Dave Rathgeber was born in Sarnia, Ontario, and he grew up in Red Deer, Alberta. So, you guessed it, Dave played hockey.

He was part of Montana Tech’s highly-successful club hockey team, serving as an Oredigger net minder on a team that was highly successful last decade. That team, you should remember, packed the Butte Community Ice Center full of rowdy fans night after night before it ran into the COVID-19 pandemic.

The team also picked up some big-time victories before it disbanded.

Rathgeber, who recently completed his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering, is now in charge of bringing back the Oredigger hockey program. In addition to teaching labs and classes at the school, he is also the team’s head coach and manager.

Tech will host an alumni game Sept. 20, and then the team will be off and running. You can feel the excitement around town as Butte gets ready to embrace college hockey once again, and the team will play a heavy home schedule in October.

Earlier today, I sat down with Dave for a fun conversation about him and his plans for the Oredigger hockey program. Listen in to hear him talk about the glory days of Tech hockey. Listen to hear that he is planning a whole lot more than a return to those glory days.

He has some big-time plans as Tech goes through a hockey reboot.

Click here for more information on the Orediggers. Click here for sponsorship opportunities.

Today’s podcast is presented by Leskovar Honda, home of the 20-year, 200,000-mile warrantee.