Your high school hockey career is over, there’s a microscopic chance that you can play junior hockey, and there’s absolutely zero chance that you can play on Michigan State’s varsity hockey team. Great, you’re washed up at 20-years-old. You can either be a regular at drop in hockey or start growing your beer belly now and join a men’s league hockey team. 

But wait, there is another option, one more chance for you to be a part of a team and fulfill your dreams of hockey glory: intramural hockey, or IM Hockey at MSU.  

Unlike drop-in hockey, IM Hockey offers players five guaranteed games with the chance of making it into a single elimination tournament. There are referees running the show, signaling offside calls, dropping the puck at a face off, and sending players to the penalty box. There is an A league, and an AA league, with the latter comprised of higher skilled players than the A league. For the A league, teams have the choice to chose between playoff and non-playoff groups. 

Dennis Mayer, who has been in charge of IM Hockey for 12 years, believes that the organization provided by the referees and the IM Sports staff is what separates it from drop-in hockey. 

“Unlike drop-in hockey, there are officials which make the game more controlled. Also, playing friends is always more fun than playing with you people that you don’t know,” he said. 

There are 54 IM Hockey teams signed up for 2009’s season, which usually lasts until the middle of April. Mayer said most teams carry 10 to 12 players, with 15 being the maximum. At a price of $225 per team, or $18.75 per player (for a 12 player team), IM Hockey is also inexpensive.  

At Munn Ice Arena, drop-in hockey costs $5 per player, but you’re not always guaranteed a spot. On Sunday night drop-in hockey, players sometimes arrive up to an hour to an hour and a half earlier than the scheduled time just to secure a spot. 

Tony Gamm, a pre-med sophomore at Michigan State University, signed up for IM Hockey because he missed playing the game. 

“I wanted to do it last year, but this year it works better with my schedule. It’s been a while since I’ve played and I just really wanted to get back on the ice,” he said. 

The aspect that Gamm enjoys most about IM Hockey is the organization. 

“For me, it’s only $16, and there are scheduled times, so you know you’ll always get to play. I like it better than drop-in. I like the fact that you’re on a team, and that you have a record. There’s a little bit more of a willingness to win, a little more incentive to win than just playing a pick up game,” he said. 

Chuck Lieblich, a junior at MSU, decided to organize his own team, The Chiefs, this year. 

“I stopped playing hockey in ninth grade, and I missed playing it. I knew some people in my hall that played it, and we wanted to make a team. It’s a great hobby to do, it’s a lot of fun,” he said. 

Lieblich says through experience, most people don’t take drop-in hockey very seriously. 

“At drop-in people just mess around too much. IM is more fun with the structure, and the fact that there are refs,” he said. 

Gamm said that he’s glad he has the option of playing IM Hockey, mainly because he’s not ready to join a men’s league. 

“I probably wouldn’t even be playing right now if I didn’t have the chance to play IM. It gives me a chance to play while I’m at school, and it’s nice to play with college students that are more your age, and not 40-year-olds,” he said. 

Mayer believes that having something to play for is what makes IM Hockey special. 

“The fact that they’re playing for something, that they can win a trophy. It’s nice to have success as a team as opposed to just playing with strangers,” he said.

 

Questions? Comments? Contact SportsEdge at marxmich@msu.edu