Casper Roughnecks set to skate into their first season strong

CASPER, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) - Hockey season is upon us, and the Casper Roughnecks are bringing hockey back to the Oil City for their first season in Casper. Apart of the United States Premier Hockey League, the Roughnecks’ are looking to make a name for themselves in the Northwest division.

Head coach and co-owner, Danny Randall says “These guys are chasing a dream, they’ve come from all over the world to Casper, Wyoming... a lot of these young men are trying to get to the next level, whether it’s a higher level of jr’s or to go onto play college hockey, or some form of pro.” The Roughnecks have players from all around the world, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia, all around Canada, and players from 8 different states here in the United States.

With all different personalities from different parts of the world, Coach Randall says his past experience will help bring the team together for one common goal “I think I just pull on my background, you know I did ten years in the army so I came from a leadership background that came with a lot of people from a lot of different places and a lot of different upbringings and you just have to find a way that you can’t coach one kid the same as you can coach the next and some kids you can be hard on and some kids you got to like grab their hand and say, follow me.”

Casper resident, Simeon Forsman says being on the team and representing his home town means a lot to him “Oh it’s honestly really special like we’ve had other teams but being on the team is a lot more different, like I’ve been handing out tickets all week to all my friends and family, I hope they all show up so they can see us crush ‘em you know?”

The Casper Roughnecks season begins tomorrow at 7:30 pm, as they host the Rough Valley Royals, the inaugural game is free for everyone.

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