Few college club athletes can say they’ve traveled almost 12,000 miles in a single semester. This fall, the ASU women’s club hockey team went on three separate road trips, traveling 11,840 miles between Oct 15 and Nov 17.
In the span of 32 days, the team was on the road for 14 of them, playing 10 games in five states. To put that into perspective, the NHL’s Utah Mammoth traveled 11,606 miles in their first 10 road games this season.
So, why does this team have to travel so much?
ASU used to be in the Western Women’s Collegiate Hockey League and play teams such as GCU, Colorado State and Utah. Three years ago, coach Lindsey Ellis decided to go independent and have complete autonomy over the team’s schedule. This meant playing better competition further east.
In its last year as a member of the WWCHL, the team went undefeated en route to its second straight conference championship. Now, the team travels all over the country seeking out the top women’s club hockey teams. This means road trips that include four, sometimes five, games in a row.
“We want to play the best of the best, and unfortunately, this is the way we have to do it with our geographical location,” Ellis said.
The team condensed this year’s travel weekends into a 32-day window. Unfortunately, when it was time to hit the road, the U.S. government had been in a shutdown for 14 days. Two of the three road trips occurred during the record 43-day shutdown, but the teams’ travel plans were unaffected.
“For us, I think it was just the luck of the draw,” Ellis said. “We fly more than anyone else, so thankfully nothing was affected.”
Amid the air travel chaos, Ellis and the rest of her players had “what if” scenarios on their minds. Due to the relationship between the team and ASU Club Sports, travel is at the team’s own expense, so if flight cancellations impact any trips, the team would essentially be burning money, Ellis said.
The team continually raises funds independently to cover the cost of their expensive schedule.
For veterans such as senior goaltender Quinn Eatinger, she’s experienced the long road trips before, but admittedly, nothing quite as adventerous as this season. The condensed road schedule offered unique challenges in the classroom as well.
“This is by far the most travel we’ve done in a semester,” Eatinger said. “It’s been stressful trying to talk to professors, making sure you’re not behind in classes, while balancing playing so many games in a row.”
That balance can be tricky to find, especially if you’re a newcomer. Playing the role of collegiate athlete is tough, but having your first semester in college include almost 12,000 miles of travel is mind-boggling.
Freshman forward Sophia Sears, who came to Tempe from Eagan, Minnesota and is one of just five freshmen on the team, had a semester unlike most of her peers.
“When you go to college, you have this idea in your head that you’re going to be at so many sporting and social events,” Sears said. “When we travel, we miss that aspect of it; you have to be OK with missing those events.”
The team’s final road trip wrapped up Nov. 16. Now, the team shifts toward the favorable half of the schedule. They will not leave the state of Arizona for the rest of the regular season.
Although the team still has two road games in the new year, they will be at the Tucson Convention Center against the Arizona Wildcats.
The team will now set its sights on making the national tournament for the fourth consecutive season. Despite the team owning a 7-5-1-1 record, it sits ninth in the country, mainly due to its strength of schedule. Some of those top-ranked teams will visit Tempe in 2026.
“I think our schedule prepares the team for a nationals run because we’ll be well rested in the second half,” Eatinger said.
Having overcome geographical challenges in the fall, Ellis and her team will now attempt to use it to their advantage as those eastern schools travel west. For many of these teams, it will be the only time they have to fly to an away game all season.
“Most teams bus everywhere and get a full week of class,” Ellis said. “Thinking about it from that perspective, we have the hardest travel schedule in the country.”
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