Hockey league hits the ice
Players from Team Black and Team Red of the Moses Lake Adult Hockey League scuffle for posession of the puck during a game Dec. 30.
MOSES LAKE - With temperatures dropping back below tolerable, most people are seriously avoiding the outdoors.
Well, almost everyone.
For their Dec. 30 game, the dedicated teachers, farmers, doctors and other community members who play hockey for the Moses Lake Adult Hockey League suited up and hit the ice as they do every week.
Sitting on a metal bench, Steve Slininger, president of the Moses Lake Adult Hockey Association, gears up.
"This isn't so bad. We've played in 15 below before," Slininger says.
The three teams, Red, White and Black, are made up of a wide variety of skill levels and ages. Players range from 21 to 62 years old, says Slininger, but have to be at least 18 to play.
"We're always looking for anyone who wants to play," Slininger says. "We don't turn anyone away."
People come from all over to play in the hour-and-fifteen-minute-long community games, which abide by USA Hockey rules and require players to wear full gear.
Slininger is the only player in the area who is also a certified referee under USA Hockey regulations.
Slininger says he learned to play hockey skating on the frozen ponds around his hometown of Ephrata, and continued playing while serving in the Air Force in Spokane.
"It's a lot of fun and I find I get hurt less than playing men's softball," Slininger says.
Shelley Slininger is the goalie for Team Red, and has played hockey around Eastern Washington since 1999 when she and husband Steve would drive from their home in Ephrata to play in Wenatchee.
"When we were living in Denver, Steve bought me some gear. I guess that was it," Shelley said.
Like Shelley, Team Red right wing Rachel Grubb says her husband got her into the sport and she's been playing since.
"I always wanted to play when I was little but I never got into it," Grubb says.
Only three women currently play in the league.
A few players didn't grow up playing hockey but have learned to love the sport, like James Shank.
Shank says that growing up in Texas, he played basketball and only recently discovered hockey.
"Before three years ago I'd never been on the ice in my life," Shank says.
Now in the league's fourth season, teams have played eight games since the ice rink opened and will continue playing until it shuts down for the season.
The Adult Hockey League games are Mondays and Thursdays at 8:15 p.m. at the Moses Lake ice rink.