JOSH LAHGFaO Is MM la lights as
ha waits (si his sons to ha
aaasaacsd dariag the Stars’ pra
gaas latradacHsos. (Phots hp Scott
GOALTENDER NICK KAIWIHSKI straps
oa Ms pads la praparaUsa for his start
la a Jaa. It gaan against the lMa
CHIas Valcaas at tho lea Box. (Phots
kf Scott Orsha)
FORWARDS MARC SUDERMAN, left,
aad Ibw* Repaolds ihsgglo to gala
eootral af the pack fraa — of tho
Oabaquo Fightlag Salats dariag a
Woolog effort oa Jaa. 3. (Photo bp
Manna* watts)
FORWARD DEREK REYNOLDS stands
rt point looking for aa open inside
■aa dvlag the Jan. 4 game against
the Nnith leva Huskies. (Photo by
Matthew Wane)
RICH ANDERSON, standing, and Rich
Oplllgr ge threagh last-nlaate
preparations oerore petting on tneir
aaHoras. (Phots bp Scott Rndoi)
, Graphics by
Aaron Steckelberg
Still, while Reynolds’ future in
hockey looks secure for now, he said
he has to be realistic about his career
goals.
Tm hoping to go all the way with
this, yeah, but everyone has to realize
they can’t play forever,” he said. “I
have to stay focused and make sine I
get a degree in case I can’t go all the
way.”
Reynolds is working for a degree
in psychology. After college, if play
ing hockey is not his future, Reynolds
said he hoped to at least keep die game
a part of his life.
Tm hoping to be able to coach at
some level,” he said. “You play a game
your whole life, then suddenly the pos
sibility exists that you may not be able
rto play it anymore. ■ > ]% ^
yourself up.”
A group that includes experienced
players like Mass and Reynolds can
mean little in the USHL, though,
where age requirements and policy
demands force a sizable turnover each
season.
“You have a different kind of turn
over with an amateur expansion team,”
Mass said. “You can have a bunch of
veterans mixed in with guys who
haven’t played too much, but it’s like
a rebuilding year every one or two
vears’’
However, Johnson said he liked the
challenging aspect of a constantly
changing roster.
“I’m happy with what we have
here,” he said, “but you’ve always got
to look Co the future. If you make die
right decisions, you can keep power
in this league as easily as you can lose i
it” 1
More important to Johnson and the
coaching staff is giving players the
skills they need to continue playing the
game they all love.
“If we do our jobs rigid,” Johnson
said, “we can have 10 players a year
come out of here with scholarships to
major colleges.
“If that’s how we lose them, that’s
fine by me.”
TheStan* Jan. 5 victory againt the*
Waterloo Black Hawks marked the end
of a three-game home stand. After
three straight wins over the weekend,
players and fans alike are ready for a
little rest
The players either go out together
* or go home but arc required to be in
theirown houses by the team’s 11 pm
curfew. Each team member must be
back at the Ice Box by 8 am the next
day for a regular two-hour practice.
The Stars split a two-game home
stand the next weekend, but for the
players, the following week will be
practice as usual.
Many of the4,000-plus fans file out
of the arena in a somewhat dazed fash
ion, knowing their team has won, but
somehow unsure of how the team did
Apparently, Johnson has seen the
look on some of the fans’facra,
“The fans aren’t real knowledge
able, hut they’ll learn,” Johnson said.
“Hockey’s a simple game; it doesn’t
take too long to figure it out”
But according to Johnson, Stars
fans will have plenty of time to learn
about both the game and the play
ers. Johnson said he planned on stay
ing with die Stars for the next few
years to ensure the team will be suc
cessful.
■ f.
mucawicu, ue saio. u s a ioi
of fim already. There’s not much bet- ^ i 4^ Z^JK
ter of a place than Lincoln.’’ ^JZ * - - .. *
The 63-year-old grandmother and
her three grandchildren file out with
the rest Russell said she considered
herself a new die-hard fan and said she
hoped hockey was as easy to learn as
it was to watch
u was 10 waicn.
“I really, really like hockey,”
Russell said. *1 can’t quite figure it out,
but I will.
Tm sure pretty much everyone
will..eventually.”