ALBUQUERQUE – Hello Ice Wolves fans and welcome to the latest edition of the Ice Wolves Den. This week we feature one of the NA3HL Ice Wolves mid-season acquisitions, Kyle Mackintosh.
Kyle was acquired in a trade with the Texas Roadrunners. He made an immediate impact and quickly endeared himself to the fans and he says the feeling is mutual. “I loved both teams, but here everyone competes. We have four lines and everyone can roll. We all help each other and support each other. We love competing.” Mackintosh continued, “We didn’t have much of a fan base with the Roadrunners, so it’s really fun to come out here and see the squishy wolves tossed on the ice. The special jerseys and the school kids, they were very loud. I love it.”
Ice Wolves Head Coach Darren Banks says Mackintosh has been a valuable addition, “He’s been great since he’s been here with us. He works hard and has the ability to shoot the puck. We’re glad to have him and look for him to continue to grow.” Banks continued, “We never want to be the team that makes a ton of moves, we want to stay loyal to our guys. We’re really gelling together and look forward to seeing how everything fits moving forward.”
Mackintosh wouldn’t be where he is today without his parents, “My Dad waking up at 5am for mite practices, he didn’t want to be up that early and my Mom coming to practices and all the games. I’m thankful for everything they’ve done.” Mackintosh said, “It was really nice having her here playing on Valentine’s Day. Having the night I had Friday, it was amazing having them both here.”
A common thread at this level is the influence of their youth coaches, Mackintosh was no different, “My first year playing really competitive travel hockey with Larry Cahn, really pushed me to the next level. My 15 and 16 coach John Beaulieu told me I could go far if I dialed it in. They really helped me develop.” Mackintosh continued, “California has a great group of guys, especially where I live further north near San Francisco. I have a great skills coach I train with every summer. Here in Albuquerque, I love Coach Banks. He’s serious when he needs to, but he’s also one of the boys. He even gets into the lines during practice. I love the energy he brings and the system he puts in.”
The 3HL Ice Wolves hosted hundreds of school kids on Thursday afternoon for their annual School Day Matinee. They ultimately completed a dominating sweep of the Atlanta Capitals. Issa Murakami had a stand out, record setting weekend, with 6 goals and 3 assists for 9 points including a hat trick on Saturday and breaking the team single season points record on Friday. He wasn’t the only record breaker, as Braeden Whitesell broke the teams all time assists record on Thursday. The team is off this week, before heading to El Paso next Tuesday, then they return home to finish the season on March 1st and 2nd, with the 1st being a double header with the NAHL squad.
Speaking on the NAHL Ice Wolves, they split their series in Greeley against the Colorado Grit. They return home this weekend to host the Odessa Jackalopes and they will be wearing specialty jerseys in support of Tunnel to Towers. Puck drop Friday and Saturday is 6:30.
Logo Designed by Sean Marion
Photo Credits Scott Adamson
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