In an alternate reality, one in which life as we know didn’t change in a matter of weeks, 24-year-old Manny Rowe would have recently returned from the American Collegiate Hockey Association National Championship Tournament.
Rowe, a senior defenseman with the University of Arizona’s club hockey team, was slated to make his second consecutive appearance at nationals March 19-24, after the Wildcats were crowned conference champions for the second year in a row.
Instead, Rowe is finishing up his environmental studies degree online and hoping to still be able to trade in his ice skates for swim fins in his summer job as a camp counselor on an island off the coast of Southern California.
The Wildcats wrapped up the season ranked eighth in the country. They beat rival Arizona State in back-to-back games in February, securing their third straight Cactus Cup championship.
While this isn’t the ending that anyone wanted, especially for seniors like Rowe, he’s quick to describe his time with the team — both on and off the ice — as awesome.
“A lot of us started as freshmen and walked on. We fought to get playing time and we weren’t the best, but we fought every game,” Rowe said. “We grew every year and got stronger. We got guys that came onto the team and helped build the puzzle, and my senior year, things just clicked for everyone.”
Rowe said several recently departed players also helped to set the wheels in motion, along with fans and family members who showed up to cheer them on at games.
Rowe said that his fondest memories of the season came in a pair of wins over ASU on Feb. 28 and 29.
“Having a ‘three-peat’ for the Cactus Cup really means a lot,” Rowe said, adding that games against the Sun Devils always draw the largest crowds. “With the rivalry between us and ASU ... even if you’re not a fan and you don’t know what the (Western Collegiate Hockey League) is, you’re always happy to beat ASU.”
The day after the ACHA canceled the tournament, the WCHL announced its end-of-season awards. Several Wildcats received honors: Goalie Anthony Ciurro was named most valuable player, and Chad Berman was named coach of the year. Three other players were named to the WCHL all-conference first team, one to the all-conference second team and another was named rookie of the year.
Coach Chad Berman of the No. 8 Arizona Wildcats was named Western Collegiate Hockey League coach of the year.
Berman said he got emotional when he had to break the news to the team about the tournament’s cancellation, calling the news devastating.
“You feel for your seniors first and foremost. The work they did building this program to get to this point to have a shot at the national championship,” Berman said. “I kept telling the senior class if they did the right things they’d be in a position to do so. And they did.”
For Berman, the “what if” is the saddest part — but he said he and the team understood the cancellation was necessary.
“The more the dominos fell, the more we were prepared for it,” Berman said. “It’s hard to feel like you’re a victim in this when it affects everybody.”
Berman said that when he took the coaching job six years ago, people laughed at him when he talked about wanting to win back-to-back conference championship titles.
“To win one title, you’ve got a good team. To win back to back, you’ve got a good program,” Berman said. “I wanted them to know — especially the seniors — that what they did for the team will affect the underclassmen that stayed. When we do win this national championship, they’re going to be a part of this whether they’re on the ice or not. They made it happen.”
Junior forward and team captain Anthony Cusanelli echoed Berman’s sentiments, saying he felt especially bad for the seniors on the team who had been working for four years to play in a national championship game.
“Last year, we had a special group. We were a bit younger, but we only lost one senior (coming into this season) so we knew we were coming back solid,” Cusanelli, 23, said.
“To have this be the ending is tough. Being one week away from the national championships. Our opponent was set, the bus trip was set.”
Cusanelli, who last year became the first Wildcat to play for Team USA at the World University Games in Russia, said he’s trying to put everything in perspective.
“It’s not the ending we wanted, but there’s a lot to be proud of,” Cusanelli said, adding that he plans to start running in a few weeks to get started on his training for next season. “I’ve got one more crack at this thing.”
Arizona celebrated back-to-back WCHL championships Feb. 28, 2020, the day before completing a two-game sweep over Arizona State to secure a third straight Cactus Cup championship.
The Wildcats finished 25-4-3 and won accolades for their off-the-ice performance. The team was awarded a fourth consecutive ACHA Community Service Award after raising tens of thousands of dollars for local charities.
“I want them to understand although they didn’t get to finish (the season), that what they did matters and what they did had an impact on and off the ice,” Berman said. “They raised a lot of money, they were in a lot of classrooms and hospitals, and that stuff matters.”
Rowe called the classroom and hospital visits some of the best parts of his time with the team.
“I’m always really excited to go out to the hospitals and even the schools,” Rowe said, adding that although the trips aren’t required for seniors, he was still always one of the first players to sign up. “The kids get really excited. Even if they don’t know who you are, they know you play for the university.”
Rowe has his sights set on his future, including his career aspirations to work in renewable energy. Rowe said that while he has one interview scheduled, there have been a lot of postponements by companies that were hiring pre-coronavirus pandemic.
For now, Rowe is just hoping that his summer plans still stand: He is planning to return to the Catalina Island Summer Camp for the third (and final) year.
For Rowe, in the midst of this vast uncertainty, repainting the musty white cabins and airing out the familiar blue wetsuits is sounding pretty darn good.
