Titans win hockey championship in sub-zero temperatures

Allison Walker WAL04015@BYUI.EDU sports asst. editor

Spotlights, the sound of scraping ice, hot chocolate and frozen nose hairs marked the sensations of the BYU-Idaho hockey championship game between the Titans and the Knights.

After the introduction of both teams, hailing players from California to New York, the music stopped, the whistle blew and the sticks hit the ice.

The Knights made a quick goal in the first minutes of the game and followed with two more shortly after to make it 3-0.

Even though they held their lead going into the last period, the Titans came on strong at the end to win the game 8-6 and finish the season undefeated.

Eric Laird, a junior from Idaho Falls, and the coach of the Titans, said it was the best game his team has played this season and it took a lot of motivation to come from behind.

He credits the Titans’ undefeated season with the constant commitment from each player and their camaraderie. “Each player was committed to all the practices and all the games,” Laird said. “We play not just as players or teammates, but as friends having a good time together.”

Despite the loss, the Knights’ coach Jeremy Butler, a junior from Boston, Mass., felt the season was a success because of the teamwork and team spirit the Knights developed.
“We didn’t have any of the all-star players the other teams had, but they worked hard and had awesome attitudes,” Butler said.

Butler said they improved their hockey and teamwork skills. “[The season] was about self-improvement, goal setting and being a better person —just personal progression in general,” he said.

Laird agreed they grew spiritually and mentally in ways to help them the rest of their lives. “We’ve learned how to react under pressure and improve our integrity,” Laird said.

These learning aspects and a love of the game seemed to drive the players, even in bitter cold. Even though many players suffered frostbite after the game, “once hockey gets in your blood, you can’t get it out,” Butler said. “It’s like instead of red blood cells, there are little hockey pucks floating around.”