ALBUQUERQUE – Hello Ice Wolves fans and welcome to the latest edition of the Ice Wolves Den. This past weekend the NAHL Ice Wolves honored their aging out players. Herman Asberg, Toivo Laaksonen, Ben Polomsky, Johnny Johansson, Max Matthews, Ethan Hull and Jackson Fuller.
In Junior hockey, there is a limit how long they can play, Ice Wolves play by play announcer Jason Thomas explains, “In junior hockey hockey, you only have a certain amount of eligibility, you can play until your 21st birth year, then you’re no longer eligible to play after the season is over. Then you’re hoping to go play college hockey, that’s the goal for all of these guys.” Thomas continued, “For a lot of our age outs, they’ve put multiple years into this team, even our guys only here for one year like our foreigners, they’ve put everything they had into this team. Age out night is just one of those nights to celebrate all of the hard work these kids have put in overall.”
Herman Asberg was unfortunately injured, but it was still a special moment for him, “It’s important and it was awesome, especially when we were playing a team like the Grit. The environment here and culture was really different, I loved getting away from the Swedish winter.” Asberg said, “The fan base here is much bigger and I really love the fans. I want to thank them for everything, getting honored like that was really special.”
Current Ice Wolves Captain Ethan Hull epitomizes the “ladder of development”. “We all owe a lot to this organization, for them to honor us like that is really special. This organization means so much to us. It was a big step going from youth hockey straight unti juniors, the NA3HL was a great stepping stone for me. Playing under Coach Banks was real helpful, he taught me how to play the game the right way.” Hull continued, “Being named Captain meant a lot, especially since it was a team vote. It means the guys trust me, it’s truly an honor to serve those guys in that way.”
The NAHL Ice Wolves took 2 of 3 from the Grit to end their regular season, clinching 4th place and home ice advantage in the Quarter Finals. They will face the El Paso Rhinos April 10th, 11th and if necessary 12th with every game at the Outpost.
The 3HL Ice Wolves made their first trip to the Fraser Cup Tournament in St. Peters, MO as the Wild Card. They opened up the Round Robin round by winning an overtime thriller 4-3 against the West Bend Power, led by a pair of goals from Callahan Butler, including the OT winner. They closed out the Wild Card with a convincing 4-2 victory over the defending Fraser Cup Champion Helena Bighorns, clinching the #1 seed in their group, setting up a South Division rematch against the Louisiana Drillers in the Semi Finals. Louisiana would open up a 5-1 lead entering the third period, but the resilient Ice Wolves refused to go down quietly. Jake Wenner would put them within 3, just 2:22 into the third. They would pull the goalie late and Connor Hanley would tighten the gap with 1:39 left and Braeden Whitesell would make it a 1 goal game with 26 seconds left. One final flurry would follow, but it want not enough, as Louisiana would move on to the Finals, eventually raising the Fraser Cup.
While it wasn’t the finish they wanted, they have nothing to be ashamed of. The 3HL Ice Wolves showed the league they absolutely deserved to be there. Their resilience is what makes the fans love this team. It might not be the one they were hoping for, but for the second year in a row, they have another banner to hang in the Outpost.
Photo Credit Scott Adamson and the New Mexico Ice Wolves
You must be logged in to post a comment.