Hockey, anyone?

I'm a little out of the loop when it comes to hockey.

Sitting in the same room as NHL fans, their chatter about that Slovenian defenseman or third-string goalkeeper for Calgary makes my head spin a little bit.

After all, how much weight can you give to a major sport that shows all its games on the Versus network?

(Really the NHL has been almost comically run into the ground by its management. Look at how the NFL is the most casual fan-friendly sport in the world and how in hockey you couldn't name a famous player beyond Overchkin and Crosby.)

But I'll be the first to buy a ticket to a live hockey game.

There's nothing better than going to the arena, sitting with some friends and shouting obscenities at the refs.

While I'm not "that fan" who's lexicon of remarks is "fight!" when somebody is clearing the puck and "shoot it" when they're switching lines, the specifics of the game sometimes go way over my head.

That's okay. I just like the environment of a hockey game.

So, I was shocked to find that Lake County has no real hockey culture to speak of. We're a stone's throw from Canada, and there's plenty of hockey being played in Missoula and Kalispell.

So apparently, we can import maple syrup but not the game of hockey?

With the way people support their sports around here, it's kind of weird. While I'm excited for basketball and wrestling (can't wait for someone to do the Stone Cold stunner in an actual match) to get started, it would be nice for kids to have the option to play hockey too.

Not very far from here, Salmon, Idaho has a great youth hockey program that was started from the gumption of the parents and their kids. They have an outdoor rink that overlooks the Bitterroot Mountains in a setting that would make any hockey enthusiast treat it like Lambeau Field.

It's refrigerated and they even have a Zamboni. It would be nice to see something like that take form here in Lake County. This place has great communities around each of their sports and hockey would be no different. It's one of those things that sticks with you for the rest of your life. Just ask those 50-year-olds play-ing rec league hockey.

It's just strange to me that sport isn't bigger around these parts. I know there's junior hockey being played in the state but looking at the bigger picture, why isn't there a WHL team in the state? Have you seen where some of the teams up in Canada play? You'd be shocked if these places had a McDonalds much less a major junior hockey team.

The media markets of Missoula and Billings have to be somewhat more appealing than FirstTruckStoponyourLeft, British Columbia. There really aren't many things that are more fun than rooting for your team when they're playing in the Memorial Cup Tournament, or playing a bitter rival from another city.

Especially if they're offering beer discounts, just make sure you're not sitting in the wrong fan section.

Montana loves and really gets behind its sports on every level, so the fact that it's not more prevalent is just a bit puzzling.

Wouldn't that make winter around here a little more fun? God knows there's no shortage of skiing and snowboarding options around here, but what about a little more with rec league and youth hockey?

We don't have a real shortage of ice around these parts either.

It would be nice to see, and a whole lot better than tuning to Versus to get a hockey fix.