MSOE excels on and off ice

by Nate Woelfel

The Milwaukee School of Engineering’s push toward the top of the Midwestern Collegiate Hockey Association has been well documented.

The Raiders currently hold a 9-3 overall record and their 7-1 league mark has them in a first place tie with Adrian.

The success can partially be attributed to a squad that is well aware of its coach’s expectations.

Freshman Cole Gibson's eight goals and eight assists have him leading the Raiders in scoring.

“We are very goal oriented as far as focus,” said head coach Mark Ostapina.  “One shift, one period, one game at a time. It’s very simple: play smart, play hard, play intense.”

That mindset helped the Raiders defeat Adrian in the first game of a two game set earlier this season. The win was MOSE’s first against the Bulldogs in the history of the program. Even in the aftermath of a historic victory, Ostapina wants to be sure that his team’s focus does not waiver.

“Obviously it was a good win.  It’s a league win, but it’s just another game,” Ostapina said.

What makes MSOE’s story all the more impressive is the level of excellence their student athletes maintain off the ice.

While all Division III athletes must maintain certain academic standards, a unique scheduling twist helps the Raiders personify the role of a true student athlete more so than those at other institutions.

“We have something that’s unique to any team…that’s our place on our student athletes,” said Ostapina. “We’re on a quarter system. We’re one of the rare teams in hockey that have final exams twice during a season.”

Many players typically take their final exams when very few games are scheduled. The extra set of finals means that Ostapina’s athletes are taking exams once in the middle November and then yet again in late February.

In addition to added tests, the scheduling system means more credits than the average athlete may encounter in a semester.

“Our course load is greater than anyone else,” said Ostapina.  The NCAA wants 12 semester hours per semester and my guys average between 15 and 21 per quarter.  We have juniors going into their senior years with a 165-180 credit hours and they are on track. At most institutions you’d be graduated with 130.”

While Ostapina tries to keep the lessons he teaches on the ice relevant to what his players will need in the classroom, hockey is used as an escape from schoolwork.

“When we come to the Kern Center, we have a saying: you leave your books and your problems at the door,” Ostapina said. “It’s an opportunity where they guys get to have some fun, to work off some of the stress of the everyday rigors of the classroom.”

The players are well aware of the importance of being well rounded. Their results in the job market have proven it.

“They all understand that you reap what you sow.  We’re still at 95 percent placement in recessionary times.  My first seven years, it was 99 percent placement,” Ostapina said. “All my guys that graduated last year all got jobs. They are all making a boat load of money and that’s the big picture. The guys see that. They see where being prepared, hard work, sacrifice, basically is going to be long term.”

Ostapina knows that he has put together a relatively rare combination in Milwaukee.

“To be able to basically meet the standard that I said we would meet… is very rewarding.  The program is all about the players. It’s not about me, it’s not about the building we have -- it’s about the players. The program is the players.  I am humbled by the commitment to the classroom, to the ice and to being good individuals.”

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