Who here actually plays hockey?

[pgb-ohio]

Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

I think it's some of both. Some guys just can't stop (I usually try to stay away from them - you can always spot the meathead that is playing WAY too hard with no control) and some guys just can't be bothered to stop. For being a D-league, there is a wide variety of skill levels. Most recent excuse was "I didn't mean to hit you". Ref told him... "you have to be in control", and he's 100% right, but I doubt it will make a difference next time.

In some cases, it probably is guys trying to play beyond on their ability. Which isn't that hard to do when there's very little ability involved. A further problem is that it's hard to protect yourself when the opposing player is so unskilled they're difficult to read.

I don't mind contact, normal hockey stuff, like bumping someone off the puck. But getting hit hard enough to cause injury or knock my head against the glass or the ice is a different story. When I play women's hockey, I am quite aware that I could injure another player because most women are smaller than me, and I play accordingly, because IT'S A HOBBY, NOT THE STANLEY CUP. Apparently, this does not occur to everyone.

Bingo; and I'll go further.

In my experience, the lowest level rec leagues are a problem precisely because for many of the players, it is their Stanley Cup. Back in "A" League Intramurals, I really don't remember cheap shots being an issue. Same thing in Rec League play at the "B" Level.

OK, those years are a while back. But it sounds like things haven't changed much. As I got older, I accepted an invite to try out a "C" League game as a sub. The thought was it might be a little slower, a little more laid back. Nope. Stanley Cup on the line. Turned out the solution for getting older was the 40 & Over League.

Anyhow, you're not alone in this experience.

[Gurtholfin]

Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

In my experience, the lowest level rec leagues are a problem precisely because for many of the players, it is their Stanley Cup. Back in "A" League Intramurals, I really don't remember cheap shots being an issue. Same thing in Rec League play at the "B" Level.

OK, those years are a while back. But it sounds like things haven't changed much. As I got older, I accepted an invite to try out a "C" League game as a sub. The thought was it might be a little slower, a little more laid back. Nope. Stanley Cup on the line.

I've definitely seen a correlation between low(er) level hockey and questionable plays.

I'm no all star, but I'm still really fast and play in upper level groups (former hs, junior, college club and even a couple of college guys).

On the occasion that I've played in "old man" groups, there are almost invariably a player or three who want to beat me or shut me down. I never play all out in those groups and usually just try to stop any that are near my level and set up others for goals. I let the bad skaters do their thing as long as they stay on the perimeter, If they take it to the net, I'll poke check them.

But those guys with something to prove are all over me and I just internally shake my head and laugh coz, b_tch... don't push my buttons. Also - I'm not even trying... get the fvck off my ***.

Sometimes they even try to check me in the corners, but they haven't caught me yet.


My solution is RARELY playing in those groups. Not worried about getting hurt. It just isn't much fun.


On the B-league front, a lot of those guys have obviously not played any (much) organized hockey and as you say, it's their Cup. They have no experience or perspective beyond the B-league.

About 6 or 7 years ago, I subbed on a friend's team when they were short and this one big guy on the other team was taking liberties with several of our players and cross checked me in front of the net when the puck was nowhere near us. I warned him. A bit later, he slashed me as we were skating up the ice.

Okay...

Eventually, he gets the puck and turns to take it out of the zone and he never saw me coming. Destroyed him. It was a decleater right at the blue line. Again... this guy is probably a couple inches taller and 30 pounds heavier than me, but he wasn't the best skater and probably just used to pushing everyone around.

I got a 2 minute penalty (I should have been ejected) and he didn't come near me the rest of the game.

I never played another league game as I didn't want some puke to be able to bring that out in me.

[Gurtholfin]

Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

The group I run has 3 nights of ice. I've got around 150 skaters on my email list and of those, there is a core of 30 or so regulars and maybe another 30 semi-regulars and the rest are occasional players.

There are rarely (if ever) dust ups as players of this caliber seem to innately understand what we could do to each other at any time coz nobody is expecting to get hit. They also have good control over their bodies coz they are skilled players.

In addition, they know that I will remove any repeat trouble makers from the group.

I always tell new players that this group is short on drama and that it's my job to keep it that way.

Over the years, I've only had to remove a couple of guys. I've had to talk to a few, but they've "gotten it" and reigned themselves in.


Of course, every once in a while, tempers flare, including my own. Usually, we can resolve it right away and it's left on the ice.

[pgb-ohio]

Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

The group I run has 3 nights of ice. I've got around 150 skaters on my email list and of those, there is a core of 30 or so regulars and maybe another 30 semi-regulars and the rest are occasional players.

