Playing on the Mizzou Club Hockey team means spending a chilling amount of time traveling on U.S. 63. Columbia is an iceless city, so the team commutes to Washington Park Ice Arena in Jefferson City for practice and games multiple days a week.

Club sports at MU are student-led organizations with limited school funding. Student team leaders organize all the details, whether that’s finances and business strategy, competition and practice times or building a fan base. Team captain and senior Nick Spolec, who has been the club president since April, says he has noticed a rise in interest over the past year, including attendance, social media following and conversations with potential players.

The team’s success surely helps. During the 2022-23 season, it won the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Hockey Association Regional Tournament.

But Mizzou Club Hockey is more than just a team. It’s a tight-knit community of passionate individuals who are dedicated to the game despite the hurdles. For example, sophomore Danny Rudman says it can be hard to earn money since hockey takes away time he might spend on a job. Social sacrifices, such as missing out on typical student activities like football games and college parties, are also part of the trade-off. In the end, hockey comes out on top.

“The life skills that we’re learning, the connections that we’re making with the community, with ourselves, the bond that we all grow as a team — I feel like all that kind of pays its own dividend,” Spolec says.