Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

Art & Entertainment | Book Reviews | Education | Entertainment Video | Health | Lifestyle | Sport | Sport Video | Search

 

Wellington’s Ice Hockey Team Score First Ever Wins

Wellington’s Ice Hockey Team Score First Ever Wins

At the Otago Community Trust New Zealand Masters Games in Dunedin, the capital’s only ice hockey team, the Wellington Seals may not have been in the medals but claiming two wins and a tie from their five games was enough to soar their spirits.

The Team’s manager, Gina Di Rienzo says they were blown away by their wins.

“We came with no expectations, we just came to play, to compete and to get more competitive experience. To have two wins has been amazing as we have never won a competitive game before. It’s been fantastic to play on a full ice surface.”

The Wellington Seals are the poor cousins on the New Zealand ice hockey front, as the capital does not have a National League sized ice rink, let alone an Olympic size rink that Dunedin city boats.

Their current home is Frosty Spot, an indoor ice skating rink in Lower Hutt a quarter of the size of a standard ice hockey rink. It’s in a giant metal shed which is not insulated so it’s hard to keep frozen.

Gina says the players have to be very hands on when it comes to grooming the rink.

“We have to groom the ice ourselves by dry scraping and dumping the resulting snow into wheel barrows. Then we use a hose to put a thin layer of water on the rink and that must freeze before we can continue. The upside is that the snow then helps to cool down our post-game beers.”

In two years the club has grown from nine players to over a hundred players coming through their makeshift rink.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

At the Games, the make-up of the Wellington Seals has an international flavour with three players from Canada, two from USA, one from Wales and one from Germany mixing it up with their kiwi players.

Gina says the New Zealand Masters Games is providing the team with great connections.

“There are 16 teams in the competition including one from Canada. The Goldpuckers are from the Yukon and have invited us to come over to play. We are also seriously thinking about coming back to Dunedin to train. Our next tournament will be in Tekapo in June.”

They hope their performance at the New Zealand Masters Games may add weight to a growing movement in Wellington that is calling for the city to build a full-sized ice rink.

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Culture Headlines | Health Headlines | Education Headlines

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • CULTURE
  • HEALTH
  • EDUCATION
 
 
  • Wellington
  • Christchurch
  • Auckland
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.