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EUGENE'S HOCKEY TEAMS |
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I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't watch hockey at a real life rink, with living, breathing players grinding it out right in front of you. There's nothing going to a hockey game: the chill that comes off the ice and makes you shiver; the smell of used jerseys and stale popcorn; the crude cheers from the hardy fans who come out to cheer on their favorite player. And we can't forget the best part of the intermission: THE ZAMBONI!!! Nothing gets a fan psyched up more than waiting for the driver to clear that last strip of old ice.
The hockey teams in Eugene play in the only hockey rink in town: Lane County Ice. LCI is at the Lane County Fairgrounds in Eugene. The entrance to the parking lot is near Jackson and West 13th st. The front entrance to the ice rink is a pro-shop, which leads to the lobby. A window facing the ice allows you to sit on a bench, consume your pepsi and stale popcorn (or ice cream. Ice cream at an ice rink? Try it!) and watch the Icehawks, Ducks, Thunder, Lightning, LAHA or figure skating (if you arrive early).
Doors at either end of the rink lead to the seating section. Prime seating is just above the walkway around the rink. You get to sit in chairs, but the dividers on the boards block the view. If you don't mind being farther away from the action, sit up in the bleachers. Don't forget to bring a towel to sit on!
The home team almost always comes out from the East locker room, so keep an eye out and cheer loud when the team comes out on the ice! Years ago, when I was a kid, we used to go down near the locker room door and cheer the players on. If it was after the game, you ALWAYS congratulated the players on a game well won (or fought, if they lost). You could also try to snag an autograph from your favorite player.
Yep, Lane County Ice is THE place to be on a Friday or Saturday night. Come down and be a rink rat!!!
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The Icehawks/Blues |
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Once upon a time (1989, to be precise), an ice rink was built in a certain Northwest town (Eugene, to be precise). It was all shiny and new, and the owners of the building were proud of it. People came from all around to skate, or try to, on the new rink. It had been many years since these people had seen any ice in the town, so they were quite pleased. But on weekend nights, the rink was empty. This made the owners upset. "What can we do to bring people to our rink this late at night?" they asked themselves. They tried to think of what people did in places where there was a lot of ice. Then it hit them - make a hockey team! "But who will play on our hockey team?" they asked themselves. Just then, a knock on the front door! A tall, muscular man was there. "Hey, uh, you got a hockey team, eh?" he said. This strange person was a Canadian! Why was he in a place this warm? The owners didn't care about that, they wanted this person to play hockey for them. So the man went out, rounded up his fellow Canadian buddies as well as a few New Englanders and Europeans, and came back to the rink. The owners were delighted. But what to call this group of hockey players? One owner remembered the story of a Eugene resident who sang the blues because he couldn't watch hockey. So, this new hockey team was called the Eugene Blues. Not long after, they started playing games in this new ice rink, and kicked butt for many years later, especially when Portland came to town. |
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(The above story is fictional, although it is partly based on fact. Especially the parts about a hockey team playing in a new ice rink in Eugene, Oregon) |
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Now that you know basically how the Eugene Blues came to be, let me tell you a little more about them. First of all, they were only called the Blues from 1989-1997. After that, they were renamed the Lane County Icehawks. The team is amateur, and plays against other amateur teams from around the Northwest, West and sometimes even Canada. Our main rival is the Portland Royals. They're really good, but we're really good too. There have been other Portland teams, but this team is the one we really hate.
The players come from all around. Some are Canadian, some are from the Northeast, some are from the Midwest, some are from California, and a few have come from Europe. A couple of the players were even born in Oregon. As you can imagine, the roster changes all the time, mostly because people move to othe places.
The team had a huge following from about 1991 to 1995, and attendance has declined since then. However, the fan base seems pretty stable by now. Every fan seems to have their favorite player, especially the kids. A player's popularity seemed to increase when he starts signing more autographs. Of course, playing style also has something to do with it. Goal scoring is appreciated, as is rough play. The rules of the league we play in (do we even play in a league anymore?) forbid fighting, so the fisticuffs are rarely seen.
These guys play for the pure fun of it. Most of them played when they were kids, or in college. I'm sure these guys are very appreciative of the fact that Eugene has a rink. These are our boys, and we cheer them on game in and game out. All 75 of us. Come out to the rink, see a game, and make it 76 of us.
(The Icehawks used to have a URL. It was www.icehawks.org. That URL doesn't work now. I don't know what happened to it, but if it comes back up I will tell you right here in this space) |
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This page was updated Dec 03, 2000. Back Home |
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