After two lackluster seasons for the Alabama men’s club hockey team since its move from Division 3 to Division 1 hockey, the transition period finally seems to be coming to an end for the Frozen Tide.

Alabama has a record of 10-11 so far this season following back-to-back wins this past weekend against Pennsylvania University of Indiana. The Frozen Tide is currently ranked 22nd in the American Collegiate Hockey Association’s D1 rankings, and is poised to make a run for the playoffs in the second half of this season.

In order for Alabama to make it to the ACHA national tournament in Dallas on Mar. 21, however, it must be ranked in the top 17 of the D1 rankings.

“We’re in a decent spot,” head coach Kyle Richards said. “We’re pretty excited about the second half and looking to make some noise and get into the national tournament.

“It’s been up and down, but we’re looking for way more ups in the second semester.”

Since the move in 2015, Alabama has faced much tougher opponents, which has made it difficult for the program to gain traction. While the strength of schedule caused the Frozen Tide to undergo some growing pains, the team seems to finally be at home in the new division.

“From my freshman year five years ago, being a D3 team, the competition was just night and day from now,” fifth-year senior left winger Jack Rooney said. “It’s a whole different league going up to D1.”

While Alabama might have been overwhelmed the past couple of seasons, the program is starting to reap the benefits of the transition, especially in the recruitment category.

“The amount of good players we’ve brought in because of that move to D1, we’ve got guys coming in from all over the country, and even international,” Rooney said. “The program has developed immensely.

“This is easily the best team that Alabama hockey has seen.”

While three seasons might seem like a long time for fans, such a dramatic growth in a program in such a short span of time is not typical of a small club program like Alabama’s, where football and basketball dominate the local headlines during the winter months.

“The program’s grown in a short amount of time,” senior forward Thomas Godfrey said. “The way we see it, it’s going to keep growing and keep getting better, both on and off the ice.

“It’s exciting to be a part of.”

With all of the solid recruiting and performance on the ice last semester, Alabama is in position to make its first D1 playoff run in school history, provided it maintains consistency and moves up those last few coveted spots in the rankings.

“We’re very prepared to make it to Dallas,” Rooney said. “This team is something special, and I’m excited to see this run we have this second semester.”

The Alabama Frozen Tide returns to action this Friday when it travels to Fayetteville to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks in a doubleheader. Arkansas is the only other school in the SEC to have a club hockey program at the D1 level in the ACHA.

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