Facing some financial troubles during its last two seasons, the hockey club has launched the “Save State Hockey” campaign.

According to Jeff Spontak, a senior in biology, forward and treasurer of the club, the club has a $16,000 debt, and the club, which consists of two teams, has raised $4,000 thus far.

“We’re pretty limited on how we can fund-raise,” Nick Olson, a senior in biomedical engineering, forward and the club’s president, said. “Because we are under club sports, we have to represent the school properly.”

He said the club tried to hold a hockey pool for the basketball tournament without giving any money to winners, but prizes.

“Because it was basically money and the NCAA association, we were totally shut down from doing that,” Olson said.

Olson said the teams understand they need to follow the regulations, but it does hurt. Any club sport cannot get sponsored by alcohol companies and bars, he added.

According to Olson, the price for ice time has been going up, and in Raleigh, it’s becoming very expensive, more than $300 per hour.

“Practice is a big issue as far as we need to have more,” he said. “Two practices a week isn’t even enough to get to where we need to be. You’re paying a $1,000 a week to play.”

Each game, Olson said, is approximately three hours long, but the teams also have to pay for referees.

“Everyone on the team pays a $1,000 a piece a year,” he said. “We don’t get to keep our jerseys. [The fee] doesn’t cover hotels when we travel either.”

If all of these factors are taken into consideration when making the budget, Olson said each person would have to pay $2,000 to $2,500 per year.

According to Dan Masiulis, a sophomore in technology education and a forward on the team, the club held a shoot-a-thon in the Brickyard approximately three weeks ago, where people “pan-handled.”

“We’re trying to fundraise to lower the cost for students,” Masiulis said. “Every year we have a regional tournament, and if we win that, we go to the national tournament.”

Olson said the team was ranked fifth in its region, making it one of the top 20 teams in the nation.

“That’s been pretty consistent,” Olson said. “We were still that caliber team.”

Last year, according to Olson, the club did not make it to the national tournament because it didn’t meet certain qualifications, but said the teams have done well in the past in general. He said the financial issues the club is facing have been going on for the past two years.

Another reason the team needs to raise money, Olson said, is because of rising gas prices, which take a toll on the teams’ budget, especially when it’s traveling to tournaments in the North.

“It doesn’t seem like a big deal, but we’re gassing up three 15-passenger vans when we go places, and sometimes a bus,” he said.

The teams, Masiulus said, hope to raise enough money to pay off their debt by the end of the summer.

According to Spontak, the club’s budget per year can be up to $50,000, and raising the money for the club is essential.

The club is also working to organize a silent auction to help raise money. Olson said a team member’s grandfather donated autographed pictures from the Hurricanes and other sportsmen the team will auction off.

The team will also hold its semi-annual golf tournament, which will allow people to sponsor holes and receive prices.

“Last year, we had 100 people,” Olson said.

The Hurricanes allow the club to “set up shop” after some games as well where Olson said members of the club raise awareness about its financial issues to receive support.

“People generally want to donate money to us,” he said. “We can’t take it at the RBC Center, but we’re letting people know that we’re having a tournament, and if they want to donate they can — just not there.”

Wil White, a sophomore in accounting and team goaltender, said at this point, the fund-raisers are not as much a campaign as trying to save the cub.

“Right now, we’re just trying to get the name out,” he said. “The more people hear about it, the more they are willing to help.”

According to White, if the club doesn’t pay off its debt soon, Club Sports will place a sanction on it.

“We have to raise the money to be able to have a team for next year,” he said.