Editor's note: This is the first piece in a monthly series that will follow the Marquette club hockey team throughout its inaugural season in the gold division of the Mid-America Collegiate Hockey Association.

Hockey, more than any other sport, is a true enigma. On one hand, players must be graceful enough to skate at blazing speeds while handling a small rubber disk as if it were a Faberge Egg. On the other hand, these same players skate with a "loose cannon" mentality. They itch for the thrill of a check into the boards or a fight at center ice.

Last season, as a probationary team in the Mid-American Collegiate Hockey Association, Marquette's club hockey team was able to combine the grace and ferocity needed for success. They were taken off probationary status and put into MACHA's Gold Division for the 2005-'06 season. This is the story of that season and the players, coaches and fans that will make it happen.

The team went through a lot of change during the off season. It lost its top goal scorer, Adam Hackman, among other seniors. In July, the team announced the hiring of Tom Robertson as its new head coach.

Robertson is a native of Toronto, Ontario. He coached in the Tier 1 Junior Leagues and at the collegiate level. He will need all of that experience to keep the team going this season.

The squad has 12 underclassmen on its roster. That's a young team by any standards, and young teams are prone to mistakes. Look no further than its sluggish start out of the gates this year.

The hockey team is currently 0-3-1 and plays Southern Illinois this weekend, the team that won its division championship last year. But records can be misleading.

The Golden Eagles faced Illinois on their opening weekend and played a physical brand of hockey that should have gotten them a win. Last weekend they made a long road trip to Springfield, Ill., to play Robert Morris, the gold division's runner up to SIU. But after this weekend the schedule eases up, and that's when the team hopes to make some real noise.

Chris Flom, a sophomore center, is the first to admit there have been some careless mistakes on the ice. But he is also quick to remind people that it is a long season and the team will improve.

"We just need to eliminate sloppy play," Flom said. "We need to tighten it up a little bit, and we'll be fine."

Tom Ryan, a freshman defenseman, nods along while Flom talks. He shares the same sentiments and the same confidence that things will get better fairly soon.

Ryan Denton is a junior and a veteran on the young team. In his mind there is only one goal for this year.

"We want to make the post season," Denton says. "That would make it a good year for us."

This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on October 13, 2005.