A father and his son, and hockey skates

This is the story of a Chatfield father who envisioned playing ice hockey as a youth, but because of the costs he could not take part in the sport. So along comes his son, who with his father’s support and enthusiasm started to skate at the age of three and grew up playing youth hockey in Rochester. 

An opportunity came along for Lyle Mullenbach to own a skating rink. Mullenbach purchased the sideboards that form a barrier around the ice rink for $300. He now builds the ice rink in his backyard every winter for his son and the neighborhood kids to use.

The other day an email arrived from Lyle Mullenbach with a photo showing Lyle watering the rink as he goes on to explain, “Watering my rink takes a while. The other night when it was nine below zero, I was able to stay up and water until 5 a.m. So, I’m going out now to water. I started watering on December 26, and it will take until about January 15 before it’s ready to skate on.”

Adam Mullenbach gently twisted his friend, Michael Greiner’s arm to join him on the ice. Michael started starting skating when he was in either fourth or fifth grade. 

The two boys agree that the hardest thing to learn about hockey is skating, explaining backward skating and cross-over skating, for example. 

Both boys are juniors and attend high school in Chatfield. They play ice hockey for the John Marshall High School Rockets in Rochester, and in the offseason, Adam plays baseball, and Michael plays football. Grinning, Adam explained that he is a power hitter and Michael is physical.

Michael’s father, Carl Greiner an avid supporter, spoke up, saying that boys love these sports because they are a contact sport. 

Both boys aged out at 15 and were no longer eligible to play for Rochester youth hockey. Then you play high school hockey, which is called Junior Gold. Lyle Mullenbach explained, “Junior Gold is a catch-all league for high school kids who are too old to play for  Rochester youth hockey or do not have a high school to play for or cannot make the high school team.”

This is when Lyle Mullenbach started calling around looking for a school that was willing to co-op with the Chatfield High School as the boys did not have a place to play. There are two divisions, A and 2A. Mullenbach spent around two and a half years trying to find a high school in the tri-state area willing to co-op with Chatfield High School. Finally, John Marshall High School said maybe it would work, which got the ball rolling. 

There are minimum grades that players much achieve to play. Laughing, Carl interrupts, “Michael skates just above it.” So does Adam.

John Marshall High School hockey coach Matt Erredge also requires team members to complete eight hours of community service. With Michael’s help, Adam will teach ice skating on the Mullenbach’s rink to the neighborhood kids. Meeting the community service requirement is required to letter in hockey. 

Hockey is an exciting game to watch. The boys shared a few examples of slang that one might hear when attending a hockey game. The following definitions are found on www.thehockeywriters.com. Apple is a slang term for an assist attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed, or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate. Sauce is a pass that leaves the ice to make it more difficult for opposing players to intercept, and Top Cheese is used to describe a shot that goes in off or right below the crossbar. Other examples of slang include Cookie, Turtle, Lettuce, and Icing. 

Minnesota is the hockey capital of the U.S. and is recognized as the “State of Hockey.” Michael shared, “There are semi-pro leagues, pro leagues, high school leagues D1, D2, D3, and college leagues in Minnesota. Minnesota has the most Division 1 teams as compared to other states.

Do girls play hockey? In unison, all four said, “absolutely”! Lyle mentioned that when he was calling around looking for a school to co-op with, he was asked many times how many girls play hockey, emphasizing that they are always looking for girls to play. Michael added, “Lots of high schools have a girls team. Lyle shared that Makayla Pahl, a Mayo graduate who plays for the University of Minnesota, is a goaltender. She is the only goaltender in college hockey that is unbeaten.

The boys continue to play hockey on the city’s ice rink in Chatfield. Adam explained that they have a group chat and use it to communicate. They let each other know when they will get together on the rink for a mini game. There are about 18 kids that play hockey in Chatfield. 

The two dads and their two sons expressed their appreciation to John Marshall High School, “We are very, very grateful that John Marshall High School was willing to co-op with Chatfield High School.”