by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
While the phrase “hockey mom” has become practically synonymous with a woman who is extremely busy coming and going in a flurry of motion, many people tend to forget there are “hockey dads” too, just as busy, just as dedicated.
Corey Hansen of Sartell is a hockey dad. He and his wife, Marci, have three young children who are hockey players – Ellie, a sophomore, who plays with the Sartell Stormin’ Sabres team; Carlie, an eighth-grader, who plays for the U-14 A Stormin’ Sabres team; and Casey, 10, who is a member of the Sartell Squirts A team.
On the evening of Jan. 3, Corey and Casey lounged around at home, relaxing by the fireplace and watching a Minnesota Wild hockey game. They’d earned their rest. Earlier that day, Casey had played two extremely energetic games of hockey, and his team won two games over Moorhead and Hutchinson at the Sartell Bernick’s Arena. Corey, the night before, had worked with others until 2 a.m. getting the outdoor rink ready for the 2:45 p.m. game with the visiting Moorhead Spuds.
Like most hockey parents, the sport is very much a part of the Hansens’ lives – happily so, even though schedules can become hectic.
For the weekend of Jan. 10-11, Corey’s activities calendar includes the following:
Saturday:
Casey scrimmage game, 9:15 a.m., Maple Grove.
Carlie scrimmage game, Sauk Rapids vs. Moorhead in Sauk Rapids, 10 a.m.
Casey game against Rosemount in Rosemount, 4:15 p.m.
Carlie game against Centennial in Sauk Rapids, 6:30 p.m.
Sunday:
Casey game at Buffalo, 1:30 p.m.
Carlie scrimmage against Blaine at Bernick’s Arena, 4 p.m.
“No, we don’t have many family meals together,” Corey said. “It’s rare when all of us have the chance to sit down at the same time altogether.”
However, he was quick to add the hectic lifestyle is not only fun but rewarding.
“We meet new friends,” he said. “We have camaraderie. It’s so much fun to meet new people every year. The kids learn life lessons, like they do in all sports.”
Corey began playing hockey when he was a second-grader in Faribault. He was captain of the Faribault High School hockey team. Although Marci, unlike her two daughters, never played hockey, she is their number-one fan. Born and raised in Thief River Falls, not far from the hockey country of Canada, Marci grew to love the sport of hockey.
Since 2001, Corey coached hockey. This season is the first he has not coached. He was a long-time member of the Sartell Youth Hockey Association Board.
Corey earned degrees in business administration and communications from Concordia College, where he was captain of the hockey team. For the past 20 years he has been an employee of US Bank (formerly known as First Bank). Marcie, along with her sister, owns a business called Girl Time Getaways, which offers “mystery” trips for groups of women.
The Hansens are most definitely a hockey family, on the go constantly, but they not only have no regrets – they wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Casey Hansen, a member of the Sartell Squirts A team, glides across the ice of the Bernick’s Arena, his eye intently on the puck.
The Hansen family developed a strong, loving bond partly through a mutual love of hockey, which they all enjoy thoroughly. With their parents, Corey and Marci, are (left to right) Ellie, Casey and Carlie.
