By Tyler Bourke
Staff Reporter

With the help of Cody Johnson, team president, and head coach Max Graupner, ice hockey has finally made its way to the University of Mississippi as a sanctioned club sport and will begin its official season in Fall 2009 against Middle Tennessee State University at Nashville on October 2.

The IceRebels are in the Western SEC conference of the American Collegiate Hockey Association, a Division III league. Ole Miss will face off against every SEC school (with the exception of Auburn) in the upcoming season, which may consist of up to 20 games continuing into February.

In the ACHA, both the Western and Eastern division finalists go on to face other conference champions throughout the ACHA in the national competition.

The team has high hopes for their first season and expects to go as far as the SEC Championship. However, Johnson sees teams such as No. 4 Tennessee to be a major obstacle in the upcoming season.

“We have really good players, I feel comfortable that we are going to be one of the best in the SEC,” Graupner said. “We want to have a winning season this year and be a competing team in the SEC with a solid fan base.”

“Most of the other programs in our conference have about a fiveyear head start on us,” Johnson said. “It will make our first season as a team a real challenge. But we are a very talented young team and should have no problem holding our own against the older SEC programs.”

With players such as forwards Cody Johnson, prospective junior, prospective sophomores Eddie Grossman and Pat Schnurr and defensemen JJ Palumbo and Wilson Griffing, also prospective sophomores, the team is far from worried.

“We have some great forwards and amazing goaltending,” Palumbo said.

The team’s head coach was carefully handpicked to help ensure the success of the team in the coming season.

Graupner was a professional hockey player in Germany before taking the job at Ole Miss.

The IceRebels’ first home game will be October 23 against rival Mississippi State at the Desoto Civic Center in Southaven.

The IceRebels held tryouts early this semester but also plan to hold an additional open tryout next fall.

Johnson said he encourages any students interested in playing to contact him by e-mail at ccjohns2@olemiss.edu.