Fountain Valley players have taken long trek to Colorado ice

Saudi Arabia isn't exactly a mecca for hockey.

So when glancing at the Fountain Valley roster, the listed hometown of three players stands out.

Hayden Bally, Mason Ford and Logan Ford hail from Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.

All three grew up in Canada - brothers Mason and Logan in British Columbia and Bally in Calgary - and went to the Middle East when their parents took jobs with the oil company Saudi Aramco.

While the Ford brothers had only limited hockey experience when they moved, Bally had been playing for several years and the prospect of living in a country with one ice rink was upsetting. Skating against adults at that rink wasn't ideal either.

“They would break my sticks a lot because they fell on them,” Bally said.

The Ford brothers fell in love with hockey while in Dhahran - where they met Bally - and then traveled the globe to play the game. From the United Arab Emirates to Bahrain and Kuwait. From England to the Netherlands and, finally, Colorado Springs.

Aramco pays for its employees to send their kids to boarding schools, and Fountain Valley representatives had gone to Saudi Arabia to pitch the school. The biggest selling point, at least for the Ford brothers, was the revival of a hockey program that had disbanded in 1991.

"If they didn't have it, we wouldn't be here," Logan Ford said.

After spending their sophomore years at separate boarding schools, Mason Ford and Bally decided to find a school they both would attend.“I said, ‘Hey, Fountain Valley’s starting up a hockey team, what do you think about that?’” Mason Ford said.

Now seniors, Mason Ford and Bally have helped alleviate some of coach Mike Payne's early concerns with leading the program, which is 4-9-3 in its second season.

“We have an eclectic group of players,” Payne said. “We had some who played A or AA travel level. Some kids I was concerned about how they’d get along in the physical game.”

One of those players was Logan Ford. In a game last season against defending champion Regis, the then-sophomore winger got checked.

“I was a little nervous the first time I saw Logan get hit hard,” Payne said. “He’s not a small kid, but he never played checking hockey before. Logan came back (to the bench) with a big smile on his face and told me, ‘Put me back out there, coach.’”

Bally made the biggest adjustment, having played AA hockey in Canada. But his time in Dhahran taught him to appreciate the sport in another light.

“At first, I was disappointed with the level (of play) that was there," he said. "But it was great just being able to play. You’re playing with people who love the sport, obviously, if they’re playing in the desert.”