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Hockey club breaks into top 10 nationally

The Sun Devil Hockey Club has a lot going for it right now — a beautiful new arena in which to practice and play, a top 10 national ranking, and a freshman goalie, Kyle Bronsteen, who may propel the club to a league championship.

"We’re on the brink of being a great team,” said Bronsteen.

At 5’ 10” and 165 pounds, the diminutive Bronsteen seems an unlikely candidate for the team’s best player.

But coach Mike De Angelis says that size isn’t as much a factor as talent.

"Usually the best athlete on your team is the goal tender,” said De Angelis. “We carry three goalies but [Bronsteen] has stepped up in the last month or so. He’s done an excellent job.”

The club started slowly, losing five in a row early in the season, but with Bronsteen starting regularly the team managed to finish the season with a winning 17-14 record. The club went to the national tournament in Westchester, Penn., in early March, and lost a 4-3 heartbreaker to the University of Michigan, Dearborn.

"We’re one of the more feared teams in the country,” De Angelis said. We’re on the cusp of breaking through into the top five.”

The only thing that the club seems to lack is awareness within the ASU student body that it even exists. Part of the reason for this is that the Sun Devils are not an NCAA hockey team and therefore not promoted or funded by the university. Still, men’s hockey is the biggest club sport on campus, at least in terms of its $200,000-a-year budget.

The play of Bronsteen and his peers may drum up more interest, especially if they continue to perform well next season.

-- Michael Green

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Photo: D.J. Lein/DJLEIN.com

Freshman goalie Kyle Bronsteen.