Roster

When asked what the best part about being on the College of Charleston hockey team is, Coach Steve Barton stated, “The players!”  It’s one of those quick answers you’d expect from most coaches, but Barton’s response was different.  “Everyone is on the team because they want to be there, not because they need to be.  The passion that everyone has for the game is something that you don’t see in a lot of teams.”

Steve Barton has resided in Charleston for ten years and he has dedicated the past three years to coaching the CofC team.  His hockey career started 24 years ago when a family friend suggested he learn how to play hockey after he and his family moved from Atlanta to the greater Boston area.  Since then, Barton has relished time on the ice as well as rooting for his favorite Boston Bruins team.  

After playing hockey at The Governor’s Academy, a prep school in Byfield, Massachusetts, Barton then played four seasons as a record-breaking center at The Citadel, where “[I] led the team in scoring my junior year, holding team records for points in a game until my senior year when Citadel played College of Charleston.  In that game I only had eight points versus CofC.”

Despite that fact, Barton still holds team records for the most assists at Citadel with 83 in his four seasons at The Military College of South Carolina.  Upon graduation, Steve started his coaching career as the assistant coach at the Citadel prior to moving a few blocks south within Charleston.  “I wanted to break out from where I had played in college,” Barton said about his move three years ago to coach Citadel’s cross-town rival, The College of Charleston.  

During the 2016-17 season, Barton was promoted from assistant coach to head coach.  He led the team to an incredible record of 9-4-2, with wins against hockey teams from North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.  This success paved the way for The College’s eligibility to rejoin The Blue Ridge Hockey League under the ACHL for the 2017-2018 season.