Even in a struggling economy, many hockey parents refuse to put the dreams of the next generation on ice.

Hockey is the main reason Lakewood resident Marcia Cope decided to go back to work last month. The Copes pay $9,000 in annual dues – which include airfare, hotels and uniforms – so that 15-year-old son Matthew can skate with the Denver-based Colorado Thunderbirds.

The sacrifice is worth it, Cope said Thursday while watching the Midget Minor AAA team’s opening game of the Presidents Day Tournament at Sertich Ice Arena.

“He lives and breathes it,” she said. “That’s where his passion lies.”

That passion – and parents’ willingness to sacrifice – reaches through the ranks.

“When you decide that you’re gonna play travel hockey, you pretty much know what the cost is going to be and set that aside,” said Doug Smith, coach of the Colorado Springs Jr. Tigers’ Squirt A team. “You try to plan ahead.”

Smith, who was watching games at the World Arena Ice Hall, said dues for his players, including son Ryan, run about $1,200 and one trip to a Dallas tournament costs about $1,000.

Comparatively, Smith is getting off easy. But even the less expensive squads have made adjustments.

Phoenix Mustangs coach Denis Cousineau said his Midget Minor AA players pay $2,500 in dues. That doesn’t include travel, but the team has driven to all but one of about five tournaments it’s played this season. Cousineau estimated that other hockey clubs in Phoenix have $6,000 dues and fly to tournaments every other week.

“Last year we traveled much more,” Mustangs assistant Curtis Wood said. “And because of the economy, we sat down at the beginning of the year and said it doesn’t make sense to go spend $10,000-plus travel. So we’ve slowed it down. … When it picks up a little, we’ll pick up with it.”

The economy can’t pick up soon enough for some families.

Leticia Arnold and her husband support two kids on the Houston Wild Hockey Club.

With dues, travel and food, Arnold said the family spends $10,000 per year for one son at the Midget Minor AA level and another $8,000 on the other at Bantam AA.

That kind of money has become a little harder to come by for Sancy Rhodes – whose son Mitch also plays on the Wild’s Midget Minor AA team – after her husband was laid off almost two weeks ago. In an effort to keep her 15-year-old on the ice, Rhodes has looked into payment plans and considered cutting back on the entire family traveling to tournaments.

“Money is a big deal. This is an expensive sport,” she said. “… But how do you tell your kid they can’t play a sport they love?”

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