When a neighbor moved in next door to sophomore Brandon Weis eight years ago, he was not expecting what came with the moving boxes.

“I always liked watching [hockey],” Weis said. “Then I had a neighbor move in and he played hockey, so I decided to try it.”

Now playing for the Huntsville Chargers at Benton H. Wilcox Municipal Ice Complex, Weis’s season begins in August and lasts until March. He is on the ice twice a week anywhere from two to three hours a week with his team to prepare himself for the games.

“[Hockey is] different. It’s hard. It’s hard to learn,” Weis said. “It’s like soccer.”

Both soccer and hockey have virtually the same end goal: to score in the opponents net, though using different methods. Hockey uses a stick and a puck to score versus soccer where the player uses their feet and a ball. Yet like any team sport—not just hockey or soccer—every player is assigned a certain position in the game with a certain task.

“I play forward or center,” Weis said. “[Those positions are] the ones that mainly score. You take it down the ice.”

Though the first organized hockey game happened 140 years ago in Canada at Montreal’s Victoria Skating Rink the player positions are one of the only things about the sport that has not changed. The number of players on the ice has been reduced from nine to six, the equipment has changed shape and helmets have been added due to the infamous head-related injuries hockey produced.

“I haven’t gotten seriously injured, but every other game you may get hit really hard and get a headache,” Weis said.

According to a study done by Medical News Today, approximately 44 percent of all sports injuries are caused by hockey. Despite this, Weis has been lucky enough to avoid a serious injury, though he has had a few close calls.

“I was coming up the ice and there was a dude coming [towards me] and I didn’t see him coming and everything went everywhere,” Weis said. “I think my gloves came off.”

Despite the violence and the stereotypes that come with the sport, Weis has stuck with hockey for eight years and has collected unforgettable memories on the way.

“Last season we got two penalties and we had three people on the ice and they had five,” Weis said. “I stole the puck, got a breakaway and scored. That’s probably one of my better moments.”