We are a collegiate ice hockey club at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California. We play in the ACHA Division II, and have newly joined the West Coast Hockey Conference for the upcoming 2019-20 hockey season! Our off-campus home rink is Iceoplex Simi Valley approximately 10 minutes away from Cal Lutheran's Thousand Oaks campus. At the rink we have our own custom locker room where players keep their gear full time.
The last two years we have been invited to attend the NCHA Nationals Tournament in Newark, Ohio (2015-2016 season) and Buffalo, New York (2016-2017 season).
In the past, we have played the following college teams: Notre Dame, Northern Arizona University, Penn State- Altoona, Santa Clara University, San Jose State, San Francisco State, Stanford University, Saint Vincent College, Santa Rosa Junior College, UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, UC Santa Barbara, Loyola Marymount University, Cal State Northridge, Chapman University, Cal State Fullerton, UC San Diego, University of Buffalo, Western Washington University, Grand Canyon University, and Occidental College.
The original Cal Lutheran Hockey Club began in the mid 1980s under the direction of faculty member Wayne Frye. The team, comprised of several players from Scandinavia and throughout the United States, had great success in the Pacific Collegiate Hockey Association through the early 1990s including multiple PCHA Championships. Following Frye's departure to Canada in the mid 1990's the team ceased operations until 2009, when Spencer Votipka ('12, MBA '17) and a handful of students brought the hockey club back to life. For the next two years it operated as a social club providing students the opportunity to gather as hockey fans, to watch professional, collegiate, and junior hockey games, to teach newcomers the rules of the sport, and to provide a platform for students to learn ice skating and hockey skills. The club grew quickly and in 2011, the club began participating in a local recreational hockey league. In 2012, Votipka graduated and Antonio Foreman ('14) assumed control of the club. Foreman recruited local talent to play for the club and in 2013, Cal Lutheran played its first collegiate hockey game in nearly two decades, an 8-6 victory at Honda Center in Anaheim over now perennial rival Chapman University. As the club continued to grow, Cal Lutheran joined the National Collegiate Hockey Association (California Collegiate Hockey League) and later the American Collegiate Hockey Association. In 2016, CLU rejoined the PCHA, now an eight team conference within ACHA Division II.
This coming season for 19-20 we are proud to be joining the WCHC and are expecting very good local competition. We look forward to the return of our former head coach Zach Margeson as CLU head coach! We are excited to have him bring his knowledge, experience and drive back to CLU. This may be a transition/building year for us, but look for a season filled with that great CLU hockey you are used too! See you at the rink!
