Imagine, if you will, during this past fall semester you decided to transfer out of BGSU.
You might look somewhere nearby, right? Close to home where you might already know a few people.
Wrong, that is, if your name is Ryan Hohl – a hockey player currently living more than 3,700 miles from his hometown.
A native of Northville, Mich., (less than two hours from BG), Hohl decided this past October he would no longer be playing hockey for the Falcons. He redshirted as a freshman last year after suffering a high ankle sprain injury in the first few weeks of practice. Following two surgeries to help remedy the ankle, Hohl never fully healed in time to play for BG during any part of the 2006-07 season.
‘Then, during this year in the first four games, I was unhappy,’ Hohl said. ‘[BG coach Scott Paluch and I] had a meeting and we just decided that Bowling Green wasn’t the place for me.’
The University of Alaska-Fairbanks ended up being the place for Hohl, who stated he definitely wanted to stay in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association after choosing to leave the Falcons.
‘I had some offers from other schools,’ Hohl said before his team’s recent jet flight out of Alaska. ‘But when I got a hold of Doc DelCastillo, the coach here at Fairbanks, I knew he was the best coach available. I was really excited about what I heard from him because he was willing to give me an opportunity to play here.’
Hohl has been given that chance in nine games with the Nanooks heading into this weekend’s series back in BG. Thus far, he has managed to register two assists as a freshman in Fairbanks.
‘It’s working out great,’ Hohl said. ‘I love the team and I love the area of Fairbanks up here. The guys on the team are great and the coaching staff is extremely knowledgeable.’
All parties involved appear to be happy that Hohl’s move to America’s 49th state has worked out so well.
‘Ryan was a terrific kid for us,’ coach Paluch said. ‘He worked hard and the injury really set him back a year ago. It’s good to see him landing on his feet and still playing college hockey.’
Both Hohl and his former teammates are excited to be facing each other this weekend in two games at the University Ice Arena.
‘He lived in the dorms here the first semester – actually right down the hall from me,’ said BG goalie Nick Eno. The freshman goaltender, who calls Howell, Mich., home when he’s not stopping pucks for the Falcons, added that he and Hohl became quite close during the time that they were together.
‘He’s about 25 or 30 minutes away from my house and I used to take him home a few times on the weekends, so it should be pretty interesting,’ Eno said.
‘I enjoy living in Alaska now,’ Hohl said. ‘I mean it’s cold, but hockey’s the number one thing up here and I love it.’
