Fun, camaraderie highlight state’s adult hockey scene


By Brian McDonough W Bantam A . Pee Wee B NOVEMBER 9-12, 2012


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Four-game guarantee for all teams Four of the  ve teams in each division get a  fth game 13-minute stop-time periods $995 registration fee Awards for  rst and second place Three stars announced after each game Register/payment due in full by October 10, 2012


For more information, contact: KEVIN S. TYE


Tournament Director Phone: (928)699-6168


E-Mail: tyeway@npgcable.com


ith new youth and professional seasons getting underway, there’s an- other segment of the sport that’s often overlooked: adult hockey. A number of statewide programs endorsed by the Colorado Amateur Hock-


ey Association (CAHA) boast fun, affordable leagues for players of all ages and skill levels, and grownups ought to take notice. “Adult hockey kind of flies under the radar, but offers so much,” said


CAHA vice president Christina Cooley. “The camaraderie is second to none and it’s something at the state level we fully endorse and promote.” Just ask Corey Breaux of the Pueblo Men’s Hockey League, who’s been playing in his circuit for 13 years. “It’s fun and great exercise, but the relationships


you establish are the best part,” said Breaux. “It’s great for networking; you can find a doctor, dentist, plumber, roofer, bartender, lawyer, business owners - just about any profession in a league like this.” Nathan Burch, Boulder Valley’s adult hockey director, agrees. “Hockey levels the playing field for everybody, from CEOs to your favorite blue-collar guy,” he said. “You’ll build lifelong bonds with the guys you go to battle with once a week on the ice, then afterwards knock the frost off a couple of cold ones. That’s where your friendships are built and are able to stand the test of time.” With no set age limits or prior playing experience needed, adult hockey is, indeed, for everyone. Most of the players Burch encounters are those who have hockey-playing children, and those who are diehard fans of the pro game. Either way, any local rink will be able to direct interested participants who want to get started. “All that matters is that you get out there and have some fun,” said


Burch.


gether in their lives and will once again be teammates and a potential defensive pairing this year with the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team.


Both are returning members of the team


that won gold at the International Paralym- pic Committee Sledge Hockey World Champi- onship earlier this year in Norway and both want to reclaim the ultimate prize. “We just want to go to South Korea (for


April’s Sledge World Championship) and show the world that you can’t mess with the U.S.,” said Landeros, a 23-year-old from Berthoud. “I think once we break in some of the younger guys and we really get going, we should have a really strong team. “I was a little timid my first time play-


Locals Carron, Landeros back with U.S. sled team T


By Matt Mackinder


yler Carron and Nikko Landeros have been through seemingly everything to-


normal hockey, with obvious exceptions.” The bond the two shares goes beyond the


ice rink and the realm of what the term “best friend” means. “We definitely have a close bond because of


what we’ve been through; it’s like we’re broth- ers,” said Carron. “We’ll always have that bond.”


“Tyler and I have a really great friend-


ship,” added Landeros. “There’s not much we don’t talk with each other about. I think hav- ing that bond helps on the ice, too, because we know each other’s tendencies and things like that. “We’ve played as defense partners before


Fort Collins’ Tyler Carron, pictured, along with Nikko Landeros, from Ber- thoud, is again representing Colorado on this year’s U.S. National Sled Hock- ey Team. Photo/Steve DeMeo


ing on this team, and I think we need to show the younger guys that it’s OK to make mistakes and help them get some of the bugs worked out.” Carron, also 23 and from Fort Collins, agreed. “Our expectations as a team are to work hard


and defend our gold medal,” he said. “It’s been awesome playing for Team USA because you get to travel to countries you never thought you’d ever see, and it’s an honor because you’re not just play- ing for your team, but you’re representing your country.” Team USA, which returns 14 members from April’s world championship team, is led by legend-


12


ary college hockey coach Jeff Sauer. As juniors in high school, Carron and Landeros


were involved in a car accident while changing a tire that left them both bilateral amputees. How- ever, the incident didn’t deter either one of them from chasing their life dreams and opportunities. After their injuries, Corey Fairbanks, a for-


mer coach of the Colorado Avalanche sled hockey program, contacted Carron and Landeros and asked them if sled hockey might be up their alley. “Tyler and I went out to try it and, at first, we


hated it,” Landeros said. “Then the more we got to thinking about it, we realized hockey is hockey and sled hockey has pretty much the same rules as


and I don’t know if we will again this season, but we’re always on the same side of the bench and we just really know each other extremely well.”


Team USA will gather for a training camp from Sept. 20-23 in Charlotte, N.C. There are


two other training camps this fall before the first international competition in Calgary in late No- vember. For both Landeros and Carron, returning with


another championship from the Sledge World Championship is the ultimate mission. “It’s an honor just to be named to this team and


to have the opportunity to play at this level,” said Landeros. “We have the talent and the goal is al- ways to win gold.” “We’re definitely excited for another season,


and we’re looking forward to more success,” Car- ron added. “It should be fun.”


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