Taos’ youth hockey league hopes to get back on the ice this year

Like a lot of Michigan youth, Mark Richert grew up on the ice, gliding around the frozen ponds and arenas of the Midwest playing ice hockey with his friends. But when a high school classmate and former teammate died during a game, Richert packed away his gear in his parent’s basement, expecting to be done with the sport for good.

“I just kind of shut down,” he said. “The whole sport didn’t make sense to me any longer.”

But 20 years later, while walking the halls at Taos High School as an English teacher, Richert noticed a sticker stuck to a classroom door advertising Taos Hockey. He decided to borrow a pair of skates and a hockey stick from his students, who were eager to see their letters instructor attend a practice of the rough-and-tumble sport.

Pretty soon, Richert was on the phone with his parents back in Michigan, asking if they’d dig out his old gear and mail it to him. That year, he slipped on his old jersey from 1982.

Taos has long been known as a cultural hub of the Southwest, but the region’s ice hockey community also knows it for its championship hockey program, which was brought to essentially a standstill after a fire broke out on the roof of the Taos Youth and Family Center a little over a year ago. The facility houses the rink the program uses to practice and play.

The fire not only damaged the roof over the rink, presenting a hazard to the many community groups that use it throughout the year, the water firefighters used to douse the blaze caused further damage to the rink itself, officials say.

Contractors’ assessments uncovered other deficiencies with the rink’s ice-making system and the concrete slab where the ice is built, rendering it unusable, according to officials, who say the rink is more than 20 years old and in need of upgrades.

Except for a few games and practices that could be strung together on ice elsewhere during the 2024-25 season, the Taos team fractured as a result of the facility’s shutdown, with players joining other squads in the region and some families even moving away.

Still, the orange, black and white Taos Youth Hockey Tigers jersey has been a common sight ever since at Taos Town Council meetings, where public officials have discussed their progress toward getting hockey players, local figure skaters and other community groups back on the ice.

At an Aug. 12 council meeting, those officials made a loose commitment to having ice again for the coming winter season, noting that more extensive upgrades identified for the rink could take longer.

“The concern is making sure not only that we have ice, but that it is safe for everyone to use,” said Town Attorney Jessica Nixon. “We are working together to make sure that everyone who uses that ice is as protected as possible, given the understanding of the risks associated with it.”

State Sen. Roberto “Bobby” Gonzales, D-Ranchos de Taos, worked with the town, the county and the hockey association to obtain $1.2 million in capital outlay appropriations from the Legislature this year to help repair the Youth & Family Center.

But the association’s representatives at the meeting made no bones about their doubts regarding the town’s ability to make good on its promises to fix the rink in time. For months, they say communication from the town has been scant, leaving them at a loss where it comes to fundraising and recruitment for the coming season. The town declined to comment for this story.

“Your silence and lack of communication is telling,” said Sophia Trevino, a player who addressed the town council during public comment. “As my coaches say, ‘Try your hardest,’ but this isn’t your hardest. I know you can fix it if we work together.”

For Trevino, her teammates, their parents and Richert, who’s been the association’s head coach the last four years, the Taos Youth Hockey Association provides more than just an athletic outlet — it’s a vital source of community for parents and youth. For some players, it can even be a pathway toward higher levels of the game.

“Some of my closest friendships and best memories were made through Taos ice hockey,” said Hanna Weinman, a forward for the University of Michigan who also spoke at last week’s meeting. “I owe my college hockey career to the support from the Taos Youth Hockey Association. I’m not here tonight just as a former player, but as someone who knows firsthand what this program can do for young people.”

Since its founding in 1990, the all-volunteer nonprofit organization has run teams for children ages 3-18 and has brought home 15 state championships. In a typical year, when the ice rink at the Youth & Family Center is operational, they host four to five tournaments, which attract teams from throughout the state and region.

Christian Whetsell, area director of sales and marketing for the Hotel Don Fernando and Hampton Inn in Taos, said those tournaments create a sizable economic impact during hockey season, which typically runs from early November through late March.

“The hockey rink brings teams who stay in our hotels and dine in our restaurants,” he said at the Aug. 12 meeting. “They bring economic vitality to the community at a time of year when you know the community might not see as much from a tourism base.”

Brian Stinett, the director of the Santa Fe Recreation Division, said that operating ice rinks in warmer climates is generally much more difficult than in the frigid northern latitudes where the sport was born.

“It’s massively challenging,” he said. “Essentially, you got to have nearly perfect conditions to have perfect ice. If there’s any wild swings in temperature, in humidity or anything along those lines, you’re going to have a plant that is going to have to constantly be tinkered with to maintain good ice.”

Given the circumstances, Stinett said it would be “amazing” if the Taos rink has skateable ice again at any point this season.

In the meantime, dozens of local youth and parents are concerned about the survival of a community program Taoseños have relied on for decades.

One local hockey mom’s faith there will be ice this year?

“Fifty percent,” said Margeaux Hurtado, who has three children enrolled in Taos Youth Hockey Association. “There just hasn’t been much movement with construction on that roof, and the town has made so many excuses. There’s always another barrier to solving the problem.”