Some of UNM's lesser-known athletes strap on their skates and prepare for grueling practices Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11 p.m., a time when most people aren't focused on hard work.
But the Ice Wolves, members of UNM's club hockey team, say they love the challenge and the chance to play hockey in the desert.
"I came here to play with my brothers and play this sport on a collegiate level," said Oscar Solis, a rightwing on the team who has played at UNM with his two brothers. "There's also nothing better than putting on the skates, 40 pounds of equipment and dodging hits while protecting a puck roughly the size of a baseball. It's not a sport that just anyone can do."
The team's home ice is the Outpost Ice Arena, which is a local commercial skating rink.
To help keep player fees low, the Ice Wolves practice at hours that don't interfere with the Outpost's regular business.
Kevin Bennet, a graduate student at UNM, is from Michigan and grew up playing hockey, but left it behind when he moved to the Southwest.
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He jumped at the chance to play on the collegiate once he heard about the Ice Wolves.
"It's just unlike any other sport, and I thought it would be a lot of fun," he said.
Last year the club team finished above .500 in the Rocky Mountain Hockey Association, but the year before it managed just one win. Solis attributed the team's struggle to a lack of leadership.
"We had the talent, it was just that we didn't know how to put it together," he said. "It was just a bad situation where no one really came together. We didn't have the patience or really good direction."
The team didn't seem to be fairing much better a few weeks ago, opening the season with a 11-0 loss to Northern Arizona University, 5-5 tie and 13-2 loss to Brigham Young University and an 8-4 loss to Montana State University.
"A lot of players just weren't committed to the team yet and a bunch of them had to stay behind for the first few games, which were all on the road," Solis said. "Only seven guys made it and that made it really hard to play competitively."
Reeling from an 0-3-1 start, Solis and Bennett said everything changed when head coach David Kornowski, a former hockey player, took over the team.
"It was just like night and day; it was amazing," Solis said. "He demanded something from us that no one else had before - respect. He told us that if we wanted to play, we had to be on time to practice and that we had to work hard on the ice. I know it sounds like basic stuff, but this team never really had that before."
This is Bennett's first year on the team, but he echoed Solis' praise of Kornowski.
"It was like 180 degrees difference," Bennett said. "He came in with set drills, explained them to us and really kept up focused on improvement. He also does really well in game situations, calling the right substitutions and putting the team in a position to win."
With Kornowski at the helm, the Ice Wolves opened the season at home Friday and Saturday with 7-3 and 9-3 wins over Montana State University.
"You just saw the difference on the ice," Solis said. "I think we're going to have a strong year because we finally have that leadership to go with the talent. We have the patience to work together and are learning to work as a team."
As much as Solis loves the talent required to bring a wining team together, he also said that he loves the fans who follow the sport. BYU and Northern Arizona routinely fill their arenas, while a good showing for the Ice Wolves was 125 people opening weekend.
"We just love it when people show up to cheer us on," he said. "It's going to be really exciting this year, so I hope that we can draw some bigger crowds."
The Ice Wolves' next game is Friday at 9:30 p.m. at the Outpost, 9530 Tramway Blvd. NE. Tickets cost $5 for adults, $3 for students and $2 for children ages 12 and younger.
