Ice in his veins

As Ryan Frain moved his skates smoothly onto the ice of the Northeast Skate Zone on a Saturday in late February, he knew it could be his last time playing forward for Temple’s club ice hockey team.

For the next 60 minutes of play, Ryan battled two opponents: the Bowling Green State University Falcons and the butterflies in his stomach.

In the past four years he’s played for the Owls, Ryan and his teammates have always made it to the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Regional Tournament. And every year, they have lost on Day 1 of the two-day tournament. But this year – Ryan’s fifth year – Day 1 promised a different result.

Temple defeated the Falcons, 4-2. But Regionals – and Ryan’s nerves – weren’t finished.

“Day 2 was even worse. When that final buzzer sounded Sunday,” Ryan said, “that was the best feeling.”

Temple defeated the No. 4 Liberty University Flames, 2-1, on Day 2 and, for the first time in the last five years, secured the team’s place in the 2011 ACHA National Tournament in San Jose, Calif.

For Ryan, the achievement is bittersweet. The end of the tournament also means the end of his 18-year hockey career.

“Even in the summer when I was working out, practicing, I was telling myself, ‘This is my last year, this is it.’ I have to play every game like it’s my last – because it could be.”

That in-it-to-win-it attitude is reflected in Ryan’s stats. With 18 points on the season and five goals in the playoffs, he is the team’s lead scorer and recently made the 2011 Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Hockey Association All-Star roster.

While Ryan may name former Philadelphia Flyers star Eric Lindros as his all-time favorite professional player, ultimately, he owes his love of the game to his Flyers-fan father.

“Ever since I could walk really, he tried to get me on skates.”

Ryan strives to make his parents, who have supported him “110 percent,” proud every time he steps onto the ice. His mom and dad are both traveling to San Jose to see him compete in Nationals.

Tomorrow, Ryan could complete his pre-game ritual – he gears up from right to left and takes off a chain from his grandmother just before lacing up his shoulder pads – for the last time.

To Ryan – who ultimately chose Temple for its academics, not sports – his participation on the hockey team has been “an added bonus” to his education. But the lessons in responsibility and leadership Ryan has learned through hockey will last well beyond his playing days.

“It all relates to the real world.”