This May, BYU-Idaho Campus Recreation began hosting ice hockey prep groups. Sean Stempinski, the floor hockey lead on campus for several years, was a primary catalyst for the program.

“I’ve been playing floor hockey on campus ever since I got up here, and bugging anyone who would listen about doing more, and extending the program a bit,” Stempinski said.

He and other floor hockey players have advocated for more hockey opportunities to university officials for some time. Before the university-sponsored prep groups began, players would often travel to Rink 99, an outdoor rink in Sugar City, to play during the week.

However, the rink only operates during the colder months, leaving players searching for a year-round option.

“We’d be really sad when it closed in the warmer season, so we were looking for something else to do, and then Neutral Zone opened up,” Stempinski said.

The opening of The Neutral Zone, an indoor ice rink, in October 2025 provided that opportunity. With the rink now owned by the city of Rexburg, the university partners with the facility to offer a weekly time for students interested in ice hockey to play. 

When Ryan Krunblis, a local coach and BYUI alumni, heard about the revival of Ice Hockey at BYUI he jumped at the opportunity to volunteer his expertise to help players develop their skills on the ice.

“My wife works up on campus, and so we keep up," Krunblis said. "So when we saw that they had announced hockey was going to be starting again, I stuck my head out there as a hockey player myself, and also a coach locally, and offered to say, ‘Hey, if you want some help on the ice with new players, I'm more than willing to help.’”

Krunblis has a long-standing connection to the sport on campus, having played in the university's intramural leagues in 2011, which was the last year they were offered before the current revival.

The ice hockey prep groups meet every Wednesday night from 9:15 p.m. to 11 p.m. and host a women’s night on June 23. Players spend the first hour developing skills through drills, 

“For the first hour you're working on individual skill sets, and then we build drills in and teach some hockey ‘sense,’” Krunblis said. “We teach you a little bit about the game; my job is to kind of jump in there and help newer players develop skills, so they feel comfortable. In that last hour, we put some drills in there that force them to play against each other. And then, at the end, we scrimmage and have a game together just for fun.”

Ice hockey prep is open to any eligible students/spouses of students with any skill level, from beginner to advanced.

“Right now we're doing a lot of skills training, and some scrimmages," Stempinski said. "We're hoping to develop into a full-fledged league, hopefully in the fall semester. We're just a little small at the moment."

People who are interested in learning how to play, but haven't taken the jump yet, are encouraged to just go out and do it.

“It definitely feels like a mountain to climb, but we're here to help you climb that mountain," Stempinski said. "Hockey is such a great opportunity to get to meet new people, to get out and exercise. You just got to put your best foot forward, and you got to put your best skate on the ice, and we'll help you from there.”

The prep groups continue throughout the spring semester and are expected to continue in future semesters. Registration is available on IM Leagues and additional information can be found on the BYUI Sports Instagram page.