By Geoff Crane
Stampeders.com

After some well-deserved time off following a grueling 15-3 regular season that culminated in a Grey Cup victory, Stampeders defensive lineman Corey Mace is taking a very Canadian approach to his off-season conditioning.

Inspired by a visit from his hockey-loving 13-year-old brother, Mace has taken up the game of hockey, playing with members of the Stamps support staff during casual games once a week.

“It was an itch that needed to be scratched,” says the 286-lb. tower on the D-line. “Long story short, I wanted to do something fun for (my brother) so I rented some skates and bought a couple of hockey sticks.”

After a couple of hours on an outdoor rink near McMahon Stadium, Mace was hooked, soon connecting with Stamps staff who were experienced hockey players to learn some of the finer points of the game.

“Now I’ve picked up a new hobby that is one heck of a cardio workout,” says Mace. “It’s an expensive hobby for something you just do once a week, but it’s fun.”

That cardio workout is what Mace is looking for to begin ramping up for the upcoming CFL season as he and his teammates will have the difficult task of repeating as Grey Cup champions. It’s a feat only accomplished twice in the last 20 years.

Following a 2014 season that saw the Stampeders tie a franchise best of 15 wins and survive a nail-biting finish to the 102nd Grey Cup, you couldn’t blame the players if they wanted to take some time off to unwind and enjoy the rewards that come along with being the best in Canada.

Nothing could be farther from the truth, according to Mace.

While he admits there are extra things to do in terms of touring town with the Cup and community appearances, the mindset of the players from the moment the plane left Vancouver the day after the Grey Cup game has always been to prepare to repeat.

“There’s no (fooling around) right now,” Mace says matter-of-factly. “It almost sucks that this is our first Grey Cup in the last five years.

“I feel like we have that team nucleus where we should have been on two or three. We still have the same core. It’s a team sport. There is something here and I truly don’t believe we’ve had our best showing yet.”

After last season’s impressive domination of the league, it might be hard to imagine a better performance. However, the big man may have a point.

He points to two examples — key players who ended up missing large chunks of the season due to injury in the 2013 Most Outstanding Player, Jon Cornish, and sackmaster Charleston Hughes.

“You put in those components and I think there’s more to see from this team,” says Mace. 

“Especially with new additions like (Eric) Rogers coming in and I think everybody feels like this can be done again and it’s something we want to do again.”

For now, Mace is going to continue perfecting his skills in his new hobby until training camp.

Always the competitor, he still wants to win, even at a friendly game of hockey.

“It’s definitely comedy, I’ll tell you that,” he says. “I’m just floating around, making people skate around a wider body than usual. But I’m picking it up.

“I got an assist in the last game and I’m hoping to pick up some more points. Once I bury it in the back of the net, I’m calling all media sources to let them know what happened.”

Editor’s Note: In today’s game, Corey scored two goals and added one assist!