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Monday, May 29, 2000

By Ken Andrade, Star-Bulletin
Speed is part of what attracts Hawaii kids to ice hockey,
according to Ken Perel, who coaches the youth league
at the Ice Palace.

Hawaiian ice

Speed, impact, uniqueness
make youth hockey a cool
option for isle kids

By Ken Andrade
Star-Bulletin

Hawaii kids have always gotten out on the water to have fun. But for the past six years an increasing number have chosen a water sport with a harder edge.

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The Ice Palace in Stadium Mall hosts a thriving youth ice hockey league. It currently numbers about a hundred players -- three-quarters of them born and raised here.

What makes a Hawaii kid want spend time, effort and money on a sport more often associated with snowy Canadian winters than subtropical temperatures?

Head coach Ken Perel says ice hockey offers kids some things they can't get in any other sport.

"I think the general appeal is that it is full-contact, it is very fast, and it is unique -- so I think those three factors they like a lot," he said.

Thirteen-year-old Jeremy Kort agrees.

"Well, there's the obvious full-contact aspect, where you can hit people," says Kort. "It's good to take out aggression...."

By Blaine Fergerstrom, Star-Bulletin
Hockey can get rough, which some players see as an
ideal outlet for youthful energy.

Perel says that while body-checking is allowed for ages 13 and up, the program does not condone the fights that have given professional hockey its bad-boy reputation.

And not all of the players are boys.

Perel says that sixteen-year-old Linda Desruisseaux is one of the league's best prospects to move into Division I play.

And Desruisseaux, whose father plays in the adult hockey league a the Ice Palace, speaks of even higher aspirations -- like the Olympics.

By Ken Andrade, Star-Bulletin
Linda Desruisseaux watches for the rebound from her shot on goal.

Still, Perel says that the main objective of the program here is not to produce candidates for the Olympics or the pros.

"That's not an aspect of the program we stress," said Perel. "We are here, really, to teach you something, to have fun, to make new friends, to offer a challenge. We don't stress winning, we don't stress -- we are not goal-oriented, we are effort-oriented."

That approach has found particular success with younger kids. Berel says players under age twelve account for more than half of the league's players, and are the fastest-growing segment of the program.

By Ken Andrade, Star-Bulletin
A goaltender's moment of truth.