ST GEORGE, Utah — It was a fairy tale that began with a hockey stick.
A group of hockey lovers in St. George who created a makeshift roller hockey rink there recently went to a national roller hockey regional in Southern California... And won.
The Labeda Desert Rats of St. George won first place in the "silver division" of the Western Regionals of the North American Roller Hockey Championships in Corona, California, on March 16.
Brandon Ennen, captain of the Rats, may have grown up in southern Utah, but hockey was always close..
"I moved here from South Dakota when I was two," Ennen said. "My dad grew up playing hockey in South Dakota. He had his old high school sticks lying in the garage and stuff, so I would just shoot pucks at whatever I could."
Ennen lived most of his life in St. George, a place without ice or roller hockey rinks.
"Probably about four years ago, I just decided that we had enough guys that were interested in playing hockey," he explains.
The Labeda Desert Rats of St. George were born. Labeda is the sponsor, a roller hockey wheel maker.
Why is the team called the Desert Rats?
"A desert rat is what we all are," explains teammate Cameron Wolsleger. "I don't know exactly. I've never seen one in real life, but you know we're all rats out there. We all want to play hockey. We're all just there to have a good time."
FOX 13 News previously covered how St. George hockey enthusiasts took leftover equipment and a leftover rink from a torn-down ice arena in Cedar City. Their makeshift rink at J.C. Snow Park draws hundreds of people even without ice.
For the third year, the Rats entered the western regionals of the North American Roller Hockey Championships in Corona, California. Ennen’s wife Sheri, was along for the ride, acting as the team mom.
“I mean, it might as well be when you're taking care of us,” said Thomas Rupp of the Desert Rats. “When you're with a bunch of hockey players, we like to be a bunch of big kids. But she's there. She's rooting us on.”
Competing in California
At the Rinks of Corona, it was a culture shock for the St. George team, playing on their smaller, makeshift rink with broken concrete, to a regulation rink with a Sport Court surface.
"This rink that we play on almost could fit in there sideways," said Wolsleger.
The first game was against the host Corona Bulldogs.
"We lost two to one," recalls Ennen.
After the first loss, the Desert Rats shut out their opponents. The team made it to the championship game to face the the Bulldogs again.
Three periods later, the Desert Rats took gold.
"One of my buddies, he texted me. He's like, I can't see the score," recalled teammate Ryan McAteer. "'He's like, how'd you guys do?' I'm like, no need to check the score. Here's the medal."
While the team qualified for nationals, they aren’t planning to go. The players say they have their day jobs and don’t have the funds to compete. However, their time in California was an experience to be proud of.
"We didn't think that we were coming out on top," Ennen said. "We didn't think we were going to lose. We just came in and just played our game and that's exactly what we did."
