College Athlete of the Week: Corey James

College athlete of the week

Player: Corey James

Year, school: Junior, University of Washington

Sport: Hockey (club team)

Hometown: Mountlake Terrace (Mountlake Terrace High School)

What he did: Had a goal and three assists in a pair of wins over Oregon, helping UW club hockey team retain the I-5 Cup and extend its current winning streak to six games. This season, James ranks second on the Huskies (17-6) with 22 goals and also has 18 assists.

What's next: The Huskies tried to extend their winning streak to seven games with a road game at Utah last night, and they are scheduled to play at Utah State tonight. On Feb. 10-11, UW will play host to the Pac-8 championships at OlympicView Ice Arena in Mountlake Terrace.

The two-minute drill

You scored a goal and had three assists against Oregon over the weekend, helping UW sweep the Ducks and win back the I-5 trophy. So is that the big college hockey rivalry in these parts?

Yeah, definitely. Oregon's kind of our main competition. There's a bitter rivalry there. The teams, we don't like each other. If it was football, it would be kind of like UW and WSU. In hockey, it's Oregon.

Give us a feel for how much animosity there is between the UW and Oregon programs. Any funny stories?

Not really any stories. They like to celebrate a little more than needed. So it's fun when we beat them.

Have you ever lost to them?

Once. Never the I-5 Cup, but I lost one game to them.

What's it like to beat them?

It's awesome. There's this little I-5 Cup, and we get to take that home for the year. We play four games each year, and whoever wins more games gets the cup. If we both win two, it goes to a shootout, which we did my freshman year. That was pretty cool.

Not many people knew UW had a hockey team. What can you tell us about it?

The publicity is kind of growing a little bit. You get a lot of people with a surprised response: 'UW has a hockey team?' It's a good program. It's fun playing other schools. Since I've been here, the team's getting better and better each year. We're getting more fans, which is cool.

How many people come to games?

Last weekend, for Oregon, there were probably a couple hundred each night. But those are bigger games.

It's not a varsity sport, meaning you have to pay your own way to play. Can you give us an idea of what kind of financial commitment it takes?

It's about two grand each year. But we do some fundraisers. We do (concessions at) the Boeing Classic and the Senior golf tournament (at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge). But if you don't do that, it's about two grand. We do the fundraisers, and that covers some of the travel costs.

How's a kid from Mountlake Terrace get involved in hockey?

My family's always been big hockey fans. My neighbor, Troy, played. Growing up and playing street hockey got me into it. I remember going to (Seattle Thunderbirds) games with my neighbor growing up.

Did you play competitively in high school?

I played Seattle Juniors growing up, then in Kent my junior and senior years in high school.

What kind of team was in Kent?

An Under-18, Triple-A team. Almost all our games were in Canada, against Canadian teams, except the finals, which were in Las Vegas.

Who are your hockey idols?

Growing up, I always liked Peter Forsberg. Colorado was my favorite team. I liked them.

What did you like about the Avalanche?

I remember watching the Colorado-Detroit rivalry. They had good players. I just liked Colorado.

OK, another question: Silvertips? Or Thunderbirds?

I like the Thunderbirds, just because they've been around longer. My uncle (Mark Huson) has Silvertips season tickets, so he'll be (ticked off) I said that.

Best hockey movie: 'Slap Shot,' 'Youngblood,' or 'Mighty Ducks'?

'Mighty Ducks.'

Really? You hate the Oregon Ducks, but you love 'Mighty Ducks'?

Yeah, I love the 'Mighty Ducks.' It was hilarious.

Have you even seen 'Slap Shot'? That's a great movie.

Yeah, I like 'Slap Shot' too. But 'Mighty Ducks,' I think they're all hilarious.

And for my money, 'Youngblood' was pretty underrated.

I don't think I've ever seen that. Maybe I have, but I don't remember.

Ever gone up to Vancouver for a Canucks game?

I've never been to a Canucks game. But I went to an Olympics game, which was pretty sweet. It was Norway-Slovakia. I got to see (Slovakia's Zdeno) Chara.

You obviously don't remember the 1980 Olympics.

No, but I saw the movie.

Oh, yeah. 'Miracle.' I forgot about that one. Where does 'Miracle' rank?

It's up there, for sure. But I still like 'Mighty Ducks.'

There are rumblings that Seattle might try to lure an NHL team. How do you think that would go?

I think it would be awesome. There's a good fan base in Seattle _ in Everett and Seattle. Obviously, they'd have to build an arena. I think they should get NBA and get a hockey team. That would be great.

If they did get a hockey team, what should they call it?

Dang. I have no idea. I don't know. Let someone else come up with the name.

Too bad the name Mighty Ducks is already taken.

Yeah, you can't go there.

Maybe the Youngbloods?

Nah, I don't like it.

Maybe the Coreys?

I don't like that, either. No.