15-05-2025
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).
