But this season, former Ice Fernz player Emma Rout, 34, is bringing it back, playing for the Wakatipu Wild women’s ice hockey team.
Having grown up in a hockey family — both her older brothers, Stacy and Jesse, were stalwarts for the Stampede and New Zealand Ice Blacks — Rout started out figure skating before making the move to the sport after relocating to Christchurch for high school, ultimately representing the Canterbury women’s team before gaining national honours.
She hung her skates up, initially, about 2008, then laced them back up a decade ago to play a year of social league.
Now a mum of two wee boys, aged 4 and almost 2, Rout says she played in the Sunday night social league and Jurassic last year in Queenstown — "it was really just about getting back into some fitness, and when you’re doing something you enjoy, it’s not really a chore".
"I just wanted to get back on the ice, if I’m totally honest; dust the skates off and give it another shot."
She admits she’s absolutely loving being back in the mix.
"I actually think I’m playing better hockey now than I did when I was young."
Prepping for this weekend’s opening round in Dunedin, against Phoenix Thunder, the side’s going to have some extra supporters when they hit the road this year — Rout’s husband, parents and two boys will be travelling to the away games with her.
"I think that was part of it when [my husband] and I talked about it at the beginning of the year, I just really didn’t want to spend time away from them.
"I was like, ‘if I’m doing this, it’s all of us’.
It’s just a different kettle of fish being a mum and having weekend commitments, it’s not just me I have to make the decisions for."
Last season’s runner-up in the New Zealand Women’s Ice Hockey League (NZWIHL), coach Colin McIntosh says the 2024 squad is looking sharp going into this year, and they’ve added some other new faces into an already strong core group.
They include Kelli Burstein, who’s just moved from Minnesota to Wānaka, and Lucy Thomas, a 16-year-old goalie from Wellington.
Lucy played during a recent exhibition round, against the Canterbury Inferno, in Christchurch, marking her NZWIHL debut — McIntosh notes she played a "near perfect game in net", making 35 saves during their 3-1 win.
He says the women are "chomping at the bit to get going this weekend".
"As athletes, especially at the national level, you want to win.
"So it’s going to be fun watching these ladies work towards that goal over the next three months."
The Wild play Thunder in Dunedin on Saturday at 5.30pm and 4pm on Sunday — games will be livestreamed via the NZWIHL YouTube channel.
