The varsity men"s hockey team at Michigan is one of the best in the nation. But not everyone on campus can be Mike Komisarek or Mike Cammalleri.

The club hockey team was established eight years ago, and has been increasing in numbers ever since. This year the team had 50 hopefuls trying out for a team with only 25 spots.

Seniors make up more than half of the club team"s roster.

There were freshmen who impressed coach Mike Radokavich, but there weren"t any spots on the team. Radokavich knows that they are the future of the club team, so these freshmen are invited to practices that are very intense and competitive.

But club members noted that the club isn"t all work and no play.

"This is probably the most fun I"ve ever had with a hockey team," club president Dan Burkons said. "We"re all friends in there, and we all party together on the weekends too."

The club hockey team is one of the most competitive and elite non-varsity teams on campus. Its schedule this year includes a non-league game against Life University of Georgia, last year"s national champion of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA). The team has competed in the ACHA national tournament the past three years, but it has not been able to bring home the title.

"Our team has high expectations this year, with only one goal in mind: Win nationals," Engineering sophomore Derek Hickey said.

The team usually plays two games a week, but this past weekend, it competed in the Oakland University Showcase in Fraser, Michigan.

Burkons was not pleased with the team"s performance.

"It was a tough weekend for us," Burkons said. "We didn"t get a full week of practices in like we would have liked, and a lot of the older guys were taking the LSATs. Our team just seemed very disorganized."

The squad lost to Michigan State and Humber College, a varsity team from Canada. Michigan salvaged a tie with Illinois" club team.

Club members pay a pretty hefty price to be part of the team.

The amount the club needs to pay for travel and facilities runs about $40,000, but the team only receives $5,000 from the University.

Dues per player this year will be about $1,200 each. The team does its best to lower these dues through fundraising and program sales.

"Our club is definitely a great opportunity for good hockey players to keep on playing," Burkons said.