Kennesaw State University has been known to collect National Championship trophies in the traditional “southern” sports such as basketball and baseball. However, if you asked a student five years ago whether they knew KSU would be contenders in hockey or even if they knew what hockey was, they would stare at you not even knowing what you were talking about. Now, the university has one more trophy, a hard-earned one that would be the first ever taken by a team in the south.

The ACHA Division 3 National Championships has been dominated by Northern and Atlantic teams for years. The University of Georgia and Georgia Tech have made some impressions in the past decade making it to the finals and semi-finals but were never able to secure the title. However, the South did rise to the occasion and the Kennesaw State Owls proved with fast skating, hard hitting and pure determination that a southern team could defeat the best of 16 teams (the top four in each division) representing over 120 universities at the ACHA D3 National Tournament in Fort Wayne, IN, Feb. 28-Mar. 3.

The Owls played their game like they did all season long: dump-and-chase strategy, hard-hitting and fast-paced puck movement. They would keep their focus for four days straight, showing amazing discipline on and off the ice. In the first round, they played College of Canyons and easily won 12-3 as expected.

Rookie forward Dylan Morrison would be the first player to score in a National Tournament for Kennesaw, setting the stage for a dominating performance by the Owls. The other three South Division teams did not fare as well in the first round.

The No. 1-ranked Tennessee Volunteers lost to the No 4-ranked Northern Arizona Lumberjacks 9-5, No. 3 Central Florida fell to the No. 1-ranked team out of the North Region, Hope College 7-2 and No. 4 Georgia Tech was easily dispatched by the No. 2-ranked team out of the North region, Northwood College, 8-4.

The losers would move to the consolation bracket thus eliminating them from any further chance to compete for the national title.

However, Kennesaw would push through, and the competition would only get tougher as they would meet two more teams from the North Region and one from the Atlantic Region in their quest to become the first southern team to win an ACHA National Championship.

Kennesaw played a big game against No. 4-ranked Calvin College out of the North Region. At this point, everyone but the KSU fans believed that this was the end of the line for the lone remaining team out of the south. In spite of this, the Owls stuck to their game plan defeating Calvin 5-2.  Senior forward Tony Lopez was the first to score followed by goals from   forward Jerry Holden, senior defenseman Curtis Morrison, and forwards Ricky Lirette and Rod Johnson.

Bandwagon Jumpers

As Kennesaw State moved to the semi-finals, they began to build much needed fan support from the other southern teams as they banded together in hopes to gain national glory and further recognition for southern hockey.

Fans from Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Central Florida and even some Pacific teams such as College of Canyons and Northern Arizona chanted for the Owls against the heavily favored No. 1 team out of the North, Hope College from Holland, MI. The Owls played their best game with great discipline and intensity to shut out the Flying Dutchmen 5-0.

Owls’ goalie Steve Hartley was a brick wall securing the shutout and assisting on a short handed goal to Jerry Holden, launching a perfect 90-foot saucer pass setting up a breakaway goal. They sealed the victory by shutting down 12 Hope power play opportunities and scoring on 4 of 5 of their own.

The Owls had a promising advantage over No. 2-ranked Albany State  from the Atlantic Region, who won the night before with a shorthanded goal against Northwood in the final minute of the first overtime period. Despite not being the crowd favorite, Kennesaw remained focused and determined to execute their plan all the way to the end.

KSU’s new bandwagon fans from Tennessee, Central Florida and Georgia Tech embraced the KSU players, families and friends supporting the team at every possible opportunity. Led by “Superfan”, known for his boisterous cheering and a big yellow drum, they chanted and encouraged the Owls from start to finish.

The Championship game started slow as the two teams were very cautious and looking to take advantage of any mistake. As the first period progressed Kennesaw’s dump-and-chase game started paying off and Atlanta native Lirette would net the first of his three goals.

KSU continued to pressure Albany and capitalized on power play opportunities backed by the solid goaltending of  Hartley. Hartley picked up where he had left off the night before and shut the Albany team down on every shot. Goals from Morrison and Holden closed the door on a great team effort and the right to be crowned ACHA D3 National Champions with a solid 5-1 victory.

Southern Respect
A National Championship win was not only big for the university because it put them on the map for hockey; it was big for the South Region. They showed that with skill and dedication a southern team could be the best in the ACHA. Jerry Holden and Curtis Morrison were awarded positions on the ACHA National Tournament First Team.

Steven Hartley, who had a shutout, an assist and only gave up three goals the entire tournament, was named the 2007 National Championship Most Valuable Player.