events
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Goalie Clinic
Kids Night Out
Youngsters ages 6-older enjoy a safe, fun environment for dinner, movie, games, ice skating, rock wall and other activities. Last one this summer.
Goalie Clinic
Session 5 Classes Start
Sign up for skating classes!
Zamboni Driving Class
$20 per person, includes lunch from the Kettle! Sign up at the Pro Shop!
Hockey Talk
A puck flying at you at 100 miles an hour. What a rush! There's a lot riding on you when you're the goalie in ice hockey. I'm really into that.
I decided to become a goalie pretty quick after getting onto the ice. A few friends of mine back in Pennsylvania were playing ice hockey, so I jumped onto the public ice rink with them. I had watched the Philadelphia Flyers on TV - they were more or less our 'home' team in Reading. (You know, Reading, like the railroad on a Monopoly game board. That's us: Reading, Pa.)
Their goalie intrigued me. Tommy Soderstrom. With those little dots over the o's. Cool mask, for one thing. He was a little guy, short and about 150 pounds, but he was tough. He had surgery five times to correct a heart condition, and he got back on the ice as soon as he could.
In his homeland, Sweden, they called him "the living wall." The Flyers drafted him after he led Sweden to the World Championship, and he was the MVP goaltender. After a few years the Flyers traded him to the New York Islanders. I liked him a lot, so I decided, ok, I'll try to play goalie.
It also appealed to me to have the cool pads on - my first pads were flashy, kinda fancy. But what really hooked me was, as the goalie you're always in play. The action centers on the goalie. When that puck comes flying, it gets hairy.
This weekend I'll enjoy passing along my passion and my knowledge of techniques and skills for becoming a goaltender. I played the position in college and in elite junior level hockey, and I'm sure we'll find some hidden gems among our first goalie campers at Arctic Wolf. Come join us.
Oh, and I want to address that stereotype that goalies are a little goofy. Me? Surely not. People always told me I was the most normal-acting goalie they'd ever known. But I guess if you're willing to sit back there in the net all by yourself and let that puck come zooming at you all night, well, I suppose it takes a different kind of mindset.
Next week I'll be back to talk to you about how to select equipment for the position you want to play. Meanwhile, come skate with us at the Arctic Wolf.
Josh Hand, Director of Hockey
979.693.3900
jhand@arcticwolfice.com