In a league where there’s a premium on speed, the only one who might be able to slow the Western New York Varsity Hockey Federation is a conservative defenseman named Paterson.

Tonight marks the official opening of the 2008-09 Fed hockey season as powerhouses St. Joe’s and Canisius highlight a beefed-up schedule. Two more teams have come aboard this season — Niagara-Wheatfield and Lockport — and according to Federation chairman Mark DiFilippo, the only thing that might deter other schools from joining the league is the tenuous state of school budgets. If Gov. David Paterson’s cutbacks force districts to cut athletics programs, adding another sport like hockey might be a tough sell.

Those in club leagues — like N-W and Lockport came from — aren’t affiliated with the schools.

“I don’t think anyone has a handle on these state budgets,” he said. “If you cut, cut, cut, how do you add something new?

“We keep hearing about Grand Island, Lew-Port and NT, but I don’t know how serious they are. They have until Jan. 15 to make a decision for next year.”

If no additions are made next year, it’ll certainly be a change from the recent trend of expansion. Through almost the first decade of the Federation’s existence, starting in 1990, the roster of schools remained a constant eight. Over the last decade, however, the list has jumped to 22.

Last year brought Niagara Falls and Clarence. The previous season added Orchard Park.

And while the only real changes are organizational, the fact that the Falcons now offer a varsity hockey option presents a different set of challenges for parents.

“The parents are used to driving them to the rink. That’s the biggest thing,” DiFilippo said. “Now we take a school bus, they can’t start until Nov. 1, and there’s only 24 games. It’s got the state regulations all the other sports have.”

In the past, the Falcons played as many as 50 games at the club level.

The biggest concern continues to be ice time. With only a handful of local rinks to play on, securing ice time is difficult for the local schools.

For example, Niagara Falls doesn’t play a single “home game” at either Hyde Park of Dwyer Arena. Instead, the Wolverines travel to play at Nichols, Buffalo State or the Pepsi Center.

For coaches like the Falls’ Marc Catanzaro, it’s a frustrating problem.

“I’ve talked with people about this already,” he said. “The ice time is the thing that kills us. We play at off hours and we can’t get on. It’s not like there’s not a need for ice time around here. We just don’t have enough rinks.”

DiFilippo said the possibility of a new ice rink in Lockport — which is slated to open next year — will be a huge relief. Still, most of the talk about building new rinks has been just that — talk.

And with budgets ever-tightening, the scheduling conflict might be one he has to face for years to come.

“East Aurora has been talking about one for about nine years, but it’s still not settled. Clarence, Grand Island, and Hamburg building another rink have all been talked about,” he said. “Finding the ice time for games, and the league provides ice time for all games, is going to stay tough.

“Unless some of these rinks start getting built.”