For the first time in over four years, Cameron Crawford took to the ice for live game action.
The Michigan native had spent those four years as a midfielder for the UAH lacrosse team. Now he was back between the pipes for the UAH club hockey team, facing Auburn to open the new season.
Crawford’s re-debut was unexpectedly busy. He faced 67 pucks, stopping 62 of them as the Chargers battled the Tigers to a 5-5 draw.
“Going into the first game this year against Auburn was kind of nerve wrecking to say the least,” Crawford said. “In the moment though, I was just happy to be playing hockey again and having fun.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t extremely exhausted. After the game I was extremely light headed and could barely walk once I got home as my body was simply not used to the all-out nature of competitive hockey. Both of my groin muscles felt strained and I was overall extremely sore and drained. Even some of my old gear wasn’t really able to hold up to the increase in effort during the game as early in overtime one of my toe ties on my right leg pad snapped allowing it to freely rotate on my leg for the remainder of the game. Overall, the fact we were able to leave Friday night in a tie was a miracle from my perspective.”
Since then, Crawford has been steadily getting back into the groove, and it’s showing in the results. The Chargers have won in his last four starts, including big victories over AAU D1 Alabama (avenging 17-0 and 7-1 losses to the Tide last season) and a strong Clemson team that is tied with UAH atop the College Hockey South Division 2 North. Along with a 3.53 goals against average, the 22-year-old senior has a .922 save percentage, which leads College Hockey South Division 2 and is second in all of AAU College Hockey Division 2 (minimum four starts).
“My hockey fitness has gotten a lot better and I am finally starting to get used to playing two games in a row,” Crawford said. “My favorite memory this season definitely has to be our overtime win against Alabama as I was told about what happened last year and how much it meant to the team. That was also the best I’ve felt physically throughout a full game. However, I hope and expect that memory to be surpassed as we have a lot of potential and a big season still ahead of us.”
“Craw has been awesome for us this year,” UAH head coach Tim Flynn said. “I think when all of us coaches saw him at tryouts, we knew we had something special. Getting to know him off the ice has been great, he’s really become a leader on and off the ice in the short time he’s been here. He gives us a chance to win every night he plays and is one of the main reasons we’re in the position we’re in as we approach the end of the first semester.”
Getting back to hockey was not something Crawford originally expected. He joined the UAH lacrosse team in the 2020 season, and played 23 games over four seasons. He was allowed a fifth year of eligibility because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it was not offered by now-former head coach Connor Doyle.
“At the time I was obviously devastated and angry,” Crawford said. “However, after some time I was able to accept what happened and realized I needed to move on. I was satisfied with my time playing lacrosse here at UAH and even though I didn’t get the closure I wanted there was no point in dwelling on it.
“Once I came to terms with that several people around me suggested I try and play hockey again, and with lacrosse out of the picture it was a no-brainer. Growing up, hockey was always my first love as a sport, and the opportunity to lace up the skates again and just have fun was too good to pass up.”
Crawford’s last hockey action before UAH was at Saline High School in Michigan, just outside of Ann Arbor. Coincidentally, his mother followed a similar path: She played NCAA Division I soccer at the University of Michigan but left her senior year to play club hockey.
“Getting back into the swing of things has definitely had its ups and downs,” Crawford said. “Mentally, it has been easier to jump back into it. The muscle memory is still there as well as the fundamentals of positioning, and movement. However, the physical side of it has definitely fallen behind a bit since my high school days. The muscles required for playing hockey goalie definitely aren’t the same as a lacrosse defenseman. At this point in the season most of it has come back enough that it’s not bothering me as much. However, there are days where I can definitely feel how much my flexibility has declined since high school.”
Crawford isn’t the only UAH lacrosse player on the hockey team, and those teammates have been a boon to him.
“I also want to mention and give a shoutout to all of my friends and roommates that are still on the lacrosse team as they have been extremely supportive this year by showing up to as many of the games as they can to cheer on myself and the other lacrosse guys on the team such as Josh Campbell, Matteo Siciliano, Ian Arnt, and Andrew Bauer. Their support, along with my girlfriend Catey Welch (on the UAH women’s lacrosse team) and my family have meant the world to me this year and I could not be happier with how things have turned out.”
Crawford is finishing up his degree at UAH in atmospheric science and meteorology. He hopes to stay in the Huntsville area as he prepares for his career.
UAH (5-3-1) returns to action on Nov. 3 at Georgia and Nov. 5 at Tennessee. The Chargers are home for the Veteran’s Cup on Nov. 10 and 11.
Pictured at top: Cameron Crawford squares up to make a save in UAH’s win over Middle Tennessee on September 29. Photo by Jaime Crawford/JC Sports Photography.