An aviation maintenance officer stationed at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station is lacing up his skates for a hockey game this weekend, which means fists may be flying early.

Although an uphill battle awaits the Navy Region Northwest’s hockey team in the returning Army vs. Navy hockey game on Sept. 13 at the Kraken Community Iceplex in Northgate, the Navy team will not go down without a fight. Ministering justice for the eighth year as the Navy team’s designated enforcer is 42-year-old Matt Suto.

“If any Army guys are out there and read this, I’m always waiting for a challenge,” Suto said.

Hailing from Buffalo, New York, Suto grew up in a city steeped in hockey culture and raised in a hockey family. His uncles, father and brother all played, and Suto learned to skate as young as age 5. When injuries in his late teens derailed his budding hockey career — topped off with a stint in the Ontario Hockey League — Suto joined the Navy, amounting to what is now 21 years of service.

Enlisting took him right back to the rink anyways.

Of the eight Army vs. Navy games played in the series since the first one in 2016, Suto has played in all of them. Members of the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, as well as eligible patrons of the military’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation program, can try out for the Navy team, and Corey Cicio, a longtime player and first-time coach for the Navy team, said about 40 players did so this year.

As such, the Navy team is outfitted with 18 skaters, two goaltenders and a handful of alternates, with many faces returning from previous years. Suto, forwards Brad Hawkinson and Michael Somerset and defenders Eric Hewitt, Nickolas Bergert and Clayton Glennon give Naval Air Station Whidbey six representatives, according to the base’s Public Affairs Office.

Suto noted that the Army vs. Navy series has grown noticeably since its inaugural game. Before the Iceplex — the practice facility used by the NHL’s Seattle Kraken — opened in 2021, the Army and Navy teams duked it out at the Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett and the accesso ShoWare Center in Kent, Suto said, the home rinks of two local major junior teams. Fans have typically enjoyed concessions and beer gardens at games past, some of which drew crowds as large as 3,000 people.

Entertaining what they hope will be another large showing this Saturday is a goal of the Navy team — or, as Suto jokingly put it, not getting its “butts whipped.”

Cicio believes defense to be the Navy’s strength heading into the game; speed and offensive opportunism, Suto added, are also on their side. But with the Navy team 2-6 all-time against the Army in this series, there is a good chance a little physicality may be needed in the underdogs’ pursuit of glory.

Both Cicio and Suto confirmed Saturday’s game is full-contact outside the faceoff dots. Body checking, when players hit opponents carrying the puck to disrupt possession, is permitted — good news for the Navy team’s resident bruiser.

Bearing the title of enforcer means it’s Suto’s responsibility to deter and, if necessary, punish dirty plays committed by the opposing team. Fighting is the crux of the enforcer’s game, hence the role’s diminishing presence in hockey today due to a greater appreciation of player safety and the shifting of the game’s strategic priorities from physicality towards speed and skill.

At the recommendation of a coach in junior hockey, Suto embraced the enforcer role to protect his goal-scoring teammates, rather than scoring them himself. One such teammate was Ryan Callahan, an NHL veteran of 13 seasons who represented the United States at the Winter Olympics in 2010 and 2014.

Suto estimates he has recorded over 120 fights in his hockey career.

“He’s not afraid to get out there and drop the gloves and protect his teammates on many occasions,” Cicio said of Suto. “He makes sure that everybody keeps in line on the other side when things start to get out of hand.”

Suto refrained from making any promises when it came to the possibility of a tilt on Saturday. Rather, he simply asserted he would answer the call if the need arose.

“I love to do it for my team. I love to do it for the fans,” Suto said. “I’m always down to throw down with anybody that wants to go with me.”

Catch Suto and the Navy team in action when doors open on Saturday at 4 p.m. and the puck drops at 4:30 p.m.

Photo by Major Inskeep “If somebody cheap shots one of my teammates,” Suto said, “there’s going to be a price to pay for it.”

Photo by Major Inskeep Suto estimates he has recorded over 120 fights in his playing career.