There are rarely (if ever) dust ups as players of this caliber seem to innately understand what we could do to each other at any time coz nobody is expecting to get hit. They also have good control over their bodies coz they are skilled players.

In addition, they know that I will remove any repeat trouble makers from the group.

I always tell new players that this group is short on drama and that it's my job to keep it that way.

Over the years, I've only had to remove a couple of guys. I've had to talk to a few, but they've "gotten it" and reigned themselves in.


Of course, every once in a while, tempers flare, including my own. Usually, we can resolve it right away and it's left on the ice.

I relate to and agree with all of this.

Along with a couple of other guys, I ran an open hockey group for many years. I'm not sure our e-mail list got to 150. But we did invite the public, and assembled a healthy mailing list along the way. FWIW, we advertised that we were staging "friendly pick-up games" and warned that "those looking for more intense competition should find another group." Like you, we rarely had problems; and when we did, they were easily resolved.

It's ironic, but adding refs to the mix and turning on the scoreboard actually makes things less safe, and often less fun. Players seem to take that as a cue to push the limits.

Building on that, I should note that our 40 & Over "League" is also self-policed. (no zebras) Rosters are fluid, which also cuts down on the intensity. The scoreboard is on, so players do hustle a bit more. But overall, it's more of an open hockey type of environment than you might expect. It's a league in the sense that everyone prepays for 10-12 week sessions. You play on the same night each week. Subbing on one of the other nights is sometimes an option. But in the usual case, you're playing with the same group of regulars, in the same timeslot. Seems to create a positive environment.

[jen]

Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

My co-ed team has been really desperate this summer and put me on defense for a few games. I sort of like it, mainly because I get hit a lot less.

[icehawk]

My co-ed team has been really desperate this summer and put me on defense for a few games. I sort of like it, mainly because I get hit a lot less.

So there is checking allowed in a co-ed league?

[pgb-ohio]

Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

So there is checking allowed in a co-ed league?

Never or almost never. Read the last couple of pages; jen makes her situation quite clear.

My take on no-check leagues:

1. Poke checks are always fine. Stick checks that don't rise to the level of slashing are fine. Issues may arise with body checking.

2. It's hockey; there's going to be some contact. Players will jostle for position in the slot and in the corners. Any battle for a 50-50 puck will likely involve some bumping. Angling an attacking player off of a straight line to the net probably means the players will come together at the end. Initiating light contact to steer a player off course is fair play. Co-ed or not, all these things are just part of the game.

3. What you don't want to see in no-check hockey is players delivering hits. "Putting the hurt" on someone shouldn't be a part of it. OK, as with any rule, there's going to be some gray area. But any decent official can be at least 90% accurate in distinguishing between the items listed in #2 and a flat-out hit.

My two cents, FWIW.

[Markt]

Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

I think that, in 6 months of playing in this co-ed league, I've been checked HARD more times than in the 10+ years of previous co-ed leagues combined. Seriously considering sticking to pickup and women's hockey, as I'm tired of getting my head knocked around. They say they're cracking down on checking penalties this season, but that really doesn't help injuries get better, does it? 2 minutes in the box is not a deterrent. 12 minutes in the box is not even a deterrent. What makes people think that they should play the body in an effing D-league? If you see someone two feet from the boards with the puck, PULL UP or play the puck, instead of going right at them, full speed. It's getting me down. Literally. And I suck, so why even bother hitting me?

I realize I'm super late to this post, but in my poop-level coed league, there are some guys who can't stop and run into each other. There are also a couple of guys who seem to target women on the ice, which I'll never understand. They'll make comments like, "well, if you wanna play with the guys..." after cheap shotting them.

This type of thing was the reason for my one dustup in several seasons with the league. It's also why our "coed" league is down to very few women.

[St. Clown]

Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

I realize I'm super late to this post, but in my poop-level coed league, there are some guys who can't stop and run into each other. There are also a couple of guys who seem to target women on the ice, which I'll never understand. They'll make comments like, "well, if you wanna play with the guys..." after cheap shotting them.

This type of thing was the reason for my one dustup in several seasons with the league. It's also why our "coed" league is down to very few women.

How scared are these men of the women in their lives?

In my pickup old group, when a woman played the intensity on the ice went way down. Someone (might have been me, might not've) started calling it our "girlie graces". It was never a stated rule that we had to treat the women differently, but the guys would just naturally chill out a bit on the ice. We would never challenge the woman with the puck directly, at least never with the same commitment we would when a guy had the puck. With my current pickup group, the women are all treated just like the guys. They're not given any special treatment whatsoever, which I think is a shame and gives an indicