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Show Punky ices foes for youth hockey team ilJSMi J by JIM SMEDLE Y I Record staff writer , . . 1 2 f V v " I He comes from the heartland of II hockey. I . Minnesota the land of 1,000 lakes and 10,000 hockey teams. And while most kids in Utah cannot can-not wait to strap on the skis, in the winter, Michael "Punky" Sarazine ' is busy lacing his skates, for there is '., hockey to be played. And in the Western United States few darn few youth teams play ; the sport any better than Sarazine's team the Utah Pee Wee A travel team. . - ' Last year, his team" took third in the Western Regionals played in Spokane, Wash. Spokane won the , regional and Alaska was second. But this year, the "A team" set a goal to win the regionals. And after talking to Sarazine, you become a believer. He is a right defenseman for his i i squad and has been playing defense m ever since he began hockey when he 5 .was 5 years old. He said he likes j; playing defense: being on the i, razor's edge where you have to think in split seconds. a j . "I've gotten into the habit of knowing know-ing what to do at particular r, moments. A lot of times you just V react without thinking," Sarazine said. "Playing defense will be more :, fun this year than last year. There was no checking last year and now you can. I'd rather play with checking." check-ing." In checking a player can use body contact to stop an opponent. "I'd rather give a little more body contact than do puck work," he said. Sarazine said that hockey is a safe ff sport and that his only injuries over " the years have been jammed fingers, a twisted knee or two and "i just occasional little scrapes and cuts. The players wear protective headgear, face masks, shin guards, . shell padding, thigh and shoulder pads, elbow pads and gloves. They can even get neck guards. i Protective mouthpieces ' are, of course, mandatory. Sarazine's team practices at Hygeia Iceland and he said he prefers the smooth, hard, fast ice at Hygeia to the other rinks availlable in the valley. He said his team, which won its first three games this year, is getting get-ting better and should be a force in the regionals. A new rule changed the Pee Wee ages from 11-13 to 13-14, so the bulk of his team has one more year to play together. They are leaving Nov. 16 to face the sternest test of the season. They will be playing three games with an all-state team from California in Reno.Nev. Although he enjoys golfing, skiing and has played baseball and in-- in-- tramural flag football, hockey is his first love. "Getting my job done and doing what I'm supposed to do gives me . the most satisfaction," Sarazine ' said, "By playing hockey you also learn about working together. Teamwork is important, one guy can't do it all." "I enjoy hockey for the excitement of it. You have to devote yourself to the game," he added. "You have to be into the game mentally and you don't have to be big to play the game. He said the Pee Wee team has taken on a different look this year as it has a new coach, who has worked more plays into the team's repertoire. reper-toire. . ' And it is the look that the team hopes will carry them to the top in ' the Western Regionals and the Na-' Na-' tionals in Cleveland in March. M Mil wmois; "Punky" Sarazine prefers playing defense because he would "rather give a little more body contact than do puck work." hmihi I Don't Foreet! I |