ALBUQUERQUE – Hello Ice Wolves fans and welcome to the latest edition of the Ice Wolves Den. This week we feature Liam Waugh.
Liam is a rarity, he grew up in Lawrenceville , GA, an Atlanta suburb. There aren’t many Georgia natives who make it to this level. He says his love of hockey started long ago, “It started with the Atlanta Thrashers, they were so fun to watch. I actually hated skating on the ice when I was little, but once I got used to it, just like swimming, I started to love it.” Waugh said, “I played other sports, obviously living in the south, baseball and football. When I got to high school I chose to focus on hockey and gave up all the other sports because I loved it so much. I moved to Iowa at 15 and fell in love with it.”
In a strange twist for a hockey player, Waugh does not like the cold. He explains, “I hate the cold, let me explain. When you’re skating on the ice, you get hot and you sweat. I love sweating and I love being hot. Some people are different on that, but if I go outside and it’s like -15 wind chill, I just don’t want to be outside at all, I despise it.” Waugh continued, “Now if it’s 85 or 90, oh my gosh, I love that weather. I didn’t expect it to be this cold in Albuquerque, I’d always heard the desert was hot during the day and cold at night. It’s starting to get warmer here though, so I’m starting to love it. I’ve started being able to wear short sleeves.”
Ice Wolves Head Coach Kevin Hartzell loved Waugh’s work ethic, “I think this is the best version of a hockey player he’s ever been. Going all the way back to tryouts I loved his work ethic. He was constantly that person that works. I even told him, having to put the team together without him would just break my heart, I couldn’t imagine not having him.” Hartzell continued, “The game has really slowed down for him a lot, but he doesn’t show down, he just goes. This past Saturday when Stanley Hubbard got in a fight, we had to reshuffle the lines because I wanted to keep him in the lineup. He doesn’t really have a scoring role, but he’s going to grow into that. His work habit is contagious, any kid that survives growing up with five sisters, you must be a special kid.”
Waugh credits his coaches with his growth and loves the fans in Albuquerque, “I had a lot of coaches help me, but I had one coach, Yan Kaminski, he was a great coach. Super hard, but you know how Russian coaches can be. All they did was push me forward, I can’t do anything but be grateful for them.” Waugh continued, “It’s an amazing experience being here, there are so many people who show up. I didn’t expect it in Albuquerque. It’s been great here, our coaches are always here for us and they tell us every day they’re here for anything. What more can you ask for from your coaches?”
The NAHL Ice Wolves swept the Odessa Jackalopes this past weekend, 5-1 on Friday and 4-2 Saturday, also increasing their winning streak to 4. They travel to Corpus Christi on Wednesday to take on the Ice Rays then go to Odessa Friday and Saturday for a rematch with the Jackalopes.
The 3HL Ice Wolves were in Atlanta to take on the Capitals and completed a convincing sweep, 12-2 on Friday, 13-2 Saturday and capped off the sweep Saturday with a 7-0 shutout. Dantae Hunziker lit up the scoreboard with 7 goals this weekend, leaving him only 1 goal from tying the franchise record for goals in a season. They travel to North Richland Hills, TX to take on the first place Brahmas. They return to the Outpost February 13th for their annual School Day Matinee taking on the Atlanta Capitals.
Photos Courtesy of Scott Adamson
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