After a year off to focus on hitting the books, Mike Strumberger returned to the ice, where he can hit the opposing team.

Strumberger, a statistics major, is in his second year of graduate school at NIU and is a forward on the Division II men’s hockey team. He played with the program from 2006 to 2010, scoring 62 goals and 68 assists in 123 games. Strumberger had one year of eligibility left, which allowed him to play for the Huskies this season.

Strumberger said there were a few reasons why he decided to not play hockey last season.

“I kind of wanted to test out the waters first with grad school and see how the classes were my first year,” Strumberger said, “Practices for hockey are kind of late, so the whole getting up early after a late-night practice was something I wasn’t looking forward to, basically.”

Playing hockey and being a second-year grad student might seem like an impossibility, but Strumberger said he’s been able to manage his time so far.

“This year, my schedule so far has been a little bit lighter,” Strumberger said, “I still got to put in hours of studying, but just not as much as last year.”

When he first returned, Strumberger said it took his body some time to get used to playing hockey again.

“I’ll be honest, during tryouts, and the first period of the first game, I came back in against Robert Morris [and] my legs were burning a little bit, and I could feel I was getting tired,” Strumberger said. “But then I scored in the second period of my first game back, so once I scored, that burning sensation went away.”

Through six games this season, Strumberger tallied six points, four goals and two assists.

Mike Sible, NIU‘s captain and fellow line mate, said the return of Strumberger has brought a lot to the team.

“Mike’s a hard worker,” Sible said, “He’s always a guy that when he comes to the rink, he means business. He has been a captain in the past and basically leads by example.”

Greg Chromy, NIU Division II head coach, said Strumberger added a lot to the team this season.

“Strumberger’s been playing very, very well; I’m real happy with his play,” Chromy said. “He’s a big physical presence out there. He’s got great hands, he sees the ice well, moves the puck and can score. So he’s just a great all round player. We’re glad to have him back.”