The third floor of the downtown Sun Devil Fitness Center is home to a group that plays intramural floor hockey. The sport is a bit different than its frozen cousin. Played on a gym floor with a rubber ball, the core of the game remains the same relying on heavy teamwork.
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Jackson Zuber: I've never played hockey before in my life. I've always wanted to. I can't skate. I'm from Arizona, there's no ponds to skate on or something, so I never got into it. Our two buddies are from Minnesota, so they played hockey their whole lives. I'll play any sport once I figure, because I pretty much have done that. It's different, and it's pretty fun. It gets intense especially against them. They're a pretty good team, they knew what they're doing a little more so we have to learn on the fly a little bit.
Nicholas Zeller-Singh: You still have to have the team chemistry you have to pass it around. Obviously you're trying to shoot on the goal and it's the basic same rules, same penalties like slashing. You saw me I accidentally checked a dude and knocked him down. I got called for that. Some differences there's the black pad and the trash can. So you can only put it in certain pockets of the goal. The top corners and the middle one was to goals or two points and anywhere else is one. It's four on four. It's a little different but everything else it's basically the same. Obviously you're not out on the ice, you're out on here in the gym. By the end of the day you know I'm out there having fun with my friends. It's a release. Release some stress from school and doing journalism work and all that. So it's just a fun way to go out there, exercise, break a sweat.
Jackson Zuber: We want more games like that where it's intense and fun and I like getting better at sports that I play. This would definitely have gotten me better at a sport that I've never played before. I feel like if more people came and played it it would be way more fun, way more competitive.
Reach the reporter at zvanarsd@asu.edu or follow @ZachVanArs on Twitter.
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Zach Van Arsdale was the head of the multimedia department from August 2020 to May 2022, shaping design and multimedia storytelling at The State Press in addition to designing article experiences, illustrations and taking photographs. He has previously worked for The Howard Center of Investigative Journalism and on the Carnegie-Knight News21 project: "Unmasking America."
