The rink is packed with fans sporting UNLV hockey gear, holding too-close-to-spilling cups of beer and baskets of fried food. The music is blaring from the speakers above, but you can still hear the blades scraping and sticks tapping against the ice as the Skatin’ Rebels warm up to take on their next opponent. A Vegas Golden Knights game is playing on the TV in the bar, so the fans are already in the zone, ready for a night of great hockey.
Bas Assaf is in the middle of the ice, with one thing on his mind: His love for the game that he has been playing since he was only three years old.