Springfield, MO—In the September issue of The Mirror, —Drury University’s campus newspaper, Gisele Ortega writes, “Introducing men’s ice hockey—Meeting one of the most anticipated teams on campus.
The season opener game against St Louis University on September 23rd, was a full house. Panthers from most all other sports teams on campus came to support, filling the arena with enormous vocal support throughout the whole game. While the game was lost 1-3, one player stood out. Number 33, Xavier Abel was the only Drury player to score a point in that historic game.
According to Drury’s Ice Hockey Head Coach Ben Kenyon, “Xavier scored our first and only goal in the opening game/inaugural game against St. Louis University. He’s a speedy, high-skill forward and used his exceptional speed on an end-to-end rush up the ice to finish the play with a goal. He’s a freshman forward from Chicago IL. Before coming to Drury he’s played junior hockey in various parts of the US and Canada. Now 8 games into the season, Xavier is currently our team’s leading scorer with 4 goals and 3 assists for 7 points in those first 8 games of Drury University Hockey.”
With a few games left on the schedule for this season, there are more opportunities to support the Drury Ice Hockey team at the JordanValley Ice Park, in Springfield.
Black Military Service and Springfield
April 2, 2024
Written by: Joan Hampton-Porter Curator, History Museum on the Square Since prior to the American Revolution, Black Americans have fought in this country’s battles. Both
