For most people, the holidays are the most joyous time of year. They are time spent with family, and time spentpracticing of close-held traditions. Putting up the Christmas tree and lights, leaving cookies and milk out for Santa Claus and waking up early on Christmas morning to see what he left you. But, for student athletes such as members of the Wisconsin men’s hockey team, the holidays are a bit different from more traditional festivities.
For those players, the holidays get compressed. With the last day of finals Dec. 23, the day before Christmas Eve, and the Badgers having a game in Madison against the U.S. Under-18 team on New Years Eve, the players get a small window where they are able to spend with their families. But, life away from home isn’t all that unfamiliar for a hockey player.
“It’s been ever since I was in juniors and the USA program that we rarely got time to go home, so I’m kind of used to it now,” sophomore forward Michael Mersch said. “But it’s nice, you cherish those moments that you get to spend some time with your family.”
Mersch, a native of Park Ridge, Ill. said that he is going to be able to go home and see his family for a bit over the holidays, but for the many Wisconsin players who aren’t from the area, going home for over their holiday break won’t be possible.
“I don’t know if I get to go home this year or not yet,” sophomore forward and Rochester, N.Y. native Mark Zengerle said. “I didn’t get to go home for Thanksgiving so I’m hoping I can get back for two or three days for Christmas.”
“It stinks in a way,” Zengerle added. “I have two older brothers that I always want to see, and obviously my parents, but this is my seventh year living away from home so I’ve kind of gotten used to it. I can’t tell you the last time I got to go home for Thanksgiving or Easter.”
But, just because they can’t go home doesn’t mean that some of the players stuck in Madison for Christmas won’t be making the best of it. Junior defenseman Justin Schultz, a native of West Kelowna, British Colombia, is making holiday plans with fellow British Colombia native and good friend, junior forward Derek Lee.
“Me and Derek are actually going to stay here over break,” Schultz said. “We’re not going to have that much time off and flights are expensive, so we’re going to hang out here and have our own Christmas here by ourselves.”
“We’re thinking about just going to the movies or something, spend the day at the theatre,” he added. “We’re thinking about getting a Christmas tree for our room too; hasn’t happened yet though.”
The team does have a few holiday traditions of their own, including a “Christmas Cup” tournament within the team that takes place each year during the week of finals. The tournament is comprised of six teams named after NHL teams. The teams remain the same from year to year, save for departing seniors and incoming freshmen. The freshmen are drafted to teams each season before the tournament and players can be traded between teams throughout their Badger careers.
“I love it,” Schultz said of the Christmas Cup. “It is one of the most fun times of the year. It’s real competitive and the boys love it.”
“Everyone makes their own outfit,” Zengerle said. “[Sophomore forward] Keegan [Meuer] dresses up as Sergei Fedorov, so we have a lot of fun with our time off.”
During the holidays, the Badgers participate in a team-wide secret santa gift exchange as well, where they pick a name of a teammate out of a hat and get him a gift, something the players have a lot of fun with.
“You get to poke fun at [a teammate] a bit, but you get him a nice little gift to,” Meuer said.
Schultz said that last year, teammates used Secret Santa to make light of his friendship with Lee, while Zengerle got ridiculed for his sub-par math skills.
“Last year I got from [Scott] Gudmandson and [Jake] Gardiner, they got me and Derek a little love album because me and him will hang out a lot because we’re both from British Colombia,” Schultz said. “So, they got pictures off our Facebooks and made an album. It was pretty funny.”
“[Sophomore forward Gavin] Hartzog had me,” Zengerle said. “I’m not the best math student ever, when I got here I hadn’t taken a math class in three years, so when I got here I did pretty brutal on the placement exam. So, I got a pair of dice so that I could practice my counting.”
Life as a Wisconsin hockey player doesn’t allow for typical holiday celebrations.
Far distances from home for some and the short time between finals and their game on Jan 31. doesn’t allow much time to be spent at home with families, but, by creating their own holiday traditions, the Badgers have managed to create their own home away from home.
