The Oklahoma Sooners Ice Hockey Club is getting forced out of the Blazers Ice Centre, the rink they’ve called home since the club’s inception in 2003.
The team taking their place is the Wichita Falls Warriors, soon to be known as the Oklahoma Warriors. They play in the North American Hockey League, a tier-2 Junior hockey league. Add them to the pre-existing youth hockey that also calls the BIC home, and the Sooners were the odd man out.
The Warriors reportedly want the ice every Friday and Saturday night, which is typically when OU plays their home games.
OU Hockey will be losing their practice time, dressing room, and weight room. The loss of ice in Norman means the hockey team will be forced to play their games at Arctic Edge Ice Arena, another rink located in Edmond, Oklahoma. It is about 50 minutes away from campus on a good day.
Arctic Edge houses the University of Central Oklahoma’s hockey team as well. The OU-UCO rivalry is well documented. The two teams don’t like each other. At all.
There are rumblings the move may lead the transfer of several OU hockey players. This was bound to happen when the team has no choice but to operate nearly an hour away from Norman, where the players live.
These players chose to come to OU to play hockey. However, they didn’t sign up for this. The near-hour commute for ice time is dangerous for the long-term health of the program. The club funded a good percentage of their program in ticket and merchandise sales. There isn’t going to be much of a fan presence when their games are in Edmond.
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