Hockey team seeks to someday bring Senior Olympics gold home to Los Alamos
Photographs by Minesh Bacrania
The hometown IciSkulls (pronounced icicles) had a shot at gold during the 2026 New Mexico Senior Olympics in Santa Fe late last month, but moreover, the co-ed hockey team showed the state that Los Alamos possesses tons of hockey talent.
“I really want to bring Los Alamos the gold medal,” said IciSkulls player Monica Van de Water before the February 23 tournament. “This is a hockey community.”
Unfortunately, the Santa Fe No Regretskys dashed the IciSkulls’ dreams with a late-game goal, downing the IciSkulls 3-2 and denying them the gold, at least for this year. And while the New Mexico’s Senior Olympic hockey program is still in its infancy, Van de Water said she’s encouraged by the growth she’s seen.
Interest in the sport keeps growing, with some 200 current active players across the Santa Fe Adult Hockey League, comprising four categories: A-League, for the most experienced players; B-League for intermediate players; C-League for beginners; and D-League for those who’ve never played before.
Just one year ago, Van de Water said, they struggled to pull together enough players to fill out two teams.
“It’s an exciting time for the sport here,” she said. “The Santa Fe Adult Hockey League is growing at an unprecedented rate. This season, we’re looking at six teams each for the B and C levels, and four teams at the A level.”
Van de Water attributed the growth in player interest to the overall growth of hockey in the state, starting with the 2019 launch of the New Mexico Ice Wolves — a professional junior ice hockey team that plays home games in Albuquerque — and the New Mexico Goatheads, a professional minor league affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche founded last year. The Goatheads will play home games in Rio Rancho starting this fall.
Van de Water came to the IciSkulls from roller derby. “At fifty-four, I swapped roller derby skates for hockey skates to save my body but keep the adrenaline. Now, fifty-six and playing in NM, I’ve come full circle from my Canadian childhood ringette days.”
The IciSkulls entered the New Mexico Senior Olympics tournament with eleven players ranging in age from forty-nine to seventy-two. Games are played five-on-five, with two twenty-minute periods.
In addition to Monica Van de Water, the IciSkulls are comprised of Richard Van de Water, Chris Coppick, Jeff Goettee, Mike Menuakis, Filip Ronning, Tiffany Pezzulo, Tom McLean, Adam Sauers, Steve Daly, and his brother, goaltender Paul Daly.
Sixty-two-year-old Richard Van de Water played hockey in Canada as a kid, but stepped away from competitive play at the age of ten. “I wanted to play goalie real bad, but Coach said no, so I quit.” Still, he never gave up the game, playing pick-up games and coaching in Los Alamos.
With almost sixty years of beer league play behind him, Tom McClean said he knows he’s not the oldest player but noted he’s “definitely not the youngest” either. Fifty-one-year-old Tiffany Pezzulo started playing hockey about three years ago but has previously raced bicycles professionally and competed in powerlifting at the Senior Olympics. Steve Daly has played hockey since the age of fourteen, mostly on the rink in Los Alamos, and now at sixty-nine, he’s set his sights on Senior Olympics gold. His brother, seventy-one-year-old Paul Daly also played hockey in Los Alamos most of his life, mostly as a goalie, but occasionally as a forward.
Sauers began playing hockey at the age of eight, and now at forty-nine, he said, “It’s amazing I am not any better than I am.”
Next up for New Mexico hockey players and fans is the third annual Irish Cup adult hockey tournament, with the puck dropping in Santa Fe on March 12. The tournament runs through March 15, with all games being played at the Genoveva Chavez Community Center.
The community center also offers programs for anyone interested in learning to play hockey, and through a partnership with the Santa Fe Hockey Association, youth hockey programs for girls and boys are also available. Locally, adult pick-up pond hockey games are held at the Los Alamos County Ice Rink for players at any skill level. Check the status of the ice rink and learn more about the hockey programs on the county’s website.