In-Line Hockey Moves From Parking Lots To Roller Rinks

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - It started with pick-up games in parking lots, but in-line hockey has come a long way.

Also called roller hockey, in-line hockey got its name because it's played on in-line skates.

Jonathan Lomax, head of Roller Hockey ABQ, says the sport has grown quickly from the parking-lot days. Now, organized teams play indoors on air-conditioned roller rinks.

"We started out in the Bag-N-Save parking lot at Moon and Candelaria, but we got kicked out of there," he says. "We went from one parking lot to another until we finally ended up here at Roller King.

"The growth and popularity of the sport really helped to convince the owner here to give us the opportunity."

But playing roller hockey isn't the same as skating around the rink floor on a hot summer's evening, and Lomax says he had to start screening the people who came to play for their own - and other players' - protection.

"I've had some guys come in who were pathetic," he said. "They couldn't skate very well, had very little control and were accidents waiting for a place to happen. It's nothing against them, and it doesn't mean that I'm a better athlete than them. It's just that hockey is a contact sport and a very potentially dangerous one at that. You've got to be in control when you're out here moving around with the other players.

"If someone is really interested in playing on a team around town, they need to have some sort of experience."

Lomax says the players who do the best on the floor are former ice-hockey players, including two former Albuquerque Chaparrals, Bob Peterson and Dwight Stockham.

Peterson says the switch to in-line from ice skates isn't as tough as some might think.

"I like the in-line skating," he says. "The only real difference is that you can't hold an edge like on ice. It's a little slower-moving game than on the ice, but that's OK because it tends to equal everyone out more."

Stockham says that while the game may be slower, it's still hockey.

"The strategy is the same," he says. "You've still got all the basic shots, passes, power plays, the hits, bumps and bruises. It's all there. You're just doing it all on concrete instead of ice."

Although the difference in the skates may be largely responsible for the slower play, Stockham says he thinks it's the players who make the difference.

"The play seems to be a lot slower, which may be the skates or the puck, or it may be the style of the game," he said. "I think if you were to have a whole group of ice-hockey players here, the game would move much faster."

Getting used to playing hockey on in-line skates isn't the only adjustment players need to make. The cost of roller hockey is different, too. Lomax said each player is responsible for buying and maintaining his own equipment, which can run between $600 and $1,200 initially and anywhere from $25 to $100 monthly.

"The huge part of the expense of playing roller hockey is in the initial investment of the equipment," he said. "You've got the skates, which for a top-line pair you're going to spend close to $300, then you've got pads, helmet, gloves and the stick. Depending on the level of quality you want, the equipment can be quite expensive."

But when it comes to the player's safety, Lomax says, higher-priced equipment is worth it.

"A lot of the players use ice-hockey stuff, which is heavier and more expensive," he said. "The advantage to the ice-hockey equipment is that it's designed to take a harder amount of punishment. The lighter roller-hockey pads are OK, but I once saw a guy put a puck clear through a roller-hockey pad."

"This is a sport that anyone who wants to learn can pick up," Lomax said. "It's not easy. But they can learn it."