Lehigh men’s hockey team builds culture on and off the ice

Last season Josh Hand became the Lehigh men’s ice hockey head coach with the most wins, surpassing  a 100-win milestone.

He has been coaching at Lehigh for 10 years and spent the decade prior coaching other programs.

With experience within the sport, Hand said this year with the team, is special. 

He said the group is full of talented student athletes, especially exemplified through senior leadership. 

“Our guys really care about each other, care about the school and have pride in our hockey program,” Hand said. “When you put all of those things together, that breeds excellence.” 

Hand said captains seniors Ted Justicz and Nikolas Cadoret, influence the team’s culture.

Justicz said this is his first time as a team captain, but it hasn’t changed his perspective on team roles.

“Everybody contributes to the culture, whether or not they have the title,” he said. “Everybody is trying to pull the boat in the right direction and is doing something that is on the same page with that.”

He said the variety in his teammates – some growing up playing internationally – comes together for a diverse group of players on the ice. 

Cadoret said wearing the captain letter on his chest for the past two years is a privilege and honor.

“I don’t think there’s anything quite like a hockey team,” Cadoret said. “ There’s just some sort of chemistry or something in the cold air that makes groups so tight.” 

Cadoret said as their program has grown, so has the healthy competition. He said there’s been an increase in talent which encourages players to work harder. 

The team recently competed at the Fall Faceoff Invitational hosted by the American Collegiate Hockey Association. The  tournament involved 36 games at Lake Placid’s Olympic Center from Sept. 17 to Sept. 20. Hand said the tournament only selects six of the nation’s 65 Division I teams to compete, and Lehigh was a proud participant. 

Jesse Heinberg, junior forward, said the team was lucky to be a part of the prestigious tournament in a historic place. He said the tournament showed the Mountain Hawks could compete alongside top teams in the country. 

Heinberg said even without claiming wins, the weekend gave the team confidence and a good challenge. 

He said difficult tournaments, like the Fall Faceoff, help the program inch closer to their ultimate season goal: winning the Eastern College Hockey Association  Championship – the team’s version of a Patriot League final.  

Heinberg also said the weekend away added to the team’s culture. He said the group is close-knit, and he enjoyed walking around the town with some of his closest friends.

“It was so much more than just hockey that we appreciated,” Heinberg said.

Heinberg said in addition to chasing competition, the team has been developing in practices, lifts and volunteering efforts off the ice. 

Last season, the team was awarded the American Collegiate Hockey Association Community Service Award. Their work included volunteering  at the Bethlehem Running Festival, the Dewey Fire Company with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms youth hockey teams and community events on campus. They also added an honorary team member, a local athlete with a disability from the Lehigh Valley Polar Bears, a recreational ice hockey program for children and young adults with Autism, Down syndrome and other cognitive challenges. 

Heinberg said teammates motivate one another to be more involved in the community. He said the whole team enjoys doing community service, and it’s a big part of their culture off the ice. He said the team wants to contribute as much as they can to the community because they believe that’s just as important as the results on the rink. 

Hand said with strong leadership contributing to their culture on and off the ice, the Mountain Hawks hope to work together to create concrete results throughout the season.

“I hope that after I am gone, the bar will keep being raised,” Cadoret said.