Clarkston hockey players and coaches – and likely the Wolves’ Oakland Activities Association opponents – are welcoming the team’s change to a new facility next season.
The Wolves closed out their tenure at the Polar Palace in Lapeer with a 3-0 win against Birmingham Brother Rice Feb. 19. Starting with the 2003-04 season, the Wolves will have their home games and practices at the Detroit Skating Club in Bloomfield Township.
Coach Bryan Krygier, for one, is glad the Wolves will be settling down in a facility closer to home.
“They have a nice facility, but it’s going to help us from a practical standpoint moving to the Detroit Skating Club,” Krygier said in contrasting the Polar Palace with the DSC. “For the last five years, we’ve been like nomads. My first year here, we were practicing at U of M-Dearborn. We were playing our home games at the State Fairgrounds and the Ice Mountain in Flint. We’ve been all over the map. This way, everything will be under one roof and the drive is shorter, which is important for the guys on the team so they can concentrate on their studies.”
In addition, Krygier stated the Wolves’ opponents in Oakland Activities Association Division I will appreciate the shorter travel distance to the DSC as opposed to the Polar Palace.
However, the Polar Palace provided its share of highlights for the Wolves during their tenure there, according to Krygier.
“While we were there, we won two league titles,” he said. “Another highlight was playing Detroit Catholic Central (a perennially top-ranked team in the state) there last year and the year before, and getting them to come up there. However, there’s no one game there that stands out.”
A couple of Clarkston players are also welcoming the move to the DSC.
Junior Kyle Buzzo, for one, believes the move will bring more fan support to the games. “I think it’s great,” he said. “It’s closer and a lot more convenient and hopefully we can get some more fans out here.
Buzzo also stated the drive to Lapeer was “very time-consuming,” especially since hockey is a winter sport.
Another junior, Griffin Cummings, also believes Clarkston fans will really appreciate the move. “I’m so excited, because my buddies will be able to come to the games, as well as more kids from school,” he said. “Plus, it will cut down on my driving time.”
While Cummings noted the commute to Lapeer really didn’t affect his studies, he did state it prevented him from working a job in the evenings.