MIDDLETOWN—Despite the title, the ice hockey program at Mater Dei Prep is heating up. Next season the women’s ice hockey team will enter an elite league, while the school will host the inaugural season of its men’s program. The addition of men’s ice hockey increases the total number of varsity sports at Mater Dei Prep to 22.
The Mater Dei Prep women’s hockey team enters its third season as newly-accepted members of the Women’s Interscholastic Hockey League of the Mid-Atlantic (WIHLMA). Currently, Mater Dei Prep is the only school in the Shore area that offers women the opportunity to compete in the sport of ice hockey. WIHLMA consists of schools from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Maryland.
”WIHLMA is a very competitive league which presents a great opportunity for our players,” said Mater Dei Prep athletic director Dennis Tobin. “Being able to compete in WIHLMA will facilitate many of our players’ achieving their dream of playing women’s ice hockey at the collegiate level.” Current player Samantha Gatti will be continuing her hockey career at Neumann University, while one former Mater Dei Prep player has received a full scholarship to play at the University of Wisconsin.
Coach Oktay Armagan has worked hard on improving his players’ skills while engineering the growth of the program. He said, “Our players appreciate the opportunity to represent their school. I am proud of how far our program has come in just two seasons.”
In addition to the women’s program, beginning in the 2016-17 school year, Mater Dei Prep will offer men’s ice hockey. “This is an exciting time at our school” said Tobin. “It’s great that we have both the resources and interest level from male students to implement men’s ice hockey.”
The team will compete against Shore Conference schools, in addition to other schools in New Jersey. As with the women’s team, the men’s team will practice and play their home games at the Middletown Sports Complex on Harmony Road in Middletown.
