ST. GEORGE, Utah — There isn’t an ice rink in St. George, but that doesn't mean there aren’t hockey fans or players in southern Utah.
Using leftover hockey equipment and players on rollerblades or on foot instead of skates, one group has built up a hockey club of more than 300 players from ages 4 to 70.
The group plays on an ad hoc rink at J.C. Snow Park.
"There was a group that used to play anywhere we could find space. So it would be parking lots, it would be all over the place in parks and whatnot," said Cory Henwood, co-director of Red Rock Hockey. "So we ended up building this facility and looking to expand it here in the coming months."
The hockey boards came from the Glacier, an ice hockey rink in Cedar City that closed in 2020. A new ice arena, KJ's Ice Barn, opened in Enoch last week.
Henwood, whose day job is as a trainer in the Iron County School District, helped start the Red Rock Hockey Club, With temperatures still in the 90s, it doesn’t feel like hockey weather, but he said there’s always time for hockey on the ad hoc rink at J.C. Snow Park.
"We're just providing an opportunity, a gateway, if you will, to become a fan of hockey. And with the Utah Hockey Club coming along, we're really excited about that and our kids are, too," he said.
Eighteen-year-old Red Rock Hockey player Colin Brooks was a football guy but got hooked once he had a stick, and hopes just going to a Utah Hockey Club game will hook people in.
"It's so fast, so fast-paced. I don't think they're ready for the speed," he said. "It's going to be out there constant."
Among those practicing was Gabe Gauthier, who played in the NHL for the Los Angeles Kings then developed youth hockey programs for both the Kings and the Vegas Golden Knights, and now as the coach of the Southern Utah Yeti junior team. He believes it will take effort among youth for the Utah Hockey Club to establish itself.
"...the biggest thing that they need to focus in on is the grassroots part of it. That's where hockey, I believe, is the greatest sport because of that development in the youth," Gauthier said.
A majority of the players and fans in southern Utah say their NHL loyalty remains with the Golden Knights, who are closer to St. George than the Delta Center. But there may still be room for Utah to get into the young and old hearts and minds here.
