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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 14, 1982)
Custom Alterations mm. IT... its liisjersej' that this up. The; he saidaf- nice man. in scoring 16 minute Billy Cun- look at re- e first fey (iiarterhis uul millet it- regulars inggame. ous about, me said, aon game laved. We bird quar- peat run- lone indie stodf a ns had a ; arounda bucks Malone iers quid- Elmer Nordstrom, representing the partners of the Seattle club, mnounced Wednesday Patera and General Manager John ;y to make fhompson had been fired because of the team’s lack of success. Mike McCormack, director of football operations and past oath at Philadelphia and Baltimore, was named as interim head played le’s adapt- ihilosophr bounding he used he llow nl Malone - Rocked nnev'sde- ion-a-veai fhompson. wver, Lef on, Di als which acre than cl then he ritive deal r»ld Kali get no 1 sets frq| sports Battalion/Page 13 October 14, 1982 A&M hockey club ready 779-1774 By Bea Professional quality!reasonable rales 9:30-5:30 M-F — 9:30-1 Sat. 804 Villa Maria Rd., Bryan By Tom Dobrez Battalion Reporter In Texas, there are easier ings to do then start an ice lockey team. The Texas A&M Ice Hockey Mi opens its inaugural season in New Orleans Oct. 30 against lieTulane Waves but by then he hardest part will be over. I' Playing Texas A&M’s newest tub sport requires a little more showing up at the team neeting every week. Besides being a student, you mist know how to ice skate, own tune expensive equipment, and ie willing to travel and travel md then travel some more. Perhaps, the hardest obstacle mbverconie is finding a place to ilay. Originally, plans called for heteam to practice and play all heir "home" games in Houston it the Sharpstown Ice Arena. Butdisaster struck just two davs before the Ice-Ags first practice. A lightning bolt struck a generator on top of the rink, melting the ice and a few of the player’s hopes. “It would have been easy for these guys to just pack up their equipment and give up all hope for hockey at A&M. But they just love the sport too much to let it die like that,” says Aggie head coach James Johns. The search for a new rink lead them to Austin. One-hundred and ten miles away from campus, the hockey team had a place to practice — for now. Northcross Mall pro vides an ample rink for practice, but scheduling conflicts and rink size may force the Ice-Ags to travel to Dallas — for a “home game.” But lew of the players are dis couraged now. “We have come this far, and after last weekend’s practice most players are impressed with the team and our coach,” Todd Steinweg, the club’s vice- president, said. The coach was instructed as a player by Gordie Howe, one of the sport’s greatest players. Johns skated for a year with a Detroit Red Wings farm team at Howe’s recommendation. Johns, a Houston resident, coaches the team because he loves hockey. “I’m too old to play the game competively anymore, so I fi gure I’ll at least stay close to the game through coaching,” says Johns, who makes the four hour trip from Houston to Austin for each practice. The team has formally prac ticed together only twice and only one more practice is sche duled before they face-off in New Orleans. “We are going to rely on the player's individual experiences on high school and men’s lea^ teams,” Steinweg said. “A high percentage of our players are from the North originally and have years of hockey experi ence.” Johns said the team is much improved over its first practice but stressed the need for consis tent teamwork. “The team will have to quick ly learn how to function together,” Johns said. “It takes time to learn how fast your teammate can skate or how good he can pass and time together is one thing these guys haven’t had, unfortunately.” The team’s first game will also be the first for the newly-formed Southwest Collegiate Hockey Association. League plans had originally been drawn to include seven teams, but because of problems similar to those encountered by Texas A&M — along with a lack of interest — teams at the Uni versity of Houston, the Univer sity of Texas and Texas Tech University never were formed. There are now four teams in the league. Southern Methodist and North Texas State University join the Ice-Ags and Tulane as the pioneers in college ice hock ey — Southwest-style. Steinweg says the team is ex cited about the possibility of win ning a conference champion ship, which would earn it a trip to the National Club Finals in Colorado — but for now players are just hoping there are enough cars available to make the trip to New Orleans. Although the season is about to begin, Steinweg said the ros ter is by no means complete. Interested hockey players may still join the dub. There are 20 players on the team now but it has room for at least five more. The club meets every Thurs day in 221 Sterling C. Evans Lib- rary. St So mat MEXICAN RESTAURANT HOURS SUN. 10-3 MON. CLOSED TUES.-THURS. 11-2:30, 5-9 FRI. 11-2:30, 5-10 SAT. 11-10 Serving wine, beer, mixed drinks and the best MARGARITA8! c^exvincj fins. J\/{£,xlcan, ^ood foz youz dining fibaiuzz. «» MAAI. W. 25th St. @ N. Brazos / / >-0"MftO 10 Blits. West of Downtown nicks a p it a si* Seahawks fire, replace coach United Press International SEATTLE — After seven years, Seattle Seahawks’ Coach Jack itera finally ran out of tomorrows. Patera, 49, coached the young franchise from its inception, recording winning records in 1978 and 1979, but falling to 4-12 in 1980 and 6-10 last year. Each year, the Seahawks promised improvement and each rason Seattle fans packed the Kingdome. But after two big losses atthebeginningof the 1982 season, the owners decided it was time fora change. oach. “We’ve have been disappointed at our lack of progress on the ootbail field the past years and that is the sole reason for the lismissal,” said Nordstrom. “It became apparent in our early sea- on performance things hadn’t turned around.” Patera, reached by telephone at Queets on the Olympic Peninsu- s.fiad only one question for the owners: “Why now?” Seahawk owners voted unanimously to fire both Patera and John Nordstrom, representing the owners, said Thompson was eleased because of his total influence over the team. “We aren’t the football vas responsible for the “John was the head man,” he said, xperts and we relied on him. He i irogram.” No general manager was named because the owners wanted to locus first on straightening out the team. The strikes gave us a chance to refiect on what’s going on,” § Nordstrom. “We’re committed to producing a winning IteanU ohone call I McCormack, Baltimore’s head coach for two years before com- ChatfePprSeattle, was reluctant about taking over for the rest of the [Ter sheetseason. iers would I ) return ml" ot want ini ded null' 1 1! thus tlicl I as sayitf nt tofplf. an he(Wj eal.lcj i her ptoj idelpW' J make up decision!'[ ral man 3 ’ ,ranted M . I wanKfj “ il Jfl are e 3 ' ember® iyed .. id goi' 1 IGAMES •i -il za j Midnight Madness I EVERY FRIDAY NIGHT j Midnight — 2:00 $-100 8 I I TOKENS FOR Culpepper Plaza Only -i "i Where do you go for a quality haircut? 505 University Drive Suite 805 College Station 846-4771 ^i November 4,8 p.m. G. Rollie White Tickets: 6” 6” 5” MSC Box Office 845-1234 Optional Pass Period October 11 -15 General Public October 18 i mb