ALBUQUERQUE – Hello Ice Wolves fans and welcome to the latest edition of the Ice Wolves Den. This week we feature Andy Earl.
Andy joined the Ice Wolves late last season during the playoff run and was accepted by the locker room fairly quickly, “Coach Fox welcomed me in and set me up. The whole team stood up and shook my hand, it was pretty awesome. I came in and battled, that accepted me right away.” Earl said, “It was really fun and everyone was having such a good time. They knew I was coming in the next year as a tender, so they brought me in and took me under their wing.”
Ice Wolves Assistant Coach Kyle McKenzie thinks getting a good player even late in the season is great, “It’s always nice working with these kids more than one season, it’s as Coach Alex Gilbert would say, the ladder of development. It’s always good to bring these kids in for at least two years, it’s nice to get them for three, it’s always fun to see them develop.” McKenzie said, “Andy’s taken big strides especially now that we’re in the second half of the season. He had a decent first half, but he’s been playing well for us down the stretch.”
This past Friday was National Hockey Mom Day, it was made more special for Andy, “It was so awesome because Mom and Grandma were down here. It was awesome to see them and spend time with them.” Earl continued, “My Mom was my biggest inspiration. Growing up in a divorced household was tough, but Mom always took care of me. Both of my parents did the best they could. Mom was definitely my idol.”
Photos courtesy of Scott Adamson
Logo designed by Sean Marion
