Get Out with Ord: Hockey, off the ice

When the weather is warm and the ice has melted, it’s hockey season for a group of SIUC students.

With no ice rink on campus, the SIUC intramural and collegiate roller hockey teams take advantage of the outdoor roller hockey court.

The switch from the ice to the pavement is not the only difference between the games, though, said Eric Zabedny, a junior from Algonquin studying aviation.

“There’s a lot less body contact in roller hockey,” he said.

He said other differences from ice hockey include slightly varied rules, one fewer player on the court at a time and the necessity for more finesse in maneuvering.

Zabedny, who is one of the presidents of the intramural roller hockey team, said he prefers ice hockey for its physicality and competition, but enjoys the game’s warm-weather cousin as well.

“I like the speed and the smoothness of the game,” he said. “It’s fluid, and constantly moving and changing.”

SIU has both a collegiate team and an intramural. Zabedny said the collegiate team has about 10 players, with tryouts at the beginning of the fall semester. Their season begins around Thanksgiving and runs through March, with about 18 games.

He said the intramural team has around 25 members, and anybody interested in the sport is welcome to join. Many of the players, however, grew up playing both forms of hockey.
Dan Matz, a junior from St. Charles studying psychology, said he has been interested in hockey since he was five. He attended a Chicago Blackhawks game, began playing the sport two weeks later and has not stopped since, he said.

“It’s the biggest stress reliever I’ve got,” he said. “It’s a blast to play and the people are always nice.”

Matz said another reason he enjoys the game is because of the unique fan base. Because hockey is not ranked as one of America’s pastimes, as baseball and football are, he said, the fans are dedicated, and most of them have a good knowledge of the sport.

Though Matz has participated in many other sports, he said his life is hockey, and has been since the Blackhawks game he saw more than a decade ago.

“It’s intensely important to have something outside of the difficulties of your life,” he said.

“You’ve got to have something you love. Not only something that you love, but something that you do.”

Another student who began playing at the age of 5 is Chris Ellison, a freshman from Algonquin studying business. He said he also grew up playing baseball and soccer, but stuck with hockey because it was more exciting with all the movement and physicality.

Ellison said the sport is a good workout because players are constantly skating and hitting, and burn plenty of calories throughout the three 20-minute periods.

He said his favorite part of the game is the group of friends he has made through playing.

The team members hang out with one another outside the rink and are like family, he said.

Roller hockey also lets him forget about the difficulty of school and other areas of his life, he said.

“It frees your mind to come out here and have a good time,” he said.

Genna Ord can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 275