 | | Dean Lakios has been an avid Mountaineer fan for 36 years, involved with hockey associations for 20 years, a supporting parent of WVU for eight years, and a Mountaineer Board of Director for ten years.
Lakios' biggest accomplishment came in 2006 when he, Mike & Lisa Horowitz, Tom Turner, Chuck Matala,Centra Bank, and numerous volunteers made a dream come true with the construction and dedication of the West Virginia University Hockey Team locker room. The state of art WVU Hockey room takes a back seat to no program and has elevated the recruit interest in WVU Hockey to a national level. Another of Lakios' accomplishments along with Mr. Charles Wasilefski was creating, organizing, and implementing the Hockey Student Management Organization (HSMO), to the point that the HSMO ran all phases of Mountaineer Hockey in their first year. Lakios said, "It was very rewarding to watch students with all their excitement operate all areas of team management. The HSMO is the reason that the school administration is very interested in our program. The HSMO opened many doors and offices to the WVU hockey team to the point that other schools and graduate programs want to become involved and take the Mountaineer HSMO to higher levels of recognition which can only mean better things are in the future for WVU Hockey."
The camaraderie between the players and staff, traveling and watching the players grow as individuals and, mostly, as a team is one of his favorite aspects of WVU Hockey. He says the best game was Nov. 2005 when WVU traveled to Athens , Ohio and defeated the annually ranked # 2 Ohio University Bobcats on thier home ice. Also a classic was "Watching the team in the '98-'99 ECHA Tournament, pushing nationally ranked Delaware into a triple overtime game, never giving up. " The most chilling experience was hearing the "WVU Mountaineers" being introduced at the 1999-2000 National tournament, "that is an experience I will always treasure."
This year he wants to "make sure that the players have a truly rewarding experience, both on and off the ice, while representing WVU: the university, the students, the organization, and most of all, themselves and their families. I also want to make a return trip to the nationals in Rochester, NY so that the freshman and parents can have the same feeling I have experienced."
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