Florida Atlantic University’s DII hockey team won their first national championship against High Point University with a score of 5-2 on March 23 to finish off their season.

On Feb. 27 the team announced via Instagram that heading into next season, the Owls are moving up to Division I. Last season, FAU lost the national championship in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) tournament to the University of Florida 8-4. 

“It was absolutely fantastic. I could tell you that. Especially with moving up to Division I next year and finally solidifying it in Division II felt really good because last year we went to the national championship, we ended up losing and it really sucked, like really bad. So being able to take care of business this year was just phenomenal,” said Rocco Bruno, a player on the team that won “Goalie of the Year.” 

FAU’s hockey team did not let the loss of the previous championship tear them down and finished this year’s season with a record of 25-5-1.

The team traveled to Jacksonville, FL for the AAU Nationals from March 18 to 23. They won all three games of pool play against Lynn University (11-1), Wake Forest University (5-0) and Farmingdale State College (6-1). 

After winning all the games in pool play, they entered the quarter-finals where they defeated Farmingdale State once again, 5-1, putting FAU in the AAU Nationals. In the semifinals, the Owls played Middle Tennessee State University and beat them 8-2. 

By securing their win against Lightning in the semifinals, the Owls were put up against High Point University for the Championship. The Owls played the Panthers twice during the regular season, beating them in overtime 3-2 on Feb. 7 for their sponsor night. They then lost to High Point the following day, 5-4, on FAU’s Senior Night.

Florida Atlantic maintained a lead through the entirety of the game to secure a 5-2 win over HPU and the title of AAC National Champions.

In preparation for the back-to-back six-day tournament, Bruno said the team took a lot of time to bond with each other on their week off for spring break, to take their minds off the pressures ahead.  

“We just enjoyed the presence of each other because what I believe especially in those sceneries. The largest part of it is keeping your head in it and playing for the guy next to you,” said Bruno.

The time spent together on and off the rink during spring break allowed the team to bring the strong playing chemistry that got them their championship win. 

“I think that we kind of binded that brotherhood together. I think at the start of the year, we weren’t as close…but I think by the end of the year you play six games in six days. It was like that locker room was so tight going into the third period of that championship game,” said forward Justin Harshaw.

The team had a 17-game winning streak in the middle of the season despite multiple setbacks from hurricanes that caused them to miss three games in their regular season and issues with the ice on their home rink for a while.

“There was a lot of ups and downs throughout the season, despite that winning streak, but I think you know towards the end of the season when we actually turned it on…you see how much of a higher level we can take it to when we find that consistency,” said head coach Christian Long.

Bruno believes that the steadiness that took them through this season to winning the championship game, will help them next season when playing in DI for the first time.

“I’m most excited about just the competition to be honest. Obviously, it’s a switch but I mean it’s not that big of one cause we played DI teams this year; we know what we’re getting into,” said Bruno.

The Owls played the University of Tampa’s DI team twice to start off the season this year and went 1-1. This season, they played in the College Hockey South Conference with DII teams and will advance to the AAU College Hockey League in the 2025-2026 season with DI teams.

The Owls will lose four graduating seniors this year, Justin Machovina, David Israel, Ryan Brockett and DJ Randle, but Long said they have a “strong class of incoming players,” who are transferring from DI and CAA schools. 

Winning the championship marked a turning point in the program, which put them on the radar in South Florida. The team is talking on podcasts and having interviews with people from the Bleacher Brothers Show and West Palm Beach TV, as well as social events after their successes. 

“Going into the next year, we have high aspirations. We want to win a championship again…and I think it’s cool to see the support from the community going into next year. We’re just excited to build on that and grow especially when you know we’re kind of being put on the map,” said Long.

Molly O’Flynn is a Staff Writer for the University Press. For more information on this article or others, you can reach Molly at moflynn2024@fau.edu or DM on Instagram @molly_oflynn_.