Olympic Zone: Young C.O. hockey players hit the ice

Imagine this: It’s 6 a.m. on a Friday morning in January. The sun isn’t up yet, the temperature is below freezing, but you’re on your way somewhere — not work, not school, but hockey practice.

“There’s nothing quite like having the wind in your face, and a puck on your stick and just playing with all of your buddies,” says high school Bend Rapids Coach Nick Rotunno.

And co-coach Lance Hayes agrees: “I don’t think there’s a 10-year-old that’s played hockey who doesn’t see a rink and turns into a 10-year-old again.”

And while it seems convenient now, hockey ice hasn’t always been just a short drive away in Bend.

“Originally, we started skating at Inn at the Seventh Mountain, up Century Drive. We had one coach and it was all ages of players, not really official gear or anything.” says high school player Charlie Martin. “I used to skate in jeans and a sweatshirt. There was only one team, and we were playing with 5-year-olds and 12-year-olds all on the same team.”

But now, thanks to a small, dedicated group that wanted to create a culture of ice sports in Central Oregon, Bend has a seasonal, full NHL-size ice rink.

“The coaching staff and the board has definitely the interest of growing the sport at heart.” says hockey parent Andy Walker. “The two primary coaches that we have, they don’t have a kid on the ice. They don’t even have children. But they come out here for the love of the sport.”

Even taking it a few, large steps further, The Pavilion is now home to Bend ice, and the Bend Rapids – a youth hockey program that includes kids from as young as 4 years old, up to seniors in high school.

One of the coaches who has been so instrumental in program is Jason Domitrovic. “We’re on a forefront of what’s going to happen in hockey in the Pacific Northwest.” he says. “It’s going to grow immensely here in the next five years.”

Not only do dedicated coaches devote their time to the sports, they’re also helping teach young athletes valuable life lessons.

“We pass, we communicate, we score goals and we celebrate in one big team,” says Bullets player Ben Busch.

“It’s one of those sports that teaches you that you have to keep driving and working, Rotunno says. “You may not see success right away, but if you keep working at it, eventually those successes will come.”

It may seem like just a sport, but to aspiring hockey players like Martin and Busch, it’s much, much more.

“Ice skating — there’s just a whole new world. Once you can skate fast, you’re just floating over the ice,” says Martin.

And Busch agrees “it’s like … my life.”