For Aurora native Wolff, playing for nationally ranked ACHA D-I Oklahoma program best of both worlds

Brenden Wolff grew up playing youth hockey and high school hockey in Colorado before leaving home for junior hockey in Massachusetts and Wisconsin.

This season, the Aurora native is enjoying his freshman season of ACHA Division I college hockey at Oklahoma, a nationally-ranked school and perennial contender and studying mechanical engineering.

“The opportunity came pretty rapidly,” said Wolff. “I wasn’t really expecting it, but it arose from a connection with the old assistant coach who was able to get me in contact and in front of the head coach. The thing that really stood out to me was the size of Oklahoma and being able to go to a big school with good academics and the degree path that I wanted. From a hockey standpoint, I knew one of the kids that was on the team last year as I played in Boston with him. Last year, they were top 15 in the country and went to nationals, so it was an appealing program to want to be a part of.”

After graduating Cherry Creek High School, Wolff played in the EHL for the Boston Jr. Rangers and Boston Jr. Terriers and in the USPHL for the Northwest Express – two hockey hot spots.

In Oklahoma, an area more known for college football and college basketball, Wolff is seeing that hockey is on the upswing.

“The hockey landscape is definitely growing in Oklahoma,” Wolff said. “I never really thought hockey would be huge here, but it is more recognized than I thought. I also know junior teams are starting to move here, so you can really tell that the sport is growing here.”

With the Sooners, Wolff knows the expectations are high and much is expected of the team this season.

“I definitely think we have what it takes to be a national contender like last year and it’s pretty obvious that we all have the same goals of getting to that point,” said Wolff. “I feel like all of our expectations are high for the season as a team. We all want to make it to nationals and make a push to win it all. On a personal level, I want to just keep playing good and making sure that I can help the team in any way possible, especially being a freshman.”

After graduation, staying on the ice is always the goal, but Wolff noted that using his degree would then be the priority.

“I’m not 100% sure yet about what I want to do, but the goal would be to get a job at a company like Lockheed to work on aircraft and certain mechanical compartments within those aircraft,” Wolff explained.

Back home, in addition to Cherry Creek, Wolff played for the Littleton Hockey Association, Colorado Evolution and Denver Jr. Pioneers.

“Some of the coaches that have really stood out to me compared to others would be Jeff Mielnicki and James Angelicola, my two head coaches throughout my career at Cherry Creek,” Wolff said. “These two were the most positive in my career because they both helped me grow as a player and a person and put their trust in me throughout the years.”

Photo/Michael Cignoli