Jamestown Community College’s hockey team, led by head coach Tommy Gerace, will begin its second season tonight. Photo courtesy of JCC Athletics

The Jamestown Community College hockey team is primed to begin its second season today when it hosts Alfred State at Northwest Arena at 7 p.m.

“This program means so much to me personally,” said head coach Tommy Gerace. “Having this team has opened up opportunities for players to continue their hockey careers while pursuing an education and given our community a new team to get behind. I’m incredibly grateful to both JCC and Northwest Arena for working with me to help realize this.”

“It was awesome to see how many fans came out to Northwest Arena to support the Dirty Birds in their first season,” JCC Athletic Director George Sisson added. “The guys put an amazing product on the ice, and we look forward to more of that from Jayhawk hockey.”

JCC is coming off of its inaugural season, when it finished 10-10, including making it to the Upstate New York Collegiate Hockey League semifinals.

That squad featured five Jayhawks who made the UCYCHL All-Conference team; of them, Nate Stephens and Cooper Bergman are back for a second stint in the green and gold. Stephens returns having scored 24 points on 16 goals while Bergman notched seven goals with 15 assists.

They bring five other sophomores back to make up the core for JCC.

Joining the seven returners are 15 freshmen to round out the 2025-26 JCC hockey team.

This year’s roster has a local flair; 17 of the Jayhawks hail from within an hour’s drive of Jamestown, with 14 being from Chautauqua County.

“I couldn’t be more excited for year two. We’ve learned a lot and are continuing to grow fast. Our roster has expanded and is loaded with talent,” Gerace said. “Our core is still locally grown, but we’ve brought in more players from outside of Chautauqua County (from Binghamton to Quebec), and that has me super eager for the year to come. Building on a stellar foundation is the ultimate goal this season, and we have the roster to do it.”

Last year, the Jayhawks entertained thousands of hockey fans in their local barn and look to do the same this season.

“I always say to people that to me and my family, hockey is like religion. That’s where this program was born from — pure passion for the game and its continued growth in our community,” Gerace said. “As we go into year two, that passion continues to drive me to have this program succeed. I can’t wait to see the home crowds and play some exciting hockey for our fans.”

This year’s schedule is loaded with promotional nights, including Pink the Rink on Saturday, Oct. 11; Halloween with the Jayhawks on Saturday, Nov. 1; Teddy Bear Toss on Saturday, Nov. 22; and many more.