Published in the Arizona Daily Star this morning.

By Gerald M. Gay
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

Maros Servatka spent a good portion of his childhood with ice skates on his feet and a stick in his hand.

Raised in Slovakia, where hockey stands as one of the country’s most popular sports, Servatka grew up on the ice. He played as often as he could.

So it was difficult when the Slovak sportsman opted to move to Tucson four years ago to study economics at the University of Arizona. He realized he might have to do without the game he loved for a while.

“It’s kind of hard to play over here,” joked Servatka, 28. “There are not a lot of frozen lakes readily available.”

Of course, there were roller and ice hockey leagues in Tucson, but nothing that fit the player’s schedule or budget.

That is, until he discovered the Pima Street Hockey League.

The league - an informal group of hockey fans who plays on foot and on cement instead of ice - was not exactly what Servatka grew up with, but it did the trick.

Three years later, the avid sports fan continues to participate in the twice weekly league games.

“I love hockey, and it is great to get the exercise,” he said.

Servatka is not alone.

More than 20 Tucsonans gathered at the Eric Michael Ogden Skate Park next to Catalina High School on a recent Wednesday evening.

Players, most decked out in sneakers, shorts, knee and shin pads, gloves and the jerseys of their favorite hockey players, split off into teams of six while the rest of the group sit on the sidelines as alternates.

The participants, equipped with their own sticks, run up and down the cement rink, playing under the street-adapted rules of ice hockey. An orange ball about the size of a grapefruit serves as the puck.

Tim Bowen, 26, coordinates the league.

The former professional roller hockey player said the sport is good for beginners because people don’t have to know how to skate to play.

“Street hockey makes everything a lot more even,” he said. “Everyone can be equal. As long as you can run, you can play with anyone. In roller hockey, if you do a move, you usually get by somebody. Here, if you do a move, you have to do another move and then another move because they can keep up. It’s a lot more work.”

League co-founder Andy Kennard moved to Michigan last August but was back in Tucson for the week to watch his wife receive her Ph.D. from the UA.

The Delaware-born sports fan, 37, played a lot of street hockey as a kid and now plays in an amateur ice hockey league in Michigan. He couldn’t resist stopping by the skate park for a little evening competition.

“I enjoy the speed of ice hockey, but it is more fun for me to do this,” Kennard said. “Everyone gets together, plays hard and has a good time.”

Kennard said the best part about the league is that it’s free and open to anyone.

“That’s the way it has always been,” he said. “If you show up you can play. I didn’t know anyone when I moved to Tucson. Then when we started doing this I made four or five really good friends right away.”

Kennard said he also enjoys the ever-changing cast of players. More than 50 Tucsonans have played with the league since its creation seven years ago.

“There are always new people,” he said. “There are a lot of new people that weren’t here when I left, and I’ve only been gone a short while.”

Erin Dickey joined the league after coming to a few of the games with her boyfriend. The 20-year-old UA psychology student was one of several women playing Wednesday.

“I never really played sports before,” Dickey said. “But this looked like so much fun. It’s a good workout, but it doesn’t feel like work.”

Dickey said things can get heated, but people keep their emotions in the game.

“This league is all about the people,” she said. “Sometimes we’ll play hard core for an hour, then we’ll all sit around and talk for 20 minutes.”

“It can get very personal in the rink,” Servatka added, “but only in the rink. Five seconds later, we are all friends again.”