Gauchos in Paradise

Photo Courtesy of UCSB Department of Recreation

The UCSB Ice Hockey team is composed of student athletes attending the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB). As the story goes, in 2010, members of the UCSB Roller Hockey team were traveling back from a tough away-game loss, and the idea of forming an ice hockey team was conceived during that car ride home. Many of the roller hockey team members were people who played ice hockey growing up, but with no other option for ice hockey, found their way to the Men's Roller Hockey team.

And with that, the UCSB Ice Hockey team was formed, calling Channel Islands Ice Center, located in Oxnard, their home ice, knowing that once Ice in Paradise was finished being built, they'll have their home ice only about a five-minute drive away.

Photo Courtesy of Ice Hockey at UCSB’s Facebook page

Prior to playing as part of the West Coast Hockey Conference (WCHC), the UCSB Ice Hockey team played in the Pacific Collegiate Hockey Association (PCHA), where the D1 team became champions, winning the Adams Cup playing against Santa Clara in 2018. After the disbanding of the PCHA, the UCSB Gauchos then played in the WCHC, which is a part of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA), and competed in Division 3 this past 2025-26 season.

Today, Ice in Paradise hosts practices, pre-tryout sessions, try-out sessions, and of course home games, for the UCSB Gauchos. Crowds come and fill up the stands on the upper mezzanine, just to cheer on the team. Ice in Paradise is proud to be the home rink to the UCSB Gauchos, come by next season to support the UCSB Ice Hockey team!

For more information about the Santa Barbara Ice Hockey Team, visit their website at  https://www.ucsbicehockey.com/.

To learn more about our 10 Year Anniversary, visit our Celebrating 10 Year page on our website.