After having a Division II hockey team for 22 years, Florida Atlantic University is introducing a Division III hockey team for the upcoming season. Both teams are members of AAU College Hockey and the College Hockey South Conference (CHS). 

Head coach Andrew Yagoda, director of the Florida Panthers Scholastic Hockey League, wrote in an email that he will lead the team with Kevin Hoy, head coach for the Florida Junior Panthers, as co-head coaches in the upcoming season. 

Yagoda has previous coaching experience for the New Jersey Devils Youth Program. Since moving to Florida, he has been involved as head coach and director of the Miami-Dade Scholastic Hockey Alliance. Just last year he also became the director of the Florida Panthers Scholastic Hockey League. 

Hoy previously helped develop and coach the Miami Toros Hockey program. Now, he is the Coordinator of Operations and Programming for Total Package Hockey and a head coach for the Florida Junior Panthers.

Here is the 2024-2025 regular season schedule for the Division III Owls Hockey team: 

Games 1 and 2 – at University of South Florida – Sept. 20 and 21, times to be determined

The season opens with the Owls playing two games against the University of South Florida at AdventHealth Center Ice. USF’s Division III hockey team has been run by head coach Joe Rhoads since 2019. 

Last season USF placed 10th out of 13 teams in the College Hockey South – Division III with  a record of 5-10-0. They scored 70 goals and were scored on 122 times, equalling to a -52 goal differential.  This ended up being the second-worst goal differential in the division last season.

Game 3 and 4 – at University of Miami – Sept. 27, time to be determined and 28 at 7:30 p.m.

The Owls travel to the University of Miami to play the Hurricanes at Kendall Ice Den. Then on the next day, they play their first home game of the season against UM at Boca Ice. UM’s Division III hockey team’s head coach is Tom Immello. UM had a dominant season last year, placing first in the division and a record of 19-4-0 They had the highest-scoring power play offense, scoring 41 power play goals and only giving up 23. 

Miami also had a dominant postseason run, beating the Florida Southern College Mocs in the Division III College Hockey South Tournament 4-0. They also defeated the Mocs in the AAU College Hockey Championships, beating them 10-0. 

Game 5 and 6 – at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University – Oct. 11, times to be determined and 12 at 7:30 p.m.

Eric Perrin leads Embry Riddle’s Division III hockey team as head coach. ERAU placed ninth out of 13 teams in the College Hockey South – Division III last season. They had a record of 5-17-0. The team had the second least amount of “goals for” last season with only 56 the entire season. 

ERAU went on to compete in the 2024 AAU College Hockey Nationals in the postseason and lost to the Florida Atlantic Owls Division II team 1-2. 

Game 7 and 8 – at University of Tampa – Oct. 18 and 19, times to be determined

Jack Walsh runs the University of Tampa’s Division II hockey team. The Spartans had the most penalty minutes last season with 519 minutes in the box and ended up tied with Middle Tennessee State University in shorthanded goals with seven last season. They ended the season with a record of 16-10-2.

In the postseason, the Spartans played in the College Hockey South tournament. They beat the University of Central Florida in a shootout after UCF had tied the game 2-2. They went on to the next round of the playoffs and lost against the University of Tennessee with a score of 6-1.

Game 9 and 10 – vs. North Florida – Nov. 8 at 7:30 p.m. and 9 at 5:45 p.m.

The University of North Florida Division III hockey team, led by head coach Mike Marcinkiewicz, ended their 2023-24 season 4-9-0. UNF had a very underperforming offense last season with the second-worst goal differential in the division. The team scored just 50 goals throughout the season, making them statistically the lowest-scoring offense, while simultaneously giving up 107 goals to their opponents. 

Game 11 and 12 – vs. Florida Tech – Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m. and 16 times to be determined 

Led by head coach Rob McIntosh, Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech)’s Division III hockey team finished their season 8-12-0. Last season the team was one of the stronger teams in the division offensively, generating 92 goals. The catch was that they were weaker on the defensive side,  giving up 10 more goals than they were able to generate, leaving them outscored by 102 goals. 

Game 13 and 14 – vs. Florida State University – Jan. 10 at 7:30 p.m. and 11 at 5:45 p.m.

Florida State University’s Division III hockey team’s head coach is Ryan Smith. FSU ended last season with a 8-10-0 record and had the second least amount of penalty minutes. They ended the season with 14 power play goals, with 15 power play goals against them. The team went on to play in the College Hockey South – Division III tournament and beat the University of Florida 6-4 and secured themselves seventh place. 

Game 15 and 16 – vs. Lynn University – Jan. 17 at 7:30 p.m. and 18 at 9:00 p.m.

Lynn University’s Division II hockey team is coached by Dave Moree. Last season, the team lost 16 out of 22 games, which was the second most of all teams. They tied with Georgia Tech’s Division II team for the least amount of goals in the season with only 64 goals. Lynn ultimately placed 13th out of 14 teams in the division with their record of 6-16-0.

Game 17 and 18 – at University of Miami – Jan. 24, time to be determined and 25 at 7:00 p.m.

The Owls will match up again with UM. Their game on Jan. 25 is set to be played at Baptist Health Iceplex in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, which is considered a home game for FAU, according to the team’s schedule.  

Game 19 and 20 – vs. University of Florida – Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 1 at 5:45 p.m.

University of Florida’s Division III hockey team’s head coach is Jake Atkinson. Last season the team placed eighth out of 13 teams in the division. UF finished with a record of 8-14-4. They ended the season with 92 goals and with a goal differential of 28. 

In the postseason UF participated in the College Hockey South – Division III tournament and lost in their first game against the tournament-winning University of Miami. The final score of the game was 13-2. 

After the regular season, the Owls will be aiming to compete in the College Hockey South Tournament and the AAU National Championship. The CHS Tournament will be held Feb. 21 – 23, 2025 at the Panthers Ice Den, Coral Springs, FL. The AAU National Championship will be held March 18 – 23, 2025 in Jacksonville, Florida. Times are to be determined for both tournaments.

Rayne Welser is a contributing writer for the University Press. For more information regarding this or other stories, email her at rwelser2024@fau.edu or DM her on Instagram @_morgan.ray.