Hockey in the Land of Enchantment

While thinking about the things that I have written about this past year, and with the one year anniversary of this blog on the horizon, I thought of what it is that I should write about this time.  I've written about hockey in Kansas City and hockey in Portland, since they are the place that I live and the place that I would love to live in, respectively.  However, I have never really written about the place that I visit most frequently outside of Portland, so today will be all about the Land of Enchantment, otherwise known as New Mexico.

You'd be surprised to know that hockey in New Mexico is actually quite abundant, even though it doesn't get nearly the same attention that its neighbors in Arizona and Texas do.  In fact, you'd be surprised to know (and I was, too) that the University of New Mexico actually has a hockey team that plays in Division II of the ACHA.  Obviously, it won't be competing with the likes of Michigan or Boston U for the NCAA Championships anytime soon, but the idea of a college team south of say, Denver, sounds quite ludicrous at first thought.  As far as other teams go, there were the New Mexico Scorpions who played in the CHL (where the Missouri Mavericks play), and who are currently inactive in the league.  One team that is currently active is the Renegades, who are currently in the Western States Hockey League and play their games in Rio Rancho, a suburb of Albuquerque.  Another team that began play this season is the Mustangs of the North American Hockey Association, who are the affiliates of the Renegades.

Yes, the New Mexico hockey scene is there, as little there is, to the point where there is even a hockey league in Taos.  In one sense, this just goes to show that the Wayne Gretzky effect is far reaching, even in places like New Mexico.