Starting Jan. 18, the Eagles hockey team added four new faces to their roster. Max Nelson, Luke Hettler, Alex White, and Garrett Anderson joined the team this week. One played pee-wee hockey, the other three had never played in organized hockey in their life. So, why now?

 

"Why not!" said Anderson, "It's a great atmosphere"

 

"My friends convinced me to play," noted Hettler.

 

White cited the Eagles' need for players as his incentive for joining the team.

 

"I played a long time ago, but now is a good time to get back into it I think," he said.

 

"Kids want to play no matter their skill," said Eagles Head Coach Dough Friedrichs, "It's nice to see new kids willing to play."

 

All of the new players agreed learning the fast pace of the game, becoming familiar with their teammates and positions are challenges they face but are ready to take on with the season well under way.

 

Hettler and Anderson said that the team and the locker room were the best part of their transition into playing for the Eagles.

 

"This team is great, very welcoming," Anderson noted.

 

"This locker room is the best part. It's a good group," Hettler added.

 

Learning positioning, improving puck handling, remembering all the gear were some of the things they all were looking forward to improve on.

It was a much-needed boost to the team which had seen just one win 13 games into the season.

 

 

"Our record doesn't show our hard work, but we have fun regardless," said Nick Cencer.

 

"Our team is up to 18 now with these new guys, but we still can't compete with the other organizations that have over 40 players," noted Coach Friedrichs, "Despite the season record this year, this is a hard working group of guys, and we are improving every day, they're a good group of guys too, and that's all I can ask."

 

On the other end of the spectrum, is Justin Morrow, a senior.  This season is his last with the team.

 

"It's really sad," he said, "but it's been an honor grow up with these guys. They're like a second family".

 

Justin says hockey was a family affair, and it became something he wanted to do.

 

"It looked like fun, when I played, the coaches said I was a natural goalie, so I kept striving to be better, " Morrow noted.

 

Justin, like the rest of his teammates, are looking to turn the season around.

 

"It's been a rough season," said Coach Hartfiel, "but we keep working. I've been doing this for 12 years, it's fun, this is what we do."

 

For the last six years, the joint hockey team from Becker-Big Lake has called the Princeton Ice Arena home, but someday, that will change.

 

A new home is to be constructed next to the Friendly Buffalo in Big Lake. The property has been purchased, but with a cost of over $1 million, the building is still a dream.

 

"We've been fundraising and collecting donations, but we're still a million dollars short of our goal for a new area," Doug Friedrichs.

 

The Eagles hockey team has seen many homes since it began, including Elk River and Monticello prior to moving to Princeton. The youth program has practiced in various towns such as Princeton, St. Cloud, Sauk Rapids, Elk River, Sartell, Cambridge Isanti, Blaine, Coon Rapids, Buffalo and St. Michael. 

 

Because the "home ice" is located over 20 miles away, Friedrichs says that hurts the organization in more ways than one.

 

"Players don't want to travel this far to play organized hockey, and the fans don't want to either," he noted, "I guess I can't blame them. It's a long drive compared to places like Monticello or Elk River. An arena close to home would encourage more players and fans to come out, and it would really benefit us."

 

Nick Cencer agreed. “It will definitely help," he said.

 

Until the new home for the Eagles can be built, they will continue to share the Princeton arena with Princeton itself, but the team is confident that their real home will be a reality soon.