The NKU Ice Hockey Club team held tryouts this week for their upcoming season. The tryouts started on August 30 and will run through September 1. The tryouts will be held at the Northern Kentucky Ice Center in Crescent Springs. The club will start their first season on September 30th against Wright State University at the Ice Center. The team held several exhibition games back in the winter. Some of the opponents they played were Eastern Kentucky University, Youngstown State University, and Ohio Wesleyan University. They played 4 games and went 2-2. They beat Eastern Kentucky University and Ohio Wesleyan University but were defeated twice by Youngstown State. “We really overachieved last year in the exhibition games and because of this we were able to become familiar with everyone on the team,” said NKU Ice Hockey Club President Scott Hicks. “We hope to build and become successful in the first part of this season and improve throughout the year,” Hicks added. This past summer, the team was busy securing sponsors, purchasing uniforms, and buying merchandise to sell at their home games. NKU also helped the hockey team by assisting them in getting everything set up for their upcoming season. Steve Tribble, Jeremy Chipman, and Jill Kleiser from Campus Recreation helped the team, also. “We want to have a winning season, and finish above 500 for our first season,” Hicks said. “We also want to increase interest around the school and let the students know we are around.” Some of the key games that highlight the hockey club’s first season is against nationally ranked Wright State to begin the season and against the University of Cincinnati on November 17 and 18. “The game against Wright State is going to test us right out of the gate,” Hicks said. Anyone interested in trying out or practicing with the ice hockey club team can e-mail the team at nkuhockey@yahoo.com or visit the team’s Web site at www.nkuhockey.com.