1 CHICAGO - When the Chicago Blackhawks take to the ice, Michelle Secor is dressed in her team paraphernalia and closely watching every faceoff, power play and goal, she said.
2 'I was born and raised on the South Side so I have to cheer for our home teams,' Secor said as she took a break from watching the Stanley Cup finals in a Bridgeport bar last week.
3 'Bulls. Bears. Hawks. I was born into this'.
4 Secor, 46, who is of Mexican descent, is one of a small but growing number of minorities who have become hooked on hockey.
5 And although she only started watching the games in recent years, she's devoted to the sport, she said.
6 'It makes us all feel good to see a Chicago team out there winning-race doesn't matter,' she said.
7 In part because of its Canadian roots, hockey for years has been watched and played primarily by whites, experts said.
8 But according to the National Hockey League, that is slowly changing.
9 There are more minorities on NHL rosters in recent years-peaking at 50 in 2009 - than in the decades before.
10 And NHL research shows a small uptick in the percentage of fans who are minorities, the league said.
11 The Blackhawks have three black players, the most of any NHL team: backup goalie Ray Emery, forward Jamal Mayers and defenseman Johnny Oduya.
12 Dustin Byfuglien, an African-American from Minnesota, who the Blackhawks drafted in 2003 after he played AAA in Warrenville, also did a lot to make the sport appeal to young black fans.
13 In the United States, the NHL counts 58 million fans, defined as anyone who has watched, listened to or attended a game during the last 12 months.
14 Of that, 9.4 percent are Latino, an increase of about .4 percent since 2010 when the Blackhawks last won the Stanley Cup.
15 About 8.3 percent of U.S. hockey fans are African-American, said Nirva Milord, the director of communications for the NHL.
16 That percentage has remained stable since 2010.
17 But the number of African-American fans has increased because the total number of overall fans has increased, she said.
18 The league did not have statistics for other ethnic groups.
19 'We are gaining more fans, and we are gaining more fans of different backgrounds,' she said.
20 The NHL doesn't target specific ethnic groups with its programs, said Ken Martin, the Vice President of Community Affairs and Fan Development.
21 But the league has tried to grow interest in the game by reaching out to youth in urban communities.
22 In Chicago, there are other ways the league is getting exposure in new neighborhoods.
23 'One way is by the Blackhawks winning,' Martin said.
24 'The Blackhawks have been a leader in making our game accessible'.
25 Even as Blackhawks fever sweeps much of Chicago, socioeconomic factors remain a hurdle to the sport for many people of color.
26 There are few opportunities to learn the rules of the game and even fewer opportunities for minorities to play, said Richard Lapchick, the director of the Institute of Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida.
27 'Historically, hockey doesn't have the base that baseball, football and basketball has' in minority communities, he said.
28 'There are very few facilities available in urban areas where such a large percentage of African-Americans and Hispanics have lived.
29 The NHL now has programs in cities, but it's a slow building process'.
30 Plus, while there are minorities who play hockey professionally, there have been few breakout stars of color, Lapchick said.
31 According to the NHL, there are 44 minority players on the rosters of the league's 30 teams.
32 Of those, 22 are black, 11 identify as Native/Aboriginal, four are Hispanic, three are Asian, two are West Asian/Arab, one is Inuit and one is South Asian/Indian, the NHL said.
33 'Middle-class and upper-class African-Americans have started watching hockey as spectators,' Lapchick said.
34 'Once there are some African-American star players in the game that will help.
35 The value of diversity for the NHL is that it would greatly expand their fan base'.
36 The cost of the sport is another deterrent, experts said.
37 'The problem with hockey is that it's not a sport you can go in your backyard and play,' said Jimmy Terracino, the director of operations at the Bobby Hull Ice Rink in Cicero.
38 'The biggest obstacle is ice. You've got to have an ice rink.
39 You need skates, you need sticks, helmets, gloves, elbow pads, shin guards.
40 That limits many people from playing or learning it'.
41 Still, in the Chicago region there are efforts to develop interest in the sport among minorities.
42 For example, there are youth hockey leagues based at Johnny's IceHouse which do outreach to local minority children so they can learn and play the sport.
43 In Cicero, where 78 percent of the town's population identifies as being of Mexican descent, there is a $3.5 million ice rink.
44 The rink rents skates and equipment and has become popular among the town's Latino children, Terracino said.
45 'With the Blackhawks doing good, it gives the sport wider exposure and gets even more kids interested in hockey,' Terracino said.
46 Vic Ortiz, 46, who is Mexican-American and lives on the South Side, considers himself an avid Chicago sports fan.
47 But for years, he took little interest in the Blackhawks because the games were too expensive and most of the home games were not televised, he said.
48 'My family is from the neighborhood, we couldn't afford to go to the games.
49 The Hawks games weren't on TV like the Bulls.
50 How could you learn about them?' he said.
51 But now, Ortiz tunes in, even when the Blackhawks aren't in the playoffs, he said.
52 It's part of his local pride, he said recently, as he donned a shirt and hat representing the team.
53 Gertrude Johnson, 43, who is African-American and lives on the Near North Side, grew up watching the Bears and Bulls, she said.
54 About five years ago, her mother persuaded her to start watching hockey.
55 'At first, I just liked the fights,' she said.
56 But then, she learned the rules of the game, admiring the speed of the players and the way they stick up for and protect each other.
57 'Anybody who is making a name for Chicago, we're riding with them,' Johnson said.
58 'People are saying, ‘damn, the Blackhawks are doing good.' 'In Chicago, we ride together'.

Secor , 46 , who is of Mexican descent , is one of a small but growing number of minorities who have become hooked on hockey .
hooked on hockey
What is the most exciting part of a hockey game to Michelle?