Saturday, March 30, 2002

ACU student hockey team keeping game 'in line'

By Patrick Gonzales
Reporter-News Staff Writer

A late-night drive down T&P Lane heading east can become pretty eerie.

The surroundings become gradually darker the farther one continues to follow the road east, while the gleam of downtown Abilene inches away in the rear-view mirror.

But on certain nights, this obscurity is interrupted by the glow of stadium lights situated over Cal Young Park

Beneath the lights is the stage for one of the most successful athletic teams at Abilene Christian University - a squad that most people don't even know exists.

The ACU roller hockey club team may be overshadowed by other mainstream sports, but like their surroundings, the Wildcats have found a way to step out of the darkness.

In just its second year of existence, ACU has developed one of the best roller hockey teams in the country. The squad finished the regular season with a perfect 27-0 record and will compete in the national championship tournament April 4-7 in St. Louis, Mo.

"These kids don't get any financial support from the school, but they continue to play and represent the school the best they can," coach Derackk Curtis said. "There is nothing fancy to it. They just love to play the game and they love to win."

Although the concept is the same, roller hockey is a little different than ice hockey.

Obviously, roller hockey is not played on ice but rather any solid surface on which in-line skating is possible. The ideal surface, which is usually used at the larger tournaments, is a hard waffle-like rubber floor.

Roller hockey also has one less player than ice hockey, no blue line and no body contact.

"It's a pretty easy transition if you've played ice hockey before," said team captain Brad Leonard from Dallas, who has tallied 40 goals and 28 assists this season. "The game's is a little faster and you have to be a lot more skillful. It's challenging and fun at the same time."

ACU competes in the College Roller Hockey League, which governs college roller hockey club teams throughout the nation.

Teams are divided into divisions and regions in relation to the size and location of the school, similar to the way schools are governed by the NCAA.

ACU competes in the Southwest Collegiate Hockey League, which includes more than 20 teams from throughout Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana.

Last season the Wildcats finished 22-2-2 and placed fifth at the Division II national tournament in Upland, Calif. This season they've been even more dominant en route to winning the Division II SCHL title and boasting three of the top four scorers in the league.

ACU picked up perhaps its biggest win in program history a month ago when it defeated the University of Colorado, a traditional national powerhouse.

However, its toughest opponent my be finances.

Since they are a club team not sanctioned by the NCAA, the Wildcats don't receive any funding from ACU. They receive some money from the ACU Student Association, which usually isn't even enough to pay for half of their league fees.

The rest of the team's expenses, including equipment, practice and game uniforms, and travel expenses to and from tournaments, must be paid out of pocket.

And the Wildcats have learned to make the best of what they have.

Instead of buying athletic tape "that is too expensive," the players use mailing tape from the U.S. Postal Service instead.

They are allowed to use the Key City Hockey Association's outdoor rink at Cal Young Park on weeknights for practice. But when they weren't allowed to use the rink's goals they constructed their own, using pieces of wood and fishing net.

"Sometimes it means more Sonic instead of Texas Roadhouse, but it's worth it," freshman Joel Germain said. "I think it makes us a closer team. We love to play the game and there is really nothing that will stop us from playing."

Still, it's a bitter compensation for a team that does so much for its school.

Not only does the roller hockey team bring national attention to ACU, but two players on the current roster chose to attend the school after learning of the team.

Germain, who leads the entire SCHL in scoring with 61 goals and 34 assists, followed that route. He came to ACU from Detroit, Mich.

"I used to come down here for church camps during high school because my youth minister was an ACU alumni," Germain said. "I was already familiar with the place and when I found out they had a roller hockey team that just made my decision easier."

What's more, ACU already has received commitments from players who plan on transferring next year to join the team.

Coach Curtis joined the squad as the volunteer coach this year after moving to the Key City from Canada. He played ice hockey all his life and advanced to the Division I league, which is the equivalent of college hockey in the United States.

His ice hockey career came to an end when he lost the vision in his right eye after accidentally getting hit by a puck. He first thought moving to Abilene would end his connection with ice hockey until the one day he received a call from Leonard.

"I really don't know how (the team) found me, but it's been an honor coaching these guys," Curtis said. "They already had so much talent and my job was to just make them better. If they come out focused, this team has a good chance of winning nationals. And no one in Abilene will ever know."

Contact staff writer Patrick Gonzales at 676-6773 or gonzalesp@abinews.com.

from the Reporter-News