Cal U. hockey club reinstated after players’ arrests
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CALIFORNIA – Members of California University of Pennsylvania’s hockey club must now submit to the same random drug testing required of student athletes who participate in Cal U.’s NCAA Division II sports in response to the arrests of two university students in a large-scale marijuana bust.
The university also has lifted the interim suspension placed on the club after state police arrested ice hockey players and brothers Steven and Jesse Powell of Baldwin April 16 on charges they possessed more than nine pounds of marijuana at their off-campus residence at 256 Second St., Cal U. announced Wednesday.
“A couple kids did a dumb thing,” university spokeswoman Christine Kindl said.
The brothers have been dismissed from the team and still face further Cal U. disciplinary action, she said.
The hockey organization is the first Cal U. club to institute random drug testing for its members.
“The university’s Office of Student Conduct, as well as the hockey program itself, took a hard look at the situation,” Jamison Roth, director of sports clubs at Cal U., said in a news release.
“We found no indication that any other players were involved in the alleged sale of marijuana, so the ice hockey program has been reinstated,” Roth said. “At the same time, we have increased our education efforts. We will continue to hold our hockey players to a very high standard as we work to repair the club’s reputation.”
Steven Powell, 23, and Jesse Powell, 18, are free on $25,000 unsecured bonds. They face a preliminary hearing on charges of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia at 1:30 p.m. May 20 before District Judge Joshua P. Kanalis.