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SPHL Mississippi RiverKings

RiverKings Equipment Manager Retires from Hockey

August 1, 2013 - SPHL (SPHL)
Mississippi RiverKings News Release


SOUTHAVEN, Miss. - After 12 seasons of professional hockey, RiverKings Equipment Manager Patrick "Loaf" Stevens is walking away from the sport.

Stevens served as the RiverKings equipment manager for the first two years of the team's affiliation with the Southern Professional Hockey League, taking care of everything from equipment repairs to budgeting supplies. He earned the SPHL's Equipment Manager of the Year in 2012 for his hard work and professionalism.

"We hate to see him leave, but I want to wish ‘Loaf' and his family all the best," RiverKings Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations Derek Landmesser said. "'Loaf' was an asset to our team and I know he made a lot of players' and coaches' jobs easier over the years because of all his hard work."

Stevens got his start in hockey in Shreveport, Louisiana, working as a volunteer for the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs of the Central Hockey League. From there, yearlong stints in Texarkana of the Gulf Coast Hockey League and Lubbock of the Central Hockey League followed before landing with the expansion Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees.

After three years in Rio Grande, Stevens ventured to another CHL expansion franchise, the Rocky Mountain Rage, where he earned CHL Equipment Manager of the Year honors in 2008. He spent three seasons in Rocky Mountain before joining the Allen Americans in 2009 for two years.

But with a young family, the time spent away from them began to take a toll on Stevens. He began considering making the 2012 season his last at the midway point last year.

"I promised my wife that once our oldest began school, I'd look toward settling down," he said. "Once I got back to Shreveport at the end of this season and took some time to think about it throughout the beginning of the summer, we made the final decision to try something new."

While he will get to spend more time with his family, there are many aspects of his former job that Stevens will look back on fondly.

"The camaraderie in the dressing room and meeting all the different people you meet in the hockey community are definitely things I'm going to miss," he said.

Stevens returns to Shreveport with his family where he begins work with his family's locksmith business. But that doesn't mean SPHL fans won't see the longtime equipment manager throughout the season.

"Lafayette [home of the Louisiana IceGators] isn't too far away, so I'll still be able to keep up with the RiverKings and I plan on making a stop in Southaven to take in a few games," he said. "It was such a great organization to be a part of and I got to work with some quality people who made it fun for me to go to work everyday so I'll be looking forward to seeing them."



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