U Tampa Hockey team eying national title

TAMPA, Fla. - Kyle Myer has the best of both worlds as a goalie on the University of Tampa club hockey team. 

"I couldn't ask for a better thing," said Kyle. "All my family gets to watch me play hockey again."

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Born and raised in Tampa, Kyle played the final two years of his high school hockey in Massachusetts before returning home to tend goal with the Spartans. 

Over the years, however, Kyle watched the sport he loved grow in his hometown. 

"It's been awesome. We had some dark times for a long time with the Lightning," Kyle remembers. "But to start winning a lot and have so much success for such a long time, all the younger kids started to come up and play hockey."

As the only member of the team from Tampa, Kyle is hoping to deliver another title to his hometown. 

"We've gone to nationals for a couple of years now - haven't gotten the results we wanted, but with little tweaks and adjustments I think we can get it done," said Myer. 

That march to a championship hasn't been easy, however. First, the Spartans jumped from the division two level of club hockey into the division one level. 

"It was a big jump," said senior center Justin Evans. "Last year we were blowing some teams out. Obviously, some games were really, really good, but now, most of our games are those really high-paced, competitive, hockey games that we came down here for."

While the Spartans accounted for stiffer competition, what they did not account for was a mid-season coaching change. 

After former head coach Lance Tackett accepted a new position, former assistant coach Nick Kuszlyk was left to take the reins of the team. 

"Obviously, there was a lot of pressure, but there was a great group of guys behind me to support me," Kuszlyk said.

Despite the changes in competition and coaches, the status quo remained the same for the Spartans, who find themselves ranked number one in the national polls. 

"There was a lot of adversity," said Myer. "But I think we have an older, more mature group, that had been together for a while, so I think we handled it probably better than we expected to."

That adversity has now prepared the Spartans for a run at another conference championship and potential national championship. 

"We've learned how to deal through that, what it is like to lose and not have that feeling again," said Myer. 

Last season, in fact, the team ran through its season undefeated before suffering a loss in the national semifinal game. 

"It was heartbreaking for all of us, so we really want to earn that spot back,"  said Evans. 

Now, the Spartans are hoping to make their last stand count even more when the postseason begins next week in Nashville.