On Oct. 7, 2022, Hunter Voyles stepped into the spotlight in the 2,700-seat The Rink Exchange and took in the 3,500 fans welcoming him to the new era of University of Oregon hockey.

It was a full-circle moment for the sophomore defenseman, who had forgone the American Collegiate Hockey Association Division II program to play junior hockey when it recruited him out of high school. Voyles lifted his stick with his right hand to salute the crowd that had poured in for the Ducks’ first Division I game against then 20th-ranked Arizona State University.

“My sophomore year, probably one of my favorite Oregon hockey games at home was ASU game one. We had 3,500 in attendance, which was an absolute riot. We had zero security. We had no idea how many people were going to show up, and it blew up out of thin air,” Voyles said.

Oregon lost the game 7-6, but considering the quality of the opponent, its opening game was one of the best performances in its inaugural Division I season.

Four minutes into the game, Voyles saw an Arizona State player talking to Oregon’s goalie after a whistle. The six-foot-four, 225 pound defenseman skated in from the blue line and delivered a firm shove to the Sun Devil’s back. The roughing penalty gave Voyles an early start toward the 54 penalty minutes he logged in his freshman season due to the physical role he played since high school.

“I think probably coming into college, maybe even after that, I was still kind of like that loose cannon, on the ice, but even off the ice a little bit,” Voyles said. “For the most part now, it’s like, what happens in the glass stays in the glass.”

Five years later, Voyles is one of the team’s two seniors tasked with mentoring a nine-player freshman class. His decision to come back for a graduate season while completing a master of science degree in management made him the final Duck to play Division II hockey and inextricably linked him to the program’s transition to Division I.

Voyles began playing hockey at two years old, following his older brother into a small but growing Orange County hockey community from Aliso Viejo, Calif..

“My brother started playing when he was about five, and I was kind of just following in his footsteps, and it’s kind of like the only thing I know at this point,” Voyles said.

Relatively early in his hockey career, Voyles briefly questioned his love for the sport.

“My freshman year, I played on a club team as well as my high school team, which I lowkey got a little burnt out (from). Going from high school to high school practice, driving up to LA for night practice for my club team, it kind of got to be a lot,” Voyles said.

Voyles committed to the Santa Margarita Catholic High School team the next season, a decision he now calls the best he ever made. It immediately paid off with a run to the USA Hockey National Championship that ended in a second-place finish, and the Eagles would rally to win back-to-back national championships in Voyles’ junior and senior seasons.

Voyles decided on tier II junior hockey as his next step, with hopes to move on to an NCAA Division III program from there. In his first year playing for the Boston (now Bridgewater) Junior Bandits in the United States Premier Hockey League, the defenseman logged career highs in both penalty minutes (70) and goals (nine).

After his second year in the USPHL, Voyles’ junior coach convinced him to look into club hockey as an alternative to NCAA Division III, making the case that the skill levels can be similar and club hockey offers a more traditional college experience.

At the same time, then Oregon head coach, Rylee Orr, who had recruited Voyles in high school, was in the process of helping the club move from ACHA Division II to Division I. The move would give the program access to a new level of talent and make full use of the resources that come with Eugene’s athletics culture. This time, Voyles’ timeline lined up with the program’s, and he brought his 124 junior penalty minutes to Eugene.

“(Orr) basically explained to us ‘hey, we’re going to be DII this year, but if we have a good year, there’s a high likelihood of us going DI,’” Voyles said. “Me personally, I always like coming somewhere, like to a team or whatever, and trying to leave it better than I found it. So, yeah, I came in knowing it was DII.”

The team did move up the next year, and although Voyles’ point total has peaked at half of the 12 he put up at the Division II level, the growth of the program has been worth it. Voyles was able to adapt the physical and defensive playstyle that had been his hallmark at every level, while reining it in at the advice of his coaches to avoid taking penalties and becoming distracted.

“I mean, he’s a big kid, right?” Oregon head coach Jackson Hyman said. “You know, size-wise, he’s probably the biggest guy on the team, if not one of them, and physicality is a big part of hockey, but at the same time, if you’re continuously in the box, you can’t be out on the ice to help your team.”

Hyman is Voyles’ third college coach, an added challenge for the players who navigated the transition. With his third season underway, it looks like Oregon has finally found stability in the transition. Hyman has seen Voyles’ development from the later stages of his “loose cannon” playstyle and personality to a key leader for the team, both on and off the ice.

“Him being one of the two seniors on the team for this year, he’s been able to dive in more and, I’ve been very lucky that he decided to come back, not only for what he can do on the ice, but also off the ice,” Hyman said. “That occurs in adding these other extracurricular things to his plate to help raise awareness for the team, as well as do good in the community.”

Along with the attention from the move to Division I and the newfound stability at that level, the team has increased fan interest through savvy local partnerships like Rennie’s Landing and Voodoo Doughnut, and capitalized on the popularity of the university’s athletics branding by selling jerseys and hats.

Voyles has become more involved behind the scenes as he has risen through the leadership and student-management hierarchy of the club, along with the UO business program. This season, in an increased role, he is committed to continuing the program’s momentum with fan engagement.

“I’m trying to plan a teddy bear toss for the Ronald McDonald Foundation, and then for our Bend Classic game, I’m working with OHSU, which is the children’s hospital in Portland, to hopefully, if all goes well, do a toy drive for a donation up there,” Voyles said.

The end of Voyles’ hockey career marks the end of an era for the Oregon Hockey Program, and while the six PAC-8 Championships it left behind at the Division II level have made the transition bittersweet, Voyles has undeniably fulfilled his goal of leaving the program better than he found it.