(Submitted by Alex Hoegler, BCHL communications)
The NCAA Div. III Frozen Four takes place this week and will feature a number of BCHL alums.
Former Surrey Eagles and Trail Smoke Eaters star Erik Cooper will try to lead the St. Norbert Green Knights to the finals when they face off against the UMass Boston Beacons in the semis. Cooper played 73 games with Surrey and 99 games with Trail, graduating in 2012. He registered 35 goals and 89 points in 172 BCHL games.
St. Norbert is led by head coach Tim Coghlin, who played in the BCHL for the Salmon Arm Shuswap Totems in 1982-83 and 1983-84. He’s been at the helm of St. Norbert for 20 seasons.
The other semifinal will feature the SUNY Geneseo Knights and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP) Pointers.
The Knights feature former Chilliwack Chiefs forward Trevor Hills, who played with the team in 2011-12 and 2012-13. He scored 27 goals and 67 points in 101 BCHL games.
For the SUNY Geneseo program, reaching the national semifinals carries extra significance as they’ve grappled with a team tragedy to make it to this stage. One of the team’s defenceman, former BCHLer Matthew Hutchinson, was killed in January in an incident that shook the hockey community.
SUNY Geneseo takes on UWSP on Saturday at 4 p.m. PDT, while St. Norbert faces UMass Boston Friday at 4:30 p.m. PDT.
