JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Jacksonville isn\u2019t exactly the first place you think of when you hear \u201chockey.\u201d But a group of Jacksonville University students is changing that \u2014 building a team, a community, and a legacy on ice.<\/p>\n
The JU hockey program didn\u2019t exist a year ago. Now, the Dolphins are 4-4-1 and competing in the ACHA\u2019s ACDC division \u2014 a league for developing programs across the South. They compete against UNF, UF, and FSU among other Florida universities.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got the idea,\u201d JU hockey team founder Michael Gugliotta said. \u201cI was like, you know what, why not try to apply to JU and start up a hockey team?\u201d<\/p>\n
That idea turned into something much bigger. Gugliotta wanted to create something that would last long after he graduates.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore so to create something bigger than myself,\u201d he said. \u201cI wanted to make sure that I made a lasting legacy at JU \u2014 not only give that opportunity to myself to play college hockey, but to also give that opportunity to my fellow student-athletes as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gugliotta handles everything \u2014 from scheduling games to budgeting to recruiting players. Those players have come from all over \u2014 New England, the Midwest, Alaska \u2014 places where hockey isn\u2019t just a game, it\u2019s a way of life.<\/p>\n
The Dolphins\u2019 first-ever game was a 10-1 win over St. Leo back in September. The team is entirely player-funded, still growing, and giving dozens of students a chance to keep playing the sport they love.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really have the potential to be great, and it kind of took off from there,\u201d Gugliotta said. \u201cIt surprised me, but I\u2019m so thankful. I\u2019m so happy that it happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gugliotta\u2019s story goes deeper. After being diagnosed with Crohn\u2019s disease, he wasn\u2019t sure he\u2019d ever play again. But hockey \u2014 and this team \u2014 gave him purpose.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just have to have the right mindset, the right hard work, the right effort, and you can definitely make it happen,\u201d he said. \u201cI definitely wasn\u2019t going to let that disease beat me, and I don\u2019t think anybody else should either.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coaching the Dolphins is former Jacksonville Icemen standout Derek Lodermeier, the franchise\u2019s all-time leader in games played.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s special, honestly,\u201d Lodermeier said. \u201cI didn\u2019t really know what to expect when I signed up for this job, but it\u2019s been a great opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
The program also has the full support of the university.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been here for 23 years, and I have never seen a group of students this passionate \u2014 and I think that\u2019s the sport,\u201d said Bambi Brundage, JU\u2019s executive director for Student Wellness and Engagement.<\/p>\n
JU is one of four club programs on campus, but this one is bringing new energy to a sport that\u2019s starting to take root in Northeast Florida.<\/p>\n
\u201cA university in Jacksonville \u2014 not obviously a hockey town \u2014 but I think it\u2019s turning into that a little bit,\u201d Lodermeier said.<\/p>\n
And for Gugliotta, that\u2019s exactly the goal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know where I would be today without hockey,\u201d he said. \u201cIt really is the most fun I\u2019ve ever had \u2014 and Coach Lodermeier and my teammates make it that way as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
JU faces crosstown rival UNF on Friday \u2014 a matchup already being called the \u201cRiver City Rumble on Ice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gugliotta says the team is searching for sponsors who will help alleviate the costs associated with starting and operating a team.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Jacksonville isn\u2019t exactly the first place you think of when you hear \u201chockey.\u201d But a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18512,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[4386,15277,116,118,117,15275,15276,110],"class_list":{"0":"post-18511","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-hockey","9":"tag-ice-hockey","10":"tag-jacksonville","11":"tag-jacksonville-headlines","12":"tag-jacksonville-news","13":"tag-ju-dolphins","14":"tag-ju-ice-hockey","15":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18511"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18511\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}