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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 21, 1983)
Texas A&M The Battalion Sports Thursday, April 21, 1983/The Battalion/Page 9 h ticks and ice Texas A&M hockey team overcomes musual problems to survive season by John Wagner Sports Editor I Tom Dobrez throws his head back and laughs. M stories? He has a few. In an unmistakably [orthern accent — he’s from a town close to Chi- Ego — Dobrez offers up a netful of anecdotes pat would make your head spin. Or your ice melt, | this case. J Dobrez is the only senior member on Texas l&M’s ice hockey team — a team that wound up Is inaugural season in March against the Austin Uitols. It wasn’t easy, but the Aggies managed bplay eight games — and win five of them — in a pson beset with difficulties from the very begin- P- Anyone who is determined enough to play fefkey at a school like Texas A&M is bound to me; some kind of anecdote — some type of war pry—to tell. A&M is a university that loves its [otball. The students wear shorts in February, linters come and go, with no sign whatsoever of lewhite stuff. To Aggies, icing is something you 111 on a cake. It is not the kind of place you start a hockey am. put somebody did. And, as Dobrez and the [her members of the team will tell you, things piked out just fine. [That somebody was Steve Mathiason, the pm’s first president. After several members of Texas A&M lacrosse team sat down to discuss ? “good old days” up North, the idea of an feie Hockey team was born. Dobrez calls gjjhiason’s plan “a brainchild.” thinking of it was the easy part. And [thering up enough experienced players to field earn wasn’t too difficult, either. The tough part pe when the team had to actually play. [To begin with, the Bryan/College Station area pn’t even have an ice rink. The Aggies began ptice this season using the Sharpstown Ice enter in Houston — a two-hour drive away — as jeir home rink. But a single stroke of ill-timed ihtning put an end to that plan, hitting the [nerator at Sharpstown and melting the ice. The nk has still not reopened. But another rink did. After the Aggies traveled [New Orleans to play two games against Tulane Bey won one and lost one), Spenco International ] Waco opened its doors. The opening night iraction? SMU vs. Texas A&M in an intercolle- Re hockey match. Dobrez says it was a night he’ll never forget. |“Because of all the things we’d run in to,” Dob- zsays, “we really didn’t get too keyed up, as far [expecting too much (from the rink). But it was Ipressive. |We went into the locker room to get dressed, Id when we walked out, there was a deafening Bf. There were 550 people there, and I’m not pggerating. The reception we got was so spon- peous and so incredible the whole team was just | awe. “And not only were there Corps people there, not only were there regular Aggies, but there were old Ags too. And they were there to watch Texas A&M play hockey. “They were coming up to us and saying ‘we didn’t know you had a hockey team.’ And we were saying ‘we really didn’t, either.’” The Aggies finished out the season with two games against North Texas State, one game against the Austin Saints, and the season-finale against the Capitols. Finding a place to play wasn’t the only problem, however. There were little problems (finding a place to buy sticks) as well as big problems (paying for ice time). Both were nagging, to say the least. “Ice time,” Dobrez says, “is very expensive (approximately $100 an hour at most rinks). So our primary concern was paying for the ice. We would’ve slept in the car if we had to, but we wanted that ice time. We were a bunch of hockey players who just wanted to play.” But hockey players need sticks to play. And one stick usually lasts only one, maybe two games — if you’re lucky. “If you walk into a pro shop in a city like Chica go — some place up North — there’ll be sticks everywhere,” Dobrez said. “And when you walk in there’ll be maybe a 100 sticks to choose from — that many sticks displayed. “Wheras down here there’s like nine, and there’s only two dif ferent kinds. It’s either this one or that one. You walk in and you take whatever you can get. “You grow up using a brand of stick, and you just don’t want to change. A stick is a very vital, important piece of equipment — it’s like a baseball player’s mitt. “So one time one of the players’ father was coming down from Minnesota, and he called up his dad with an order of sticks. The dad was com ing anyway, so he drove down with a good amount of sticks. Everybody put in their personal order.” Another problem licked. But practicing was another story. The Aggies tried working out in DeWare Fieldhouse, but the results weren’t encouraging. It might have helped if DeWare had ice. “Hockey is not so much a question of having strategy,” Dobrez said, “as much as knowing the guy next to you — how fast he can skate, how he can catch the pass, does he pass, or does he shoot a lot. And every week we would have no practice. That was our problem — we never had any prac tices. We were lucky enough just to get games, let alone practice. “This team now has some individuals who sparkle on ice, and you could tell by the way our team progressed that we were getting to know each other. Our fourth game was probably only the fifth time we had skated together.” Gordie Anderson is one of those sparklers Dob- See HOCKEY page 10 INTRODUCES THE J"* COUPON We believe that Aggies are still the best people around and we applaud Jackie Sherrill for helping to restore those traditions which place A&M far above all other universities and bring out the true meaning of “Aggieland”. We are giving you the chance to show what kind of person and Aggie you are. ... All you have to do is give the pizza express delivery person a compliment and you may use the 500 off coupon (in addition to) any other coupon you may have) JUDGEMENT OF COMPLIMENTS WILL BE LEFT UP TO YOUR SPECIFIC DELIVERY PERSON. PIZZA DELIVERIES NEED LOVE TOO! Above, action from SMU game. Below, hockey team’s Joe Anderson and Todd Steinweg, goalie Blair Oliver most valuable players. From left to right, defensemen and forwards Gordie Anderson and Tom Dobrez. Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity {Announces Their Seventh Annuall FIGHT NIGHT Friday, April 22 & Saturday, April 23 Brazos County Pavillion (East Bypass at Tabor Rd.) Boxing between Dorms — Corps — Fraternities — Student Organizations — TAMU Students Plenty of Food & Beer Available Admission: Tickets available at: Rother’s Book- $ 3 00 presale store, Texas Aggie Bookstore, Tri $400 g a te State Sporting Goods & Suds FIGHT TIMES: Fri. Apr. 22 Sat. Apr. 23 Sat. Apr. 23 6 p.m.-Midnight 12 noon-5 p.m. 6 p.m.-Midnight Preliminary Bouts Semi-finals FINALS Admission FREE at this time. -m