Coming off a two win season, things could only go up for the Jackrabbit club hockey team. A change in head coach, culture and vision propelled the Jacks to a 15-2 season that saw them ranked for the first time in the clubs history.
“The big thing is making sure it was consistent with the values that we have within Brookings and SDSU and making sure it was gonna be legitimate for the future, so we wanted to have the right group together to…. be competitive for the next coming years,” said Coach Justin Kirchhevel, who entered his first full year as head coach the 2024-2025 season.
Kirchhevel took over the head coaching spot late last season where the Jacks ended up 2-6. He credits the players quickly buying into the team’s vision and the camaraderie they displayed as a major factor in their success this season.
“He has been an awesome coach for our program,” said senior Matt Maag regarding Kirchhevel. “He has set up a system that works well with the type of players we have. Additionally, he has built a community where you are willing to do whatever it takes for the team’s success.”
The team took an offensive leap this year and put up the numbers to prove it. Over their 17-game season, the Jacks were able to score 110 goals, an average of 6.4 a game. In the eight games they played last year, they scored 43 goals, or 5.3 a game. Senior Max Kjelden led the team in points with 31, putting up 18 goals and 13 assists.
Jackrabbit goaltending let up 30 goals while tallying up 390 saves for an average of 1.70 goals a game. Four different goaltenders suited up over the season, with each earning a win and at least one shutout. Freshman goaltender Addison Ronning played a team-high eight games and ended the season with a .947 save percentage.
Over the team’s 17 game stretch, their two-game series in Fargo against NDSU was mentioned as being their stiffest game according to both players and coaches.
“We work hard in all the games, but those were probably one of the bigger games… playing those games really gets everyone’s adrenaline going,” said senior Cooper VanOverbeke.
“We outshot them heavily in the first game, ended up losing 2-1… Talk about playing against some adversity on the road,” said Kirchhevel.
“The next day they came back with the right mentality, really showed their poise and came together as a group and that was kinda our turning point, it was like we are full speed ahead at this point.”
SDSU finished off the year placing 18th in the ACHA Central out of 53 teams and despite not making nationals, Kirchhevel mentioned how there are high hopes that next season, with a culture and plan set in place, they will be even better.
“We talk about the whole year like this is bigger than you, and we’re starting something that you’ll come back to in 10 years… We are going to have a great team next year.”
