The Athens Rock Lobsters started their first practice sessions on Sept. 30 and played their first game on Oct. 11. After the first four games, the Rock Lobsters were undefeated.

However, there is one problem.

The renovations on The Classic Center, which include their new hockey arena, Akins Ford Arena, have not been completed.

 Why It’s Newsworthy: Athens’ new hockey team, the Rock Lobsters, are undefeated to start their inaugural season. However, they are overcoming underlying challenges along the way.  

Ice Arena Delays Force Long Commutes

“No matter if our rink is done now or in December, we’re always getting work done. It’ll be done soon. We can’t wait to fill that place up,” said veteran forward Justin Portillo.

With there being no ice for the Rock Lobsters at Akins Ford Arena, the team has been practicing an hour and a half away from Athens at The ICE Complex in Cumming, Georgia. The Rock Lobsters will spend the first two months of their season playing on the road, leading up to their home opener on Dec. 6.

Yet the Rock Lobsters are in good hands with their head coach Steve Martinson. Martinson has been around hockey for a long time. He played at the collegiate level at Saint Cloud University. After college, he went on to play professionally for the Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and the Minnesota North Stars before turning to a career in coaching in 1995.

Since he began coaching, he has won 1,127 games, which is the most for any head coach born in the United States.

Having a seasoned leader in Martinson has been crucial for the adversity that the Rock Lobsters have encountered. 

Travelling to Cumming for practice has been a challenge that the team has had to overcome, Martinson acknowledges the team’s resilience, though frequent travel and navigating local traffic have been less than ideal. 

“We got to travel a lot you know, but the guys have been good about it. We got them in one of the nicest places to live in Athens, and we’re trying to take care of them in that respect. But nobody likes traveling around this area that’s for sure. Traffic around here is a nightmare,” said Martinson.

Marketing Challenges in Athens

Aside from Akins Ford Arena being incomplete, Britton Briley, the director of marketing for the Athens Rock Lobsters, discussed the unique situation of marketing for a new hockey team in a town that he was not familiar with.

“How do we integrate into Athens itself, because Athens is a different market than Greenville, different than Charlotte and different than Atlanta. I cannot sit there and say, we’re going to bring a hockey team to Athens and it’s going to be going to be about the hockey team. No, it needs to be about Athens. Athens is a very artsy and a very music-driven city. Or you think about bars like that is Athens as a whole,” said Briley.

Building Community Ties

The understanding that success for the Athens Rock Lobsters goes beyond just the performance on the ice. For Briley, the challenge is not building a hockey team, but rooting the team into Athens’ identity. This commitment to community involvement began with the mascot selection process.  

“The first thing we did is research and development. That’s where we came up with the name challenge, we want the community to name this team because we realize that people love their voice,” Briley said.

As the Rock Lobsters navigate these off-the-ice hurdles of their inaugural season such as practicing far from home, playing on the road, waiting for the completion of their rink, and marketing to an unfamiliar city, one thing remains clear: The players, coaches and front office have shown determination on and off the ice.

On top of this, the Rock Lobsters have also shown a strong commitment to embedding themselves as a part of the culture of Athens.

Luke Mrozek is a fifth-year student majoring in journalism.