The Columbus Flames pose after winning the Buckeye Hockey League Tournament in February.
Submitted photo
A little less than five months bookend the first and final drops of the puck for the Columbus Flames.
The first represented an undeniable time of excitement. Members of the Flames, a 10U coed squirt hockey team that practices and plays home games at Hamilton Community Center & Ice Arena in Columbus, looking forward to the long season ahead.
Conversely, the final drop, which takes place this month in Nashville, Tennessee, invites reflection zeroing in on the improvement, accomplishments and memories achieved by players and coaches over the course of the season.
“For me, it’s a blast. Hockey is unique because you become a family,” said Flames coach Nathan Hawley, a 2002 Greenwood graduate who leads his squad into the Country & Western Showdown scheduled for March 15-17.
“It’s really neat to see. Everybody just gathers in the lobby of the motels and orders pizzas or whatever. The goal is just ending the season with tons of fun. Do we want to win? Yes. But the ultimate goal is developing players and making sure everyone has fun.”
Nearly one-third of the Flames’ roster is comprised of players from Johnson County.
Goalkeeper Carter Glaser is a student in the Center Grove school system; cousins Zoe and Ashlyn Hawley, both of whom reside in Greenwood, play defense. Forward Wade Lynch, who lives in Franklin, is homeschooled, and Joseph Shelton, also a forward, calls Trafalgar home.
“Being goalie allows me to play an important role in the game. Having asthma, it allows me to excel at a sport without overly exerting myself,” Glaser said. “I like that I get to wear all the protective gear, and it makes me look big and tough on the ice.
“I like all the friendships I have made, and spending time off the ice with my team when we travel for games.”
The Flames, who played their first game of the season on Oct. 21, take a 25-18-3 record to Nashville. The team has outscored opponents 169-149 along the way. Offensively, Lynch has scored 34 goals and assisted on 12 others; Shelton has 12 goals and 14 assists. Glaser has permitted 128 goals on 424 shots between the pipes.
But it’s the experience of participating in all of the practices, games and road trips that significantly outweighs the numbers.
“Carter thrives on the camaraderie of the team and of the sport,” said Glaser’s father, Joshua. “He’s super focused when he’s on the ice. He’s very coachable, takes coaching well and tries to do his best.”
Lynch, an avid Chicago Blackhawks fan who counts Connor Bedard, the team’s 18-year-old center, as his favorite player, would love to someday be able to follow in his idol’s skate marks.
For the time being, Lynch is enjoying the perks of childhood.
“I was 4 years old when I started playing. My dad played, so I wanted to. I like making friends and playing for fun,” Lynch said. “I think our team has improved a lot this season because of the teamwork and coaching.”
The Flames have won four of the five tournaments they’ve competed in this season, the most recent title coming at the Goggin Ice Center on the campus of Miami University in Ohio. The Flames got off to a rocky start, dropping an 8-1 decision to the Bloomington Blades, but responded with victories over the West Virginia Wild and Troy Bruins. In the title game, they exacted revenge on Bloomington, 6-2.
The Nashville tourney will take place across three rinks and brings in a total of 71 teams spanning from U14 down to U8. Sixteen different states — including as far away as Nevada — will be represented in all, with the Flames and the Hammond Mohawks, the latter a U14 team, proudly carrying the Indiana banner.
Three more days of hockey, motel lobby pizza gatherings — and yes, the kids engaging in impromptu games of knee hockey in the carpeted hallway.
All elements of a productive season for kids who love a sport that’s still trying to gain footing in Indiana.
“I’ve been around the game of hockey for 36 years, but I’ve been coaching since 2006,” coach Hawley said. “Hockey is a fairly large sport in Indiana. From 8U all the way to 14U, there are 66 (coed) teams, and girls hockey is starting to pick up here, too.”
