After ending last season with momentum, Alabama’s Division I Men’s Club Hockey believes the foundation for a breakout year may already be in place.
The Frozen Tide finished the 2025-26 season with just 10 wins on paper, but inside the locker room, coaches and players saw chemistry developing through the season.
“We really found our game and ended the season on a strong note,” team president and right wing Tyler Zent said in an interview. “Compared to my first year, I’ve seen a huge difference in guys being able to have fun around each other and work together not only on the ice, but off the ice.”
The growth became especially noticeable after winter break, when Alabama began to play some of its best hockey of the season. The team closed the last half of the season by picking up major wins, including reclaiming the Iron Cup against Auburn.
“If you really dive into stats, we got most of our points and wins in that second half when we actually came together as a team,” Zent said.
For head coach Mike Fairbanks, the late-season turnaround reflected the character of one of the youngest rosters he has coached in years. Alabama brought in 17 new players last season, including 13 freshmen, two transfers and two players who moved up from the D2 and D3 teams, forcing players to adjust quickly both to college hockey and life away from home.
“You’re taking 18- and 19-year-old kids from hundreds of miles away and dropping them into Alabama,” Fairbanks said. “They had to trust me first. But after Christmas, I knew we were going to have a good second half of the year because of the attitude and positivity in the locker room.”
Fairbanks, who has coached for more than 40 years and previously worked with the National Development Program, said culture became one of the program’s biggest priorities.
“This team is full of respect,” Fairbanks said. “They respect each other, the coaching staff, the fans and the university. That’s what successful programs are built on.”
Now, Alabama enters the offseason with most of its roster expected to return for next year. Coaches believe that continuity could be the difference in turning close losses into wins once the new season begins in October.
“I think experience is going to help tremendously,” Fairbanks said. “Now those guys understand what those moments feel like.”
Assistant coach and general manager Will Zeek agreed, pointing to the number of overtime and one-goal games Alabama played last season.
“A bit of it was puck luck, but a lot of it was rookie inexperience,” Zeek said. “Now these guys have been in those situations before, so they’ll be more comfortable and confident in those moments.”
The coaching staff has already identified several priorities heading into the preseason practices.
“It starts with the D-zone,” Zeek said. “We need more structure earlier in the season and everyone on the same page defensively.”
The growth of the program has also become visible off the ice. Alabama drew record numbers during last season’s Iron Cup matchup against Auburn University at the Pelham Civic Center, where more than 3,500 fans packed the arena. That energy became one of the biggest moments of the year for the program.
“I think hopefully next time we can sell the whole place out,” Zent said. “When fans show up, we feel the support. It makes us want to play harder.”
Zeek believes the rise in attention surrounding hockey nationally helped grow interest in Alabama’s program.
“The rivalry was already there,” Zeek said. “People were becoming more interested in hockey, and then they connected that with Alabama and Auburn.”
For players and coaches alike, the expectations surrounding Alabama Hockey are starting to shift. With a returning roster, stronger chemistry and growing support from fans, Alabama hockey believes last season’s late surge may only have been the beginning. “We’re really starting to become one program,” Zent said. “Everything internally is improving, and that’s only going to help the product on the ice.”
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