The hockey hoodlums who forced Campus Recreation to pull the plug on their program three years ago for a litany of violations have probably graduated by now-or more likely, flunked out. Since then, the U has been without a hockey team, but that will change this fall when a new group of players takes to the ice.
These players’ predecessors skipped classes, partied constantly, damaged school property and still owe the university tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid fees, said J.M. Le Cointre, one of the students responsible for restoring the program. He said the new team will be different.
Le Cointre and a friend, Jason Peth, went through the rigorous process of trying to convince school officials that a new team wouldn’t follow the original team’s lead.
“They were really hesitant,” Le Cointre said. “They watched us every single step.”
Campus Recreation coordinators eventually gave them the go-ahead, but under several conditions.
First, no player from the original team could participate unless he repaid his portion of the debt incurred by the previous team. This won’t be a problem, however, because Le Cointre says that the consensus is that those players are not welcome.
The new hockey team will play all of its games in-state so that a close eye can be kept on players as they try to restore Utah hockey’s reputation.
First-year coach Bob Wilkinson’s involvement was well-timed. Curious about why a big-time university like the U didn’t have a hockey team, Wilkinson ended up getting in contact with Le Cointre, who had just gotten the team reinstated and was in need of a coach.
Wilkinson is eager to get the team up and running and headed in a positive direction. He played for the University of Vermont and began coaching at the peewee level when he moved to Utah in 1976. After taking several years off, he got involved again seven years ago when his grandson began playing.
Wilkinson hopes to dispel “the image that hockey is for thugs” as he takes the reins of the once-troubled program. He hopes to sell the sport as clean, fun and fast-moving. “If they want to fight,” said Wilkinson, “they can play for another team.”
“There’s a difference between legal checking and separating the man from his head,” he said.
He wants the team to play European-style hockey and has studied the Slovakian team, hoping to mirror that program at the U. He said that this is the way to change hockey’s image in the eye of the public.
Wilkinson said he believes that focusing on teamwork and playing a stylistic, graceful game will help prevent it from becoming a bloody boxing match.
Knowing that the team will be under close scrutiny, he vows to run a tight ship.
Tryouts for the 2006-2007 team begin Aug. 21. By changing the way the program is run, Wilkinson hopes to attract fans who will attend the games regularly. He said that by mirroring European-style hockey, he can keep the new team in line and draw new fans to the sport who may be uninterested in brawls but intrigued by the nuances of the game.