For the third consecutive season, the Georgetown Men’s Club Hockey Team will travel to the National Club Hockey Championships. This weekend, 20 members of the team will be competing against the top 16 college clubs in the country in uskegon, Mich.

The team will be coming off a very successful season going into the championships.

After finishing first in their division in the regular season, they earned a No. 1 ranking in the Atlantic Region.

This success not only earned them a spot in the championships, but a No. 1 seed in their bracket. A panel of coaches and commissioners vote on the top teams, and select four No. 1 seeds. Because of this ranking, the Georgetown squad will be among the favorites for the title. Other contenders include Wagner College and Arizona State.

The team expects leadership from senior captain Tucker Martin and assistant captains senior Brian Hern, junior Chas Dorman and senior Mike Chepucavage to lead them to success. “You don’t go to a national tournament expecting to just have fun,” Dorman said. “You go and want to win.”

The championships will also be highlighted by the play the starting line of junior center Sean Lynch, junior winger George Lividas and sophomore winger Joe Spitz, as well as senior forward artin Walsh and sophomore forward Shep Halsey and, all who have led the team on the ice this season. Junior Casey Yarger and Freshman Mark Valentino will split time in the net, a strength that the team will bank on this weekend.

The Hoyas will open the tournament Thursday afternoon against Robert Morris University (Penn.), last year’s national champions. The team almost got a glimpse of their competition, ranked No. 3 in their region, in a match last Sunday, but the game was cancelled due to the snowfall. The winner of Thursday’s game will face either Calvin College or Wyoming in the second round.

Last year, the tournament was held in Atlanta, Ga., where the Georgetown squad finished seventh after losing to the eventual runners up, University of Wyoming.

“Last season, we were up 2-0 in the third period when the lights went out. After an hour’s delay, we lost a lot of focus and it ended up costing us the game,” sophomore defenseman Kyle Hatton said.

Other challenges during last season’s championships included an incredibly poor schedule. After one game on Friday and no matches on Saturday, the team had to play a double-header on Sunday.

This year’s bracket setup is also different than past seasons. Instead of the traditional round robin style, the tournament will be a single elimination competition. Although the team may rise to rank as high as fifth or sixth, after losing one game, there will be no possibility to win the championship.

Between the respectable yet disappointing finish last year and the successful season the team has had this year, the Hoyas are ready to take on the challenge at this weekend’s nationals. “I think we’re moving up,” junior winger Mike Sussman said.

“We have a very good, experienced team that really has a desire to go far in the tournament,” Walsh added. “This year, unlike past years, it’s going to be a really serious effort . The addition of the few new players plus a general team cohesiveness puts us in a good position for the tile.”

“This is our best chance in the three years we’ve qualified,” Dorman agreed. The team leaves on Wednesday for ichigan.