Cutting the Ice
Year of Award
2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Degree Name
Creative Writing (Nonfiction)
Department or School/College
Department of English
Committee Chair
Christopher Dombrowski
Commitee Members
Amy Leach, Alan Townsend
Keywords
hockey, memoir, sports, masculinity
Abstract
Cutting the Ice is a memoir that excavates the hypermasculine—and intensely bizarre—world of competitive male ice hockey. This story begins with the author’s early years learning to skate on an outdoor rink in Colorado and progresses to competing at some of the highest levels of the sport in “juniors” and then NCAA. The manuscript describes in shockingly visceral and cinematic detail the strange rituals and rites involved in the sport’s subculture, from locker room “court” to college team initiations. Ultimately, this work of creative nonfiction searches for deeper understandings of how “locker room talk” and masculine violence are nurtured and promulgated—in order to acknowledge and subvert the harm these dynamics cause.
Recommended Citation
Marshall, Andrew Sage, "Cutting the Ice" (2025). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 12460.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/12460
© Copyright 2025 Andrew Sage Marshall