桃瘾社区

The 桃瘾社区ampa men鈥檚 ice hockey team defeated Farmingdale State College (NY), 5-2, on March 9, to win the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Division I National Championship at Community First Igloo in Jacksonville.

The title was the first in program history.

鈥淕oing into this season, we had high expectations,鈥� said forward Holden Havlovic 鈥�25, an international business and finance major.

In 2023 the Spartans lost in the semifinals, and once again the following season in 2024.

鈥淲e knew we had the team that could get the job done and win a national championship. We just needed to come together as a team, and make all the pieces fit and work we need everyone to buy in,鈥� Havlovic said.

Forward Robbie Seewagen 鈥�26, a film and media arts major, said that the team slowly got better, after facing some adversity early in the season. In the first half of the season, the Spartans got swept one weekend by Georgia. Another time, they lost a game to Tennessee, after they were up by five goals.

鈥淲e had a lot of learning moments, and I think they made us better,鈥� Seewagen said. 鈥淎fter we lost back-to-back games at Georgia, we didn't lose again 鈥� and that was in November. I think what made this year different was those experiences.鈥�

In Jacksonville, the Spartans went 5-0-0 over five days, March 5-9. They defeated teams from Auburn University (AL), Fairfield University (CT), St. Bonaventure University (NY) and the University at Buffalo (NY) before meeting the Rams of Farmingdale State in the Championship Final.

Goalie Kyle Myer 鈥�26, an听allied health听with physical therapy concentration major, was named the tournament MVP after producing a .939 save percentage and a 1.75 goals against average for a 4-0 record. He also turned aside 23 of 25 shots in the final.

Forward Nicholas Fontaine 鈥�27, an international business management major, led the Spartans with three points against the Rams.

Seewagen gave much credit for the team鈥檚 success to Head Coach Nick Kuszlyk 鈥�20 (known to players as 鈥淜usz鈥�).

鈥淚 think he did a really good job being a motivator for us and making sure even the little things like eating right, like getting us food, just staying positive on the bench, giving us energy when we needed it,鈥� Seewagen said, 鈥�(He) was the perfect facilitator for us. I think we needed a change of outlook, and I think Kusz gave us that. And I think that's a big part of why we won.鈥�

Kuszlyk graduated from 桃瘾社区ampa in 2020, where he played four seasons. He was assistant coach for the 2021-2022 season of the Men鈥檚 Division III team before moving to the program鈥檚 top team for the 2022-2023 semifinalists, then being promoted to team鈥檚 head coach for the 2023-2024 season. This is his fourth season coaching for the Spartans.

For Havlovic, the win was 鈥渁 dream come true.鈥�

鈥淲e've made two straight semifinal games before this year and came up short. So just finally getting over that hump and actually winning the big game is a dream come true. It's something you dream about as a little kid, so hoisting that trophy up in the air, it was really special,鈥� he said.

Seewagen, who will return next season, said the Spartans have big expectations for the future.

鈥淚 think we鈥檙e happy, but we鈥檙e not satisfied,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o I think (the expectation) is to go back, go right back and do it again.鈥�

For more information about the team, visit , or follow them on Instagram at .