– Chicago Tribune – Metro Section
Pat Mazzone will bring his wife and two daughters to the Allstate Arena April 16 for the most high-profile hockey game he has ever played.
Mazzone doesn’t play for the Chicago Voles, or the Utah Grizzles, the Wolves’ opponent that night for the final regular season American Hockey League game. But rather, he’s a right wing for the Blackwolves – Chicago’s only predominantly gay men’s hockey team. And, yes, Mazzone is straight, happily married.
“I just want to play hockey,” said Mazzone, 44, a salesman from Chicago. “I don’t care about anyone’s sexual orientation. I just want to have a good time and play hockey. That’s all that matters to me, not what people do in their private lives off the ice.”
The Blackwolves are part of the Chicago Gay Hockey Association, which plays its regular season games in the Rolling Meadows senior men’s league. The Blackwolves have players ranging in age frmo 18 to 53. The team includes, by day, a Federal Express delivery truck driver, a real estate agent, the president of a million-dollar packaging manufacturer, a lawyer, and a neurologist, among other professionals.
“We’re all about diversity and acceptance, and no team is more diverse than us,” said association president and founder Chuck Jacobson, 30, of Chicago. The association’s 30-member roster includes African-Americans, whites, Asians, and a few females, all of whom are lesbians. There also is a transgender; Plus, there are several straight players who play in every game.
Chicago is among several major cities with a gay hockey team. Los Angeles, Boston, Pittsburgh, Denver, and Seattle also have gay hockey teams. New York is the model, with five teams in a gay hockey league.
To order $15 tickets to the 3p.m. Blackwolves game, which includes admission to the Wolves game, call 773-968-7474.