Gavin Smith controls the ball in a dek hockey game Saturday, April 25, at Butler Dek Hockey in Butler Township. Eddie Clancy/Butler Eagle
Eddie Clancy
League has nine youth teams, 17 adult league teams
BUTLER TWP — Dek hockey shares a lot of DNA with ice hockey — players wear similar gear, play similar positions and use sticks to slap a ball into the goal to score points.
The lack of needing ice skates and skating skills, however, lower the barrier to play, with the manager of Butler Dek Hockey, Mavrik Goepfert, saying this has likely contributed to its growth in popularity since he started the program in 2021.
“It’s a good place for new kids to start,” Goepfert said of dek hockey, which is also known as ball hockey. “In my kids’ leagues I got nine teams right now, I have probably over 105 kids, which is the most I've had so far.”
Players have games on the weekends at the dek hockey floors at Butler Dek Hockey on Duffy Road in Butler Township. The league runs three seasons — spring, summer and fall — allowing teams to get started competing in regular intervals. There are also three adult leagues per season — a recreational league, a draft league and an elite league — which Goepfert said get good participation each year.
“Spring has always kind of been my best time,” Goepfert said. “It definitely keeps growing, which is awesome.”
Zach Bergbigler watches his opponents during a dek hockey game Saturday, April 25, at Butler Dek Hockey in Butler Township. Eddie Clancy/Butler Eagle
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Yebba Geckers defeated Boofers 10-2 in a dek hockey game Saturday, April 25, at Butler Dek Hockey in Butler Township. Eddie Clancy/Butler Eagle
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Dom Hauser makes a save in a dek hockey game Saturday, April 25, at Butler Dek Hockey in Butler Township. Eddie Clancy/Butler Eagle
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Austen Damico takes a break during halftime of a dek hockey game Saturday, April 25, at Butler Dek Hockey in Butler Township. Eddie Clancy/Butler Eagle
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Mother Puckers warm up before a dek hockey game Saturday, April 25, at Butler Dek Hockey in Butler Township. Eddie Clancy/Butler Eagle
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Wolves players, from left, Justin Bailey, Patrick Foster and Coty McGregor watch from the bench in a dek hockey game Saturday, April 25, at Butler Dek Hockey in Butler Township. Eddie Clancy/Butler Eagle
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Yebba Geckers defeated Boofers 10-2 in a dek hockey game Saturday, April 25, at Butler Dek Hockey in Butler Township. Eddie Clancy/Butler Eagle
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Zach Bergbigler, left, and Tyler Tappe celebrate after a goal in a dek hockey game Saturday, April 25, at Butler Dek Hockey in Butler Township. Eddie Clancy/Butler Eagle
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Austen Damico, left, and Tyler Tappe celebrate after a goal in a dek hockey game Saturday, April 25, at Butler Dek Hockey in Butler Township. Eddie Clancy/Butler Eagle
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Tyler Tappe fights for the ball in a dek hockey game Saturday, April 25, at Butler Dek Hockey in Butler Township. Eddie Clancy/Butler Eagle
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Tyler Tappe, left, and Zach Bergbigler celebrate after a goal in a dek hockey game Saturday, April 25, at Butler Dek Hockey in Butler Township. Eddie Clancy/Butler Eagle
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Tanner Smith takes a shot in a dek hockey game Saturday, April 25, at Butler Dek Hockey in Butler Township. Eddie Clancy/Butler Eagle
Eddie Clancy
