationals twice.

Occhino continued to coach while getting his MBA at UR. During his tenure, the Ice Spiders won four league championships. Before moving back to Buffalo in 2008, he handed the coaching reins to Silver. By then, students were filling out the recruiting form online, and the club had a full roster with additional players on the practice squad trying to earn a roster spot, known in hockey as a healthy scratch.

Occhino kept those connections alive. Recognizing the enduring Spider pride, he started an informal weekend where hockey alums could return to Richmond, play for fun against the current team, and cheer them on at a game. Eventually enough alums attended to play each other. Scott Celander, ’06, worked with the university to turn the weekend into an official event.

In September 2010, Silver surprised Bernard at a game in the Ice Zone by retiring his No. 11 jersey. Bernard’s name and number are still up in the rafters. Today he lives in New Jersey with his family and is a partner at the business he co-founded, BCS Private Wealth Management.

UR hockey alumni first gathered to play annual tournaments against other men’s league teams in 2011 and went on to rack up wins. Occhino coaches, plays, and receives a hand doing the planning from alums including Celander, Justin Collins, ’08, and Matt Improta, ’10.

A supplier quality engineer with the global aerospace company Moog, Occhino lives in Buffalo with his wife and two kids. Last season, he was coaching his daughter’s 12-and-under ice hockey team when he noticed a game coming up near Bernard.   

“I told Bernie, ‘Hey, guess what? I’m coming to New Jersey!’” Occhino says. “It was a terrible, snowy night. He drove with his kids to watch me coach and my daughter play.” Mike Ramos, ’04, another Spider hockey alum, brought his wife and kids, too.

On a warm Wednesday night in early September, players skated around the Richmond Ice Zone to loosen up. They sped over the brightly lit ice in a pack before separating for power play drills, stick thwacks echoing throughout their home rink, where the UR shield is displayed prominently. Nimble defenseman and assistant captain Rafi Santomenna, ’26, volunteered for a penalty kill drill and deftly deflected a shot.

“We often say that we’re the closest sports team, relationship-wise,” the business administration major from South Hamilton, Massachusetts, says later, “and I don’t think there’s an argument against that.”

Club ice hockey was a deciding factor for team captain Ethan Gail, ’25, during his college search. He’d played for the Seattle Junior Hockey Association since age 6. “There’s something unique about skating really fast down the ice,” he says. “You’re never bored.”

Gail, a 6-foot winger who can play either side, compiled a list of prospective colleges with strong academic programs that also had club hockey. One contender had a relaxed team that included professors, but Gail sought the more competitive experience that UR offers.

Head coach Jason Block made his decision easier. Block hails from Suffern, New York, and works full time for a major health insurer. He’s coached the Spiders on a volunteer basis for nine years.

“Coach Block is amazing,” Gail says. “The first day meeting him and talking with him, I knew that club hockey was going to be part of my college experience the next four years and haven’t looked back.”

Since the club’s earliest days, many players gravitated toward the Robins School of Business. “There is a connection in the resilience that it takes, the mental fortitude you have to have,” Block says. “I have seen nine years of students come through Robins, and I understand. It can knock you around a little bit if you’re not prepared and willing to put into it what you want to take out.”

Gail, who plans to become an investment banking analyst, agrees. “Hockey is one of the most demanding sports both physically and mentally,” he says. “Being able to forget things quickly that go wrong and focus on learning from mistakes is applicable to a business and a professional setting.”

Another aspect Gail appreciates is the opportunity for networking. “Spiders want to help Spiders, but Ice Spiders want to help Ice Spiders even more,” he observes. “That was huge for me.”

Reece Dorfman, ’26, a business administration major, grew up playing hockey in Rye, New York. “I love the team atmosphere,” the right wing forward and assistant captain says. “Every team dynamic creates a special group.” Dorfman led scoring his first two seasons.

His friend, a classmate from Bangalore, India, had never seen a hockey game until going to watch the Ice Spiders play last season. “He said it was one of the most exciting things he’s ever seen,” Dorfman recounts. “He loved how quick the pace was and how things could flow and change on a dime.”

Although Block sets high expectations on the ice, the coaching and training staff recognize the players’ academic commitments. The club allows enough flexibility that players can study abroad. Gail spent a semester in Budapest, Hungary, and Dorfman is in Madrid for the fall semester. “We understand that this is a difficult university to get into,” the head coach says. “So we build the program accordingly.”

Under Block’s leadership, the Ice Spiders won the 2017-18 championship in their league, which had rebranded to the East Coast Collegiate Hockey Association. The 2018-19 season culminated in an invitation for the club to move up from American Collegiate Hockey Association Division 3 to Division 2 and join the Atlantic Coast Conference, competing against the likes of Georgetown University, the University of Virginia, and Duke University.

Block noticed the team struggling at first with the division’s faster pace and harder play, but they worked to adapt. Last season, those efforts paid off, and they made it to the ACC Championship playoffs. Despite outshooting and outplaying Georgetown, the Spiders came up against a formidable goalie and lost 4-1.

The team led by Gail, Dorfman, and Santomenna seeks to go all the way this season. “The goal is very clear: It’s a championship year for us,” Santomenna says. “It’s got to happen. We’re due. The depth we have is unbelievable.” On Sept. 13, the Spiders beat the University of Virginia 5-2, the team’s first win on the ice over the Cavaliers since Santomenna arrived at UR.

Reflecting on the team’s trajectory, Bernard recalls a proud moment that happened off the ice: “One of my friends was tour guide, and she said, ‘I always use you as an example. If you want to get a club started, you can.’”