CC hockey players sticking to diets

Colorado College hockey players didn’t wait for New Year’s Day to make dieting resolutions.

Spread across the continent for the past week on holiday break, the Tigers say they will be graciously turning down second helpings of their favorite home-cooked meals in hopes of maintaining habits and leaner physiques formed during the first half of this season.

At least, that’s what coach Scott Owens hopes.

“I’m worried,” he said “You just get home and it’s Mom’s cooking. It’s holiday time. You’re seeing buddies. All of that. You can’t control all of that. All you can do is point to last year where we had some difficulties and also to reinforce the things that you’ve done well.

“It’s like dieting. We’ve done so well to this point. Why wreck it now? You can still have your fun in moderation.”

Slowed in the second half last season after some players gained weight during a three-week holiday break, the Tigers met with nutritionist Dave Ellis before the season and implemented a healthy eating plan in October.

CC players learned that, despite skating for at least 60 minutes a day six days a week and weightlifting twice weekly, they aren’t exempt from watching what, when and how much they eat.

This season, post-practice dinners on Mondays and Wednesdays at the rink and on weekend road trips feature more vegetables, leaner meats and no desserts, according to Ellis’ recommendations. A registered dietician in Colorado Springs, Ellis consults for approximately 24 teams in the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball, among others, on nutrition and offers advice in a USA Hockey Magazine column.

“He’s brought in some new vegetables,” captain Scott Thauwald said. “They’re different than the traditional broccoli and string beans, I don’t even know what they are, to be honest. ... It looked like a carrot. It was asparagus, but it wasn’t. I don’t even know.”

At the house where Thauwald lives with the other seniors and Eric Walsky, Baked Lays potato chips and tortilla chips and salsa have replaced Doritos as Sunday couch-potato fare because the Tigers were advised to watch their eating habits on inactive days when they’re not burning approximately 700 calories playing hockey.

The results have been remarkable, especially for centers Chad Rau and Andreas Vlassopoulos, who started on Ellis’ plan at the beginning of the summer. When the pair returned to campus for preseason training, the rest of the Tigers wanted to know their secret.

“They saw how well it worked for us and how quick it worked, so I think they were open to listen and see if they could incorporate anything he said,” said Rau, who stopped frequenting Qdoba Mexican Grill and became more aware of portion sizes.

Even though Rau is eating less, he said he’s never felt better. Rau leads the Tigers with 10 goals and nine assists and his 17 points in conference play are tied for the most in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

Vlassopoulos, who also set out to cut body fat during the summer, said he has experienced less pain in his right knee, which he dislocated in his first game as a freshman.

“This summer really helped me out a lot,” said the redshirt sophomore, a native of Los Angeles. “My knee felt better too because I didn’t really have that much weight on it.”

Cutting out junk food was not easy for Vlassopoulos, who misses his favorite, but now forbidden, Los Angeles eateries, including a chili dog joint in Hollywood.

“There are a few guys on our team that can eat whatever they want and still look fine,” he said. “But I know for myself, I definitely have to watch what I eat, especially over Christmas break. ... I followed that diet to a T. I really did. I love junk food. I love candy. I love all of that stuff. It was really hard for me.”

Not every player had to cut back.

Defenseman Kris Fredheim, who also met with Ellis before the summer, was urged to add a fourth meal.

“Before I would eat just until I felt comfortable,” said Fredheim, who has added weight to his lanky build. “Now I try to just eat a lot. Whereas before I might just snack on something not so nutritious, now I try to focus on getting something that’s going to help me health-wise and weight-wise.”

Even Fredheim steers clear of the drive-through, but he said he doesn’t miss it.

“You don’t feel regenerated,” he said. “You don’t feel like you’re gaining anything back. ... We definitely can’t eat what we want. It would be nice if we could.”

With the NCAA West Regionals at World Arena in March, the Tigers can’t afford a tailspin like last season, when CC went 2-7-2 in its final 11 games and 8-11-3 after holiday break.

“I think we’ll have more energy,” Thauwald said. “The food, it’s never really been an issue until this year. I think it’s helped, looking at the guys. The guys’ bodies in the last couple of years, they’ve gained weight in the middle of the season, which is pretty unusual. You think, ‘Hey, I’ve burned some calories, I can go to McDonald’s and get a Big Mac,’ but that’s not the case.”