OU hockey: Sooners to play Texas Tornado this weekend
by Carter Baum??|??September 5, 2012 
When the OU hockey team travels to Dallas this weekend to play two exhibition games against the Texas Tornado, it won?t be facing just another team.
The Sooners and the Tornado, a junior hockey team from Frisco, Texas, have a long, healthy relationship. The Tornado play in the North American Hockey League, a top development league for players ages 16-20 before going to play collegiate or professional hockey. With OU?s close proximity to Frisco, just outside of Dallas, it is a popular destination for many former Tornado players.
Currently, seven players on the Oklahoma roster played for Texas at some point in their careers: senior defensemen Augie Hoffmann and Troy Puente, junior defenseman Alex Jacobs and forward Steven Behm, sophomore defenseman Joe Adams and freshmen forwards Mico Solorzano and Jordan Greenberg.
Former Sooner and current assistant coach Austin Miller also played for two seasons in Frisco prior to coming to OU.
?We?re fortunate that we?ve been able to develop such a strong relationship between the two programs,? OU assistant general manager Chris Perry said in a release. ?Both [Tornado coach and general manager Tony] Curtale and [assistant coach Tom] Murphy have a history of developing quality young men that also happen to be excellent young hockey players.?
Murphy also has Oklahoma ties as a former Sooner coach. In charge from 2008-2010, he led OU to a combined 54-14-10 record in his two-season tenure before returning to the Tornado.
?We?re excited to have The University of Oklahoma back here,? Curtale said in a release. ?There are a lot of ties between the Tornado and OU Hockey, and I think it?ll be great for our fans to see some of our former players.?
In each of the last four seasons, at least one Oklahoma newcomer had Tornado roots. Naturally, Curtale is a key factor in OU recruiting.
?[Curtale] is a great guy," OU coach Peter Arvanitis said. "He runs a great program. He advises us of players to look for and look at. All coaches can do is help their kids go to a higher level, and he does a great job of doing that.?
Not only do the coaches recruit players, current players sell former teammates on what OU has to offer.
?[Adams] was still playing juniors when [Behm and I] came here,? Jacobs said. ?We still kept in touch and obviously told him how much we loved it here.?
Adams, Jacobs and Behm now all live in a house together with one of the newest player-recruited products, Solorzano said.
?I heard a lot about ex-Tornado [players] coming up here, and I heard nothing but good things about the school and the hockey here,? Solorzano said. ?It just seemed like a good situation for me.?
Arvanitis believes that current players play a big role in the recruiting process.
?I think it?s crucial.," he said. "A lot of times when we make contact with players that we?re looking at, we can tell them how the program is and how the program is run. But the minute they hear it from somebody that has played here, I think it just adds more value to the program.?
With the close proximity to Dallas, it?s easy to see why the relationship has been successful for so long.
?I think it?s a location thing,? Jacobs said. ?All of us loved playing in Texas while we were there, and this is one of the closest club teams you?re going to get.?
An abundance of former Tornado players also make OU an attractive destination for prospects.
?It?s a good thing to have that Tornado alumni family here,? Jacobs said. ?We?re all a closer group because we played for the same organization.?
Last season, Texas captured its fifth Robertson Cup as the NAHL champion in the club?s 12-season history. Both Greenberg and Solorzano were part of the championship team and will be playing against many former teammates this weekend.
?[I?m] definitely looking forward to playing those guys,? Solorzano said. ?It?s going to be a little weird at first, but it?s going to be fun going against guys [we] just won a national championship with. I?m looking forward to seeing all of them again.?
For Greenberg, whose brother still plays for the Tornado, it?s going to be personal.
?It?s going to be weird to play against him,? Greenberg said. ?We have never played against each other, so it?ll be something cool to experience.?
The two exhibition games not only provide both the Sooners and the Tornado a good pre-season test, but it also serves as a prime opportunity to scout out the next class of Tornado recruits.
?We know exactly who we?re going to look at, and if we need to talk to those players after the game, we?ll definitely touch base with Tony and just go from there,? Arvanitis said.
Source: http://oudaily.com/news/2012/sep/05/feeder/
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