Local junior hockey team stranded in Nevada, hoping to come home soon

MEDFORD, Ore.– A local junior hockey team is stranded in Nevada after their bus broke down, but the community is stepping up to help get them home.

The Rogue Valley Royals were traveling back to Medford from a playoff tournament in Nevada over the weekend, when their bus broke down in a remote area near Elko.

The team had nowhere to stay and the bus couldn’t be fixed, but luckily a local sheriff’s deputy was able to coordinate with a local business to get them transportation to a hotel.

Since then, one of the staff members of the team set up a GoFundMe.

It has raised over $9,500 so far.

Co-Owner Ali Ruddle said, “our players are from all over the world. We have kids that are trying to get back to Medford because they have visas expiring. They have to get home. It’s just been overwhelming.”

Ruddle said her husband, who is traveling with the team, is in the process of getting travel vans for the team and a U-Haul for their gear.

She said they expect to make their way back to the Rogue Valley Wednesday.

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NBC5 News reporter Derek Strom is from Renton, Washington. He recently graduated from the Edward R. Murrow College of Communications at Washington State University with a degree in Broadcast News and a minor in Sports Management. He played in the drumline with the WSU marching band. These days, he plays the guitar and piano. Derek is a devoted fan of the Mariners, Seahawks, and Kraken.
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