The Midwest has plenty to offer when it comes to sports markets. States like Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois provide some of the most recognized sports franchises in a variety of sports. One sport that’s found its way into many homes, especially in the northern states, is hockey. With teams like the Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks, it’s no surprise that there’s a large market for hockey in the northern parts of the Midwest.

But for a place like Iowa, there isn’t large market for sports in general, let alone hockey. The closest Iowa gets to professional sports are minor league teams or teams in smaller professional leagues, like the Des Moines Buccaneers of the American Hockey League.

“Hockey in Minnesota is like Texas and football,” said coach and general manager Jason Fairman.

With the difference between sports markets, there should be no surprise that a majority of Iowa State’s Division I club hockey team comes areas where hockey is a bigger deal. In fact, there are only three players on the Division I team that are from Iowa, with the rest coming from places like Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin and even Canada.

Senior goaltender Matt Goedeke of Ankeny, junior goaltender Nikita Kozak of Waukee and freshman forward Nick Rogers of Dubuque are the only three players from Iowa.

With most players coming from where hockey is a big deal, how did the three players from Iowa find their way into the ice? For all three, the interest in hockey, in one way or another, started at a young age.

For Goedeke, his dad tried to introduce the game to him at a young age, but Goedeke wasn’t for it. However, after his dad brought him to a Des Moines Buccaneers game, he was all for hockey. Kozak comes from a Russian household and was born overseas, where hockey is big. With his family heritage and parents skating when they were kids, Kozak learned to skate at a young age and started playing hockey shortly after. For Rogers, it started with his mom taking him to free skating lessons after seeing an ad in the newspapers. Rogers found that he was good at skating and stuck with it, which led him to hockey.

Finding hockey is one thing but being able to get the experience of playing hockey isn’t as easy in Iowa as it is in other areas.

“Well in Minnesota, they can just play for the high school and be good,” Rogers said, “Whereas, where I’m from, you have to leave to get a bigger market.”

Kozak was able to find experience in Iowa through travel hockey, expressing his gratitude for sacrifices that his parents made when he would go play in tournaments. Goedeke and Rogers found some of their playing experience outside of Iowa. Goedeke played travel hockey through middle school and high school, but moved to Omaha, Nebraska during his junior year of high school to get experience with Triple A Hockey. Goedeke would then play junior hockey and play his freshman year Midland University before transferring to Iowa State. Rogers played high school hockey up until his junior year when he went to play Triple A hockey in Des Moines. He followed that up with playing in Alaska, coming back and then playing in Madison, Wisconsin before coming to Iowa State.

With different paths taken, all three players found their way to Iowa State, where Goedeke and Kozak are Cyclone Hockey veterans, while Rogers is a rookie. For all three, Cyclone hockey played a role in their decision to come to Iowa State. With being away from home for five years and getting a chance to play in Ames during his last set of games with Midland, Goedeke was hooked on Cyclone Hockey. Coming to Ames let him home stay close to home and play with a great atmosphere with every game. Kozak came to Iowa State for engineering but having a chance to play hockey and being close to home aided in the decision to come to Iowa State. While Rogers had a family connection to Iowa State, Cyclone Hockey was a big reason why he came to Iowa State.

Despite different paths taken and different experiences, there is a consensus of being able to come together with players that have come to Iowa State from places with a larger hockey market.

“I’d say the hockey community is pretty tight,” Kozak said, “Regardless of where you come from, everyone still has the same love, same passion for the game, so we understand how the game is played and what the game means to each other.”

With years and years of playing, there will always be moments to look back on. While it was agreed that it’s hard to pick out one favorite memory throughout the years, all three found something that they enjoyed. For Goedeke, it’s not one memory, it’s the unique experience that hockey provides. For Kozak, it’s getting to come together every year with teammates to play, along with getting the opportunity to play with the Des Moines Buccaneers and dressing a game with them. For Rogers, being able to play in front of a few thousand fans in Alaska was a highlight of his hockey career.

“It’s an experience not many people get to do,” Goedeke said, “Meet people throughout the entire world and get to travel and play the game they love.”

Goedeke is going into his senior season with Cyclone Hockey, while Kozak is able to return next year for his senior season and Rogers is able to return for multiple years, since he’s only a freshman. Fairman has full confidence in goaltender with the veteran presence that Goedeke brings and the development of Kozak. As for Rogers, Fairman looks for a good freshman campaign from Rogers, especially with his junior hockey success and his adjustment to Cyclone Hockey.

Through growing up, getting experience playing and transitioning to college life, hockey has played a huge role in each of their lives. All three of the players have learned valuable skills that they’ve learned through playing that they can apply on the ice and off the ice.

“I think that hockey has definitely shaped the person who I am and wouldn’t trade that for a thing,” said Kozak.