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Bronze Centennials Success Measured in Growth

By Greg Bates - Special to USAHockey.org, 01/23/15, 12:45PM MST

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California team has seen continued growth since coming together as a hodgepodge group in 2013

Udo Klein and Wendy Audiss knew it wasn’t going to be easy.

Putting together a team with about 15 hockey players who didn’t have a lot of experience in the sport or even know each other, it was going to be a rough first year. That proved true.

The Bronze Centennials of the Snoopy’s Adult Hockey League (SAHL) in Santa Rosa, Calif., won just a couple games in their inaugural season in the fall 2013.

“We talked to everybody, saying that since we’ve just been thrown together and we had a lot of people that actually had minimal to no hockey experience, that it was a building season and we were out there just to get used to the game and get used to each other,” said Audiss, the team alternate captain and manager. “We weren’t going to worry about the wins and the losses, because our successes were more in just developing as a team.”

That philosophy worked.

The Bronze Centennials finished off the fall 2014 season by placing fourth out of six teams in the Bronze Novice Division of the SAHL. The team went 5-7-1, and suffered one of its losses in overtime. Its season ended with a first-round playoff loss to the No. 1-seeded team.

“First year we got our butts kicked by everybody, and as the season went along we got a little better, a little better,” said Klein, who is the team captain and leader with 20 years of hockey experience. “This year we did pretty good. We were contenders.”

It was a rewarding 2014 season after taking their lumps in their first year.

“It was wonderful. Everyone was so enthusiastic,” Audiss said. “Our goal was to make the playoffs, and we accomplished that.”

The SAHL’s Bronze Division had seven teams in 2012, but two teams moved up to higher divisions. That opened up the opportunity for an expansion team. When Audiss’ old team changed divisions, she teamed up with Klein to create the Bronze Centennials and continue playing in the Bronze Division.

Since ice time is so limited at Snoopy’s Ice Arena, some adult league players have been on waiting lists for a few years to join the SAHL. As a result, the Bronze Centennials were made up largely of the “free agents” who had been waiting for open spots.

Once the Bronze Centennials — which is comprised of players who range in age from early 20s to early 60s — got on the ice, it was quickly apparent there was a broad range of talent. Some players were newcomers to hockey and could barely get around on the ice.

“They didn’t even understand the blue line concept,” Klein said. “So you can imagine our first game last season how bad they were — offsides, offsides, offsides, just constantly.”

It was hard to find any on-ice chemistry with the new teammates. However, that continually improved every week of the fall 2013 season.

“Our chemistry has gotten a lot better, learning their jobs and what they’re supposed to do and how they’re supposed to do it,” Klein said.

The majority of the players who were on the inaugural Bronze Centennials returned for 2014. That was a big reason for the drastic improvement on the ice.

“The lines were more consistent because we got to know each other last season, so it was easier to put together line according to not just level of ability but playing style,” said Audiss, who is 57 and has played hockey for about 15 years. “By doing that and being consistent, we got to know each other, so the passes were better, our defense was stronger.”

Klein, who is 56, enjoys teaching and coaching new hockey players. The Bronze Centennials have never been able to practice because of the team members’ schedules, so Klein gets his players ready for games by performing drills. He will have his skaters work on anything from passing to one-timers.

Klein likes the eagerness of his players to want to learn. That’s one of the main reasons Klein enjoys playing for the Bronze Centennials. Audiss likes her teammates’ attitudes.

“Everybody’s there to play as hard as they can and to have a good time, so there’s a lot of camaraderie on the bench,” Audiss said.

Klein is already looking forward to the next fall season and having a stronger team with more improved players.

“I think we’ll get all our players back, because everybody seemed to have a good time and we had good chemistry,” Klein said.

Entering their third fall season, Klein has high hopes for the Bronze Centennials.

“My goal for next season is to come in first or second place,” Klein said.

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.

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