While most of the working world dreads the start of a new work week, Joel Serafini can’t wait for Monday.

That’s the day he plays hockey.

“I look forward to it,” he said with the heavy accent of a New Yorker.

Serafini, along with sometimes a dozen others, plays roller hockey every Monday night at Star City, which is located near the intersection of Benvenue Road and Highway 301.

Star City isn’t usually open on Mondays. But every Monday at 6 p.m. the doors swing open for two hours, and Serafini finds a little dose of home nestled in Rocky Mount.

“I love it. I miss it. I love playing,” Serafini said.

Serafini, a 34-year-old electronic technician, grew up in Buffalo, N.Y. and has been playing hockey since he was 12 years old. When he moved to Roanoke Rapids in 2005, he had come to grips that his hockey playing days were finished. He brought his sticks and skates down, if for no other reason than to play around in the driveway. That was until he found a pick-up league in Roanoke Rapids.

When he found out, he demanded that his parents bring his gear down for Thanksgiving a few years ago.

The league eventually folded because of a lack of funds, but soon enough, Serafini found another outlet.

The games began last November as just three skaters – driving 45 minutes each way – playing hockey. More joined them, but most still drive the long distance from Roanoke Rapids.

“We had a bunch of our guys that were still interested in playing,” said Dwayne Summerlin, who was key in forming the pick-up games at Star City. “ ... Maybe we can turn this into something big.”

As many as 15 skaters show up on any given week, but the group yearns for more local skaters. One of those is Dave Buck, who plays with his son. Buck teaches physical education in the Nash/Rocky Mount Schools District but is one of just three consistent players from Rocky Mount.

“We used to have people from Greenville, Kinston and Wilson,” he said. “Getting the local people here is what we need.”

The games at Star City, which are made up of more laughs and jokes than checks, are in their third edition. Both times – in 1998 and again in the early 2000s – the league disintegrated because jobs schedules changed. Back then, it was mostly police officers and fireman that played. This time around, it welcomes skaters ages 13 to 53 and a wide range of skill levels from young skaters still learning the game to older players trying to stay in shape to former college-level players.

There’s no skill requirement to play, and most newcomers don’t even need full eqiupment. The score is kept more on memorable plays than in goals. There’s nothing on the line, and even some of the better players slow their game down to account for everyone.

One of those higher-level players is Jack Winn, who played at Neumann College – one of the premier roller hockey schools in the country. Winn moved to North Carolina from a suburb of Philadelphia, where he grew up.

When he found out that there was another chance to play hockey, he called his mother. He needed his hockey equipment.

Winn met her in Washington D.C., at his uncle’s house, on a Saturday. On Sunday, he was playing in Roanoke Rapids with Serafini.

Winn is a second-grade teacher in Weldon, but every Monday after school he drives to Roanoke Rapids – even though he lives on Lake Gaston. Still in a shirt and tie, he meets Serafini and sometimes a few others.

Everyone piles in the car, loads the gear in the back and heads for I-95 South. Forty minutes later, they arrive at Star City for one reason.

“The love of the game,” Winn said.

Justin Hite can be reached at 407-9951 or at jhite@rmtelegram.com.