{"id":7032,"date":"2022-02-28T09:48:16","date_gmt":"2022-02-28T14:48:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/?p=7032"},"modified":"2025-08-24T11:09:44","modified_gmt":"2025-08-24T15:09:44","slug":"hockey-is-much-more-than-just-a-sport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/2022\/02\/28\/hockey-is-much-more-than-just-a-sport\/","title":{"rendered":"Hockey Is Much More Than \u2018Just a Sport\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>The Juan Murphy\u2019s Bulldogs, a local hockey team, is more than just a group of players: it\u2019s a community. \u201cHockey is a family to me. The team, even other teams and players I\u2019ve met over the years. It\u2019s a huge group of so many new people who I would’ve never known. And a bunch that are now friends,\u201d Steven Rokitowski said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The Juan Murphy’s Bulldogs celebrate after winning the championship in 2021.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Nick Medwid also enjoys the camaraderie that comes with being on a team. \u201cBrotherhood aspect of the game. Playing with a team, going into battle with each other and for each other,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Steve Hertzog has been playing adult league hockey for about 20 years and played for many teams. He has played this long because of the community. Their team name shows that sense of community. \u201cI like our name. For some reason I am glad I am on a team named after a neighborhood bar,\u201d Hertzog said. James Fitzmaurice agrees. He believes that the sponsor is extremely important for local teams. \u201cThe bar that we’re named for is an awesome place that is owned and operated by really good people,\u201d Fitzmaurice said. The bar is a local spot where the entire team is always welcome. Not only is there good food, there\u2019s good company.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Mike Mills plays for fun. But he also plays to relieve stress. \u201cExercise is a great way to relieve stress and negative energy. Hockey allows that while having fun and being able to get out a little frustration and turning your brain off. While on the ice, you can\u2019t think about anything else but what\u2019s happening on the ice.\u201d Even though it is a good way to relieve that energy, winning a couple of championships definitely makes it better. Mills has won five times. Even though that isn\u2019t why<\/span> they play, it\u2019s nice to feel rewarded for their hard work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Frank Collura, who has a lifetime of experience playing hockey, feels the game is an escape. \u201cI feel the sport melts stress away. For the one hour I’m out there with the team. It’s like life itself is on hold. I feel more alive, especially now in this world of COVID.\u201d He doesn\u2019t just play for that, though. It\u2019s his love of the game. \u201cI know hockey is mostly considered a winter sport. But in beer\/men’s league, it’s an all-year event. I want to make it to every game\/open ice and\/or practice I can skate on. It’s a passion for the smell of the ice, the feel of a freshly Zambonied ice surface and the sound of a ripping slap shot that drive my passion week after week,\u201d Collura said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Tyler Katz has been playing hockey for about 17 years now. His most memorable years were on his high school team, the Big Dogs. Playing has always been a helpful break for him. He refers to it as \u201can intensive source of therapy.\u201d Katz faces struggles in his life outside the game but, \u201c Hockey is such a release for me that I wish I could play it every day and I can\u2019t stop thinking about it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Mike Gonzalez\u2019 favorite part of playing the game is making friends and bonding with his son. Mills, Collura and Hertzog\u2019s children also enjoy the game. This gives them the opportunity to work with their children, too. Hockey is not just a game. It involves a wide group of people who are positively affected by it, including the fans. \u201cThe fans of each team make up their own community, some huge and some small. But it brings people together. Sometimes it’s just to collectively hate on another team or their fanbase. But it’s still bringing people together,\u201d Fitzmaurice said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Bob Bosca tends to get a little too<\/span> into the game, but they’re all guilty of that sometimes. \u201cWhen you’re on the rink, everything else just goes away. It’s a relaxation, a breath of fresh, cold air. This has gotten me in trouble when friends and family are at the rink and I’m too involved in the game to appreciate them being there,\u201d Bosca said. Being engrossed in the game is great. Just make sure you say a quick hello to your fans.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Many of the players wish they had started playing earlier, \u201cYou should have started earlier. Then maybe you\u2019d actually be good,\u201d Eric Romeo said. Starting a difficult sport like hockey as an adult is hard. But with perseverance they all get better. Once you can skate, you\u2019ll get the other skills down eventually.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Nick Marzovilla warns prospective players to treasure the time they spend playing. \u201cJust to enjoy every minute of playing, because you don\u2019t know how long you will be able to play due to age and\/or injuries,\u201d Marzovilla said. Hockey won\u2019t last forever: but the memories do. Don\u2019t look back in 10 years and regret anything.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Hockey is not just a game. It is an outlet and a space to learn more about yourself. \u201cYou have to find confidence, push yourself for that one extra stride to battle for the puck. And there is nothing else I can find in this world to keep me feeling young as I get older,\u201d Collura said. The game teaches lessons to the players and allows them to grow\u2013 not only as athletes, but as people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Hockey is a way to bring people from all walks of life together. Through the game, friendships form and those friendships turn to family. Family is not always blood, it is people. A team is not just a team. The relationships they\u2019ve formed and memories they made will stay with them long after they\u2019ve stopped playing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0So, if you\u2019re ever in Poughkeepsie, New York, check out their website for their game schedule. Juan Murphy\u2019s fanbase is small, but mighty. You\u2019ll probably catch one of Rokitowski\u2019s sisters screaming in the stands or the occasional child cheering for their father. And if you\u2019re lucky\u2013 a win.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Juan Murphy\u2019s Bulldogs, a local hockey team, is more than just a group of players: it\u2019s a community. \u201cHockey is a family to me. The team, even other teams and players I\u2019ve met over the years. It\u2019s a huge group of so many new people who I would’ve never known. And a bunch that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":230,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7381],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archives","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/230"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7032"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7032\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8187,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7032\/revisions\/8187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}