Hockey in a time of war

In a land where it's ''140 degrees in the shade," as Sergeant 1st Class Andrew Fay put it, frozen ponds and ice skating rinks are hard to come by.

But that hasn't kept Fay, of West Roxbury, and his fellow National Guardsmen from playing the game they love while stationed in Iraq. They took their hockey sticks and moved the game inside, converting what was once a basketball court for Iraqi soldiers into an indoor street hockey rink.

Fay's division, the 42nd Artillery, stationed at forward operating base Summerall, is made up of soldiers from New England, New York, and Pennsylvania. Because hockey is a favorite pastime in those areas, it seemed only logical for the troops to set up an indoor hockey league at their base north of Tikrit in Bayji, Iraq.

''Everyone basically grew up with hockey and it's something that we haven't had since we've been in Iraq," he said.

About 25 men are in the five-team league, which usually has games on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

''It depends on what we're doing that day and what's going on in the area," said Fay, who has been in Iraq since October.

The three hours a week that the soldiers spend playing street hockey is one of the only ways they can relax.

''We can go back to basically being a civilian," said Fay. ''We don't have to worry about being blown up."

The league celebrated Independence Day with a hockey tournament, complete with a singing of the national anthem and medals. ''We called it the mini-Beanpot," Fay, said jokingly.

Fay, now 42, learned to skate on Hammond Pond, in Brookline, right before his second birthday. Since the league has started, he's taught a few people how to play.

''A few of the locals have tried to play," said Fay, a Boston police officer assigned to Roxbury's Area B-2. ''And we have other people coming in, too. People from the Iraqi army and civilian contractors."

For some, the league is a fond reminder of life at home. But hockey isn't the only thing that Fay misses about life in West Roxbury. He misses cooking for his wife, Elizabeth, and their four sons.

''And I miss walking out my door without having to worry about whether I will walk back in," he said.

The league, however, may be on its last legs. The equipment that members share is starting to fall to pieces. The initial batch of sticks have either broken or bent out of shape, goalies are securing makeshift cardboard leg pads with duct tape, and goals are made of camouflage nets.

Fay's older brother, Gary, a former Boston University goaltender, has been reaching out to friends and hockey suppliers about donating to the league, and it looks promising, he said.

''It's taken on a life of its own," the elder Fay said.

''I posted a message online and people just saw it and ran with it," he added.

Donations have come in from as far away as Alabama and from equipment companies like CCM and Mission-ITech. The Bruins are also planning on donating goal nets and jerseys, he said.

The younger Fay and his peers hope the donations continue to come in so that they can keep the league alive.

''We're in an environment where people are trying to shoot at us and blow us up," he said. ''[When we play,] it's almost like your brain is taking a break from the everyday stress of what we're going through right now."