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The Cavaliers were traveling by bus that night – a rarity, Wiggins said, and a contrast from their typical, cost-saving carpools – when the large vehicle was involved in an accident. All parties were fine, but the bus needed repair.

For a while, the team was stranded. Game time was nearing. 

“There was a mountain nearby and a couple of guys climbed it to look around (for help),” Wiggins said. “Other guys got out a soccer ball and started to do some of our warm-up (exercises). Then guys started bringing their sticks and pucks out. We’re all out there passing it around on the side of the highway.

Sarah Ettinger, a fourth-year student and president of the women’s club hockey team at UVA, is proud of how the program has grown since she’s been on Grounds. “The skill level has increased significantly,” she said. (Photo by Matt Riley, University Communications)

“We did that for an hour until a school bus arrived and drove us to the rink. By the time we got there, the other team was actively warming up on the ice, and we think we’re going to get destroyed.”

The Cavaliers won, 5-4, in a shootout.

“It was the best thing ever,” Wiggins said. “It was awesome.”

These are the moments that make the grind worth it for �鶹�ƽ�� club hockey players.

Not long ago, both squads had only a short commute to the Charlottesville Downtown Mall for practices and home games. But since the , the hockey Hoos have been strictly on the road.

The LaHaye Ice Center in Lynchburg is where the women’s team practices and plays its “home” games this season. For the men, it’s the SkateNation Plus facility outside Richmond. Both require drives of at least an hour from Grounds, while true road games can require trips as far as North Carolina.

The teams persevere, nonetheless. The women, coached by Joe Morrill, earned the No. 2 seed for this weekend’s playoffs. The men, coached by Kyle Sennott, are days removed from a run to the . 

“We have a great team culture, and everyone really loves hockey,” said Sofia Todaro, a forward and fourth-year student. “We’re all best friends. I’d say that contributes to us wanting to play anywhere at any time.”

�鶹�ƽ�� Suzahn Vollstad shoots the puck during the Cavaliers’ game against West Chester University earlier this season at the LaHaye Ice Center in Lynchburg. (Photo by Ava Betzner)

Both teams have rosters mostly filled with players who had hockey experience prior to coming to UVA. The men’s side, with 35 players, features Zave Greene, a third-year student who transferred to the University after playing varsity hockey at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, which competes at the NCAA Division III level.

Wiggins, the son of a college hockey player, has been consumed by the sport since childhood. He played through high school and interned last summer with the Washington Capitals. 

“The advantage here is you get guys from so many different backgrounds,” Greene said. “You get to see people from all the different schools, guys from all over the country.

“The only con is you don’t have your own rink. But it's pretty cool being able to put on the Virginia logo. It’s a cool feeling.”

The women’s team has grown from eight to 16 players over the last four years. 

Graham Haberl looks to pass the puck as Graham Wiggins approaches during a recent UVA club hockey practice. Wiggins, a third-year student, is the team’s president. (Photo by Matt Riley, University Communications)

Ettinger, a Falls Church native, played on a boys’ varsity team in high school. Suzahn Vollstad, a first-year forward, played semi-professionally in Norway last year. Avery Buchanan, Ettinger’s vice president, grew up in Maine, where she took advantage of two rinks within 25 minutes of her home.

“It’s definitely a little bit of a change of pace (at UVA), but I love it,” Buchanan said. “We really get to know each other and the team through our carpools and these long drives. 

“I wouldn’t trade it for anything. This team works overtime to get just the bare minimum, and we’re excited to see where we can go.”

The women’s club team, which recently played the University of Maryland in front of a large crowd at Capital One Arena in Washington, is . For the men’s club, it’s a tradition of .

The hockey Hoos may soon have a local home again, . Until then, they’ll continue chasing their sport by car, van or school bus.

“Anytime, anywhere,” Wiggins said.