Idaho club hockey preparing for Palouse rival Cougs
For many it is nothing more than one of the many buildings on the Latah County Fairgrounds, but for the Idaho men’s hockey club the Palouse Ice Rink is where they call home.
It is also home to the latest installment of the Battle of the Palouse as Washington State heads across the border Saturday for a rare home game for the Vandals in Moscow.
Nathan Romans | Argonaut
Forward Ian Nicoll looks to pass as he moves down the ice during Wednesday’s prac- tice at the Palouse Ice Rink. The Idaho men’s hockey club will play Washington State at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Palouse Ice Rink in Moscow.“When we are home in front of the home crowd and this place is singing the Idaho fight song after every goal … That is cool,” Idaho coach Chris Storhok said. “They look forward to it, hopefully we can rack up a bunch of goals and we can hear ‘Idaho, go go go’ over and over.”
The close proximity between the crowd and the playing field, much like Memorial Gym, can create a loud and intimate atmosphere the teams love, he said. Especially when the games are competitive.
Although the Vandals have played many home games over the last few years, most of the teams they play are uncomfortable
Idaho club hockey preparing for Palouse rival Cougs, playing in such a small venue so many of the home games are played in Spokane or Coeur d’Alene. The Palouse Ice Rink is three-fourths the size of a full ice sheet.
“Having our home crowd here will be sweet,” third-year graduate student and defender Danny Gariepy said. “It’s always tough playing on such a small rink, it turns the game into a totally different game.”
The low-key venue hidden in the middle of the Latah County Fairgrounds is a fun environment to play in, but it adds a different element to the game, Storhork said. Both the Vandals and Cougars enjoy the atmosphere the Vandals’ home ice provides, he said.
Playing in Moscow gives Idaho another advantage besides home ice as Storhork will also have his entire roster of 18 players available. When the team travels they cannot bring them all with him. This gives the team more flexibility and the ability to keep the players fresh.
Storhork said that may prove to be key as WSU is a much more complete team this year as playing in such a small venue so many of the home games are played in Spokane or Coeur d’Alene. The Palouse Ice Rink is three-fourths the size of a full ice sheet.
“Having our home crowd here will be sweet,” third-year graduate student and defender Danny Gariepy said. “It’s always tough playing on such a small rink, it turns the game into a totally different game.”
Nathan Romans | Argonaut
The low-key venue hidden in the middle of the Latah County Fairgrounds is a fun environment to play in, but it adds a different element to the game, Storhork said. Both the Vandals and Cougars enjoy the atmosphere the Vandals’ home ice provides, he said.
Playing in Moscow gives Idaho another advantage besides home ice as Storhork will also have his entire roster of 18 players available. When the team travels they cannot bring them all with him. This gives the team more flexibility and the ability to keep the players fresh.
Storhork said that may prove to be key as WSU is a much more complete team this year as opposed to last. Last year the Cougars struggled to field a complete team and had to borrow a goaltender from another club, he said. They also were able to plug a lot of the holes in their roster from a year ago so it should be a good challenge for Idaho, he said.
Saturday will be the first time the Vandals have taken the ice in a com- petitive capacity in more than a month, and with the flyers that have been plastered across campus and in the community, the team is expecting quite the turnout on Saturday.
“We haven’t skated much or even practiced much in the last few weeks, but we started to get into a bit of a rhythm and we started getting back on track so we should be good,” Gariepy said.
Despite the long layoff, partially due to the Thanksgiving holiday, the team is anxious to get out and play again.
“It is always fun to get out on the ice and compete against somebody,” sopho- more defender Brandon Gorrill said. “I haven’t played against them but I am excited.”
Joshua Gamez can be reached at [email protected]