Hockey is a prevalent sport across the U.S. and is growing at Eagle High. The hockey team is conjoined with the Rocky Mountain High students, and they are known as the Horse Bears.
The hockey tryouts for the Horse Bears were on Aug. 22, and since then, the team has been practicing rigorously. The team’s season begins in August and ends in May, depending on if they make playoffs.
“We usually get there about half an hour before, just hang out. And then, we get on the ice, do a few warm-up laps and then we’ll do skating exercises for probably 15-20 minutes.” Said junior Nicholas Schiavi. “Then, we’ll go into breakout drills… [in the] last 10-15 minutes, we’ll play some sort of team-oriented game or drill.”
Clearly, the team is working incredibly hard to get better and learn how to play the game even better. The team practices are out past the Boise Airport at Idaho Ice World. They practice during the week and work very hard to create a strong team.
Hockey for many is unknown, though, with the uproar of popularity in the northern states, it is growing immensely. For some who are just getting into hockey or any sport, they may be confused by some of the terms and lingo.
The differing positions are center, wing, defenseman and goalie. The wings are separated into two different sides, the left wing and right wings, which play almost as offensive players. The defense is comprised of right and left defensemen and the center serves to get shots and play as an offensive player. These positions all come together to create a cohesive team that skates with an impeccable level of skill together.
“I think it’s cool that you can take a sport that so detailed and takes so much finesse to do well, and also, throw in the fact that you have to be tough-skinned and brutal to be able to play it well… it’s fascinating to me, and I just, think it’s a really cool thing,” Schiavi said.
The sport takes so much work and dedication, and when put together, it is absolutely beautiful and exhilarating. Even if one is just watching in the stands, it is amazing to get to see the team play with an incredible level of efficiency.
So far, the Eagle High-Rocky Mountain High team has won their game against the Boise CanAda’s five to one. There is no doubt that the team will have an amazing season due to their hard work and dedication to the electrifying game.
Their game schedule can be found on the team’s Instagram @eagle.rocky.hockey.
