First Ever NM Ice Wolves North American Hockey League Outdoor Game Offered On HockeyTV.Com During Los Alamos Winter Classic – Los Alamos Reporter

Capstone Game of the Los Alamos Winter Classic Features the NAHL’s New Mexico Ice Wolves vs. the El Paso Rhinos on Sunday, December 11 at 2pm MT at the Los Alamos County Outdoor Ice Rink. Courtesy LAC

COUNTY NEWS RELEASE

The New Mexico Ice Wolves^® have announced that the team’s first ever NAHL regular season outdoor game will be free for fans to watch on HockeyTV.com, the official broadcast partner of the NAHL and the NM Ice Wolves. Fans can log on to www.hockeytv.com and create an account to watch the game. The Sunday, Dec. 11 game between the NM Ice Wolves and the El Paso Rhinos is the first ever outdoor NAHL game to be played in the continental U.S. and is the capstone event of the Los Alamos Winter Classic, a three-day hockey event running Dec. 9 -11 at the Los Alamos County outdoor ice rink. The Los Alamos County Community Services Department partnered with the Los Alamos Hockey Association (LAHA) for the event that will feature teams from Santa Fe, Amarillo and Taos with players ranging in age from peewee (U12) to High School.

The NM Ice Wolves players and coaches will also put on two hockey clinics for Los Alamos youth teams on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022 as the organization builds on its commitment to grow the game in New Mexico. The Los Alamos County outdoor ice rink will be a welcome sight for returning NM Ice Wolves players who played an intersquad game there last season in preparation for the team’s record setting 2021-2022 season.

“We are honored to be a part of the Los Alamos Winter Classic and are tremendously grateful to our partners in Los Alamos for their efforts to work with us to grow the game of hockey in New Mexico,” said Stan Hubbard, owner of the NM Ice Wolves. “This is a mighty and exciting undertaking as we are moving our entire hockey operation to Los Alamos including all that is required for the youth clinics and professional eight-camera broadcasts to help create an important and fun weekend of hockey in our state.” 

“We have great owners in the NAHL that love to do unique and new things for the players and their respective communities,” said Mark Frankenfeld, President and Commissioner of the NAHL. “The New Mexico Ice Wolves have been leaders in this category and this is another great example of a great organization being really creative to create a unique experience in their marketplace to bring more awareness to the great sport of ice hockey.”

The NAHL game on Sunday, Dec. 11 is completely sold out so the only way to watch the event filled game is on HockeyTV.com or one of the many watch parties held across New Mexico. In Los Alamos watch parties will take place at the SALA Event Center, Pajarito Bar & Grill, Bathtub Row Brewing and Boese Bros Brewpub and on cable in Los Alamos the game will be available on PAC8. In Albuquerque Outpost Ice Arenas will air the game live on the SuperScreens inside the arena during two public skate sessions from 2 – 4pm MT and 4:30 – 6:30pm MT. A replay of the game will be available at an additional public skate session from 7– 9pm MT on Sunday, December 11, 2022. The game will also air live in the lobby, as all NM Ice Wolves games do, inside Outpost Ice Arenas. 

The NM Ice Wolves are building on their record setting 2021-2022 season that saw the team earn its first ever NAHL South Division Playoff Championship title along with NAHL season honors in which NM Ice Wolves Head Coach Phil Fox was named 2021-2022 NAHL Coach of the Year and Team Owner Stan Hubbard was named 2021-2022 NAHL Executive of the Year. The NM Ice Wolves finished the regular season with a franchise record 38 wins followed by two thrilling playoff series wins and a berth in the Robertson Cup National Championships. In addition, ten NM Ice Wolves players made NCAA D1 and NCAA D3 commitments during the 2021-2022 season. Fox was also the head coach of the South Division team at the 2022 NAHL Top Prospects Tournament. The coaching and executive honors followed the team being named the NAHL South Division Organization of the Year with Forward Dillan Bentley named to the All-South Division Team. This was the second time in team history the NM Ice Wolves were named the South Division Organization of the Year honor after being given the honor in the team’s inaugural season in 2019-2020.

To learn more about the NM Ice Wolves please visit their NAHL Team Page or on social media on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram and the arena at www.outposticearena.com. Pocket schedules can be picked up at Outpost Ice Arenas and many other locations. 

All NM Ice Wolves games are live on HockeyTV with a monthly or annual subscription.

About NAHL
Celebrating its 48^th season in 2022-23, the North American Hockey League (NAHL) is the oldest and the largest USA Hockey sanctioned junior league with 29 teams representing some of the nation’s emerging hockey markets, as well as traditional hockey hot beds in 17 states. The NAHL is the only USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier II Junior league and prides itself on being committed to skill development and social maturity of student-athletes ages 16-20 with aspirations of advancing to collegiate and/or professional hockey. During the 2021-22 season, the NAHL recorded 363 NCAA commitments, including 258 NCAA Division I commitments, which marks the sixth straight season the NAHL has had 300+ commitments. In addition, five players with NAHL ties were selected in the 2022 NHL Draft. For more information, visit www.nahl.com.