Knoxville Ice Bears

Ice stars, local bond; Alan Sloan - Thu, Jan, 5, 2012

date: 01/04/2012

Reuniting by chance as Knoxville Ice Bears after first meeting as talented youth hockey teammates in Nebraska,  Kevin Swider and K.J. Voorhees are shining stars of hockey living in Concord. 

While Voorhees uses his skills and knowledge to help young Farragut and Knox area youth develop skills as hockey director for Cool Sports, Home of the Icearium, Swider continues to pad his all-time Southern Professional Hockey League points record as a 34-year-old Ice Bears center.

Helping to lead the Ice Bears to consecutive SPHL league championships in 2007-08 and 2008-09 — and another with Voorhees in 2005-06 — Swider “grew up in Detroit.”

“I grew up in Seattle,” Voorhees said. 

Now best friends, Voorhees and Swider first met in the mid-1990s as high school seniors playing with United States Hockey League Junior A, “a pre-college league that a majority of Division One hockey players play” based in Omaha, Voorhees said.

“He came in as a highly-touted player, so everyone knew of him,” added Voorhees about Swider, who went on to play college hockey at Ferris State (Mich.).

 

For Alan Sloan’s complete article in the Farragut Press click here

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