Women's hockey teams to compete on outdoor rink
The only two NCAA hockey teams in Illinois - Lake Forest College and Aurora University - will face off outdoors at The Winter Club at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 5.
Although this is the first outdoor game in the women's team history, the game brings back what was once the norm for Forester hockey, particularly for men's hockey.
The men's team home games during its first four years as a varsity sport were played outdoors at The Winter Club, and the "Loons" (a nickname the team took on during that time) were 23-4-0 at home in those four seasons.
Lake Forest now calls Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse, an on-campus rink, home and has since the building's transition to a hockey facility prior to the 1969-70 season.
The Winter Club is at 956 Sheridan Road, Lake Forest, less than a mile north of Lake Forest College. Outdoor hockey has been played there for more than a century and it is currently the home of boys and girls youth teams playing at several different levels.
Admission to the game is free, and since there is no public parking available at the facility, a shuttle will run from the Lake Forest College Sports and Recreation Center to The Winter Club every 15 minutes throughout the evening, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Members of the Forester Athletic Network - the F.A.N. Club - are encouraged to attend as the athletic department will host a special "Members Only" social event at the Winter Club. Appetizers, plenty of Forester cheer, and spirited giveaways will be available for the department's most loyal fans.
The Foresters are currently 5-3-0 overall and sit atop the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association standings with a 5-1-0 mark in NCHA play. In just its first year as a varsity program, Aurora University is 1-7-0 overall and 1-5-0 in NCHA play.
The Foresters have already played Aurora twice this season, defeating the Spartans 13-2 in the first game and 10-0 in the second game.
The Dec. 5 game will be the final contest of the fall semester for Lake Forest. The Foresters will begin 2018 at home against Saint Mary's in Minnesota on Saturday, Jan. 6.