Latest news with #DunedinThunder
Otago Daily Times
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
French imports front for Thunder
Lea Milenkovic and Lea Mullender will always have a claim to a special piece of Dunedin Thunder history. The French duo are the first international imports for the Thunder women's team in a new dawn for the national league club. "We are so happy and so excited about that," Milenkovic said. The Thunder clan have welcomed their newest forwards with open arms — and that kindness had struck home for the pair. "We were not expecting that kindness, and people are so nice," Milenkovic said. "The people in the club, and the girls, are very excited and welcoming," Mullender added. They got their first taste of playing alongside their new team two weeks ago in two hard-fought games against the national women's league champions, the Auckland Steel. But the Thunder are back home this weekend for a double-header against rivals Wakatipu Wild, and the imports are "so excited" about the chance to play on their new home ice. Mullender, 32, has been playing ice hockey and inline hockey most of her life. She previously represented France in inline hockey in 2017 and played inline hockey in Argentina for seven years before focusing on the ice. Milenkovic, 28, picked up a hockey stick later in life and started playing in a boys team at 17. Back home, they both play for Cergy-Pontoise in the FFGH Feminin Elite, the national women's league, which involves about 16 teams split into two conferences. There has long been a link between Dunedin and Cergy through former Dunedin Thunder men's coach Kevin Arrault. He helped several men's players get the chance to play in France in the 2010s, and when the club reached out to Arrault — who previously coached Mullender and Milenkovic at Cergy — he was only too happy to help. Mullender — who is Cergy's captain (Milenkovic is her assistant) — jumped at the chance to play abroad, and asked Milenkovic to join. They compared the level of ice hockey in New Zealand as similar to that in France, and hoped they could help their new team-mates for the future. "I think it's cool if we can bring our skills and try to [also aid] development of ... women's hockey in New Zealand," Mullender said. "The Thunder is a young team. "I think it's a nice opportunity to develop the team, but also the club, and try [to] help... girls to make them stars on the ice." The pair have wasted no time getting familiar with their new surroundings after arriving in New Zealand three weeks ago. They taken several walks through Mount Cargill, the Organ Pipes, the Pineapple Track, cycled to Port Chalmers and even saw sea lions at Sandfly Bay. "Here it's so full of nature — it's amazing," Milenkovic said. The Thunder play Wakatipu tomorrow at 5.45pm and on Sunday at 3.45pm.
Otago Daily Times
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Skating into a southern feud
Mark Shroyer has stumbled into the middle of a rivalry he is only beginning to understand. The 29-year-old American has signed with the Dunedin Thunder and arrived in the country on Saturday. The powerful defenceman has been playing professionally in France for four years, but he will call Dunedin home for the remainder of the New Zealand Ice Hockey League. He has had a couple of skates on the ice with his new team-mates, between checking out the city's beaches with his girlfriend, Charline Maehr. They are an outdoorsy couple and plan to do some hiking while they are here. Shroyer is keen to do some fishing as well. But tonight he will be fishing for a win. His first assignment with the Thunder is as tough as it gets. They are hosting the Stampede, their Queenstown-based provincial rivals, in back-to-back games this weekend. The Stampede have set the benchmark in the league for the past decade and are an Otago team worth celebrating. They are a finalist for the team of the year for the Otago Sports Awards. That must grate on Dunedin's ice hockey fans. Enter Shroyer. He had a solid college career at Castleton University and went on to play three seasons in France for Morzine-Avoriaz and a season for Tours. Shroyer has a reputation as a reliable defender who likes to get forward and attack. "A lot of people so far have mentioned the rivalry," Shroyer said. "I think I'm going to understand a lot more about what the rivalry means in a couple of days. "But I'm excited that my first game will have a lot of meaning for our town here and that I can show that it means a lot to me and that I'm all-in for Dunedin." Shroyer played against Thunder player Cole Beckstead while in France, and that connection brought about the opportunity to come to Dunedin to play for the Thunder. "I've always wanted to travel to this part of the world. I've always been fascinated and wanted to see it." He also heard ice hockey was a growing sport in New Zealand and he wanted to be part of that. "I just thought it would be really cool to come and help do that." He is doing some coaching while here. "If I can help this team win some hockey games and bring some more fans to the club — that is really my biggest goal. "Outside of that, it is about me and my girlfriend enjoying our time here and just really diving into the culture in New Zealand. "We are really just starting to peel back how much this place has to offer and are actually pretty blown away by what it has to offer." The Stampede (12 points) lead the competition standings from the Thunder (9), West Auckland Admirals (9), Botany Swarm (6) and Canterbury Red Devils (0).
