Pleasing casual and hardcore hockey fans can be tricky. Appealing to the hardcore fans with pure bone-crunching action may turn off the casual fans who want to have fun. And vice versa. But to launch its NHL2K10 title for Nintendo's Wii system, 2K Sports may have found the perfect middle ground: the hockey mom.

Hockey moms have long been well-known and popular among hockey fans. But the arrival of self-proclaimed hockey mom (and vice presidential candidate) Sarah Palin on the national political stage vaulted the term and persona into the vernacular.

"Even people who aren't involved in hockey know hockey moms," said Jason Argent, vice president of marketing for 2K Sports. "It hit the vernacular a year ago, but for Canadians like me and hockey fans, we've known about them for a long time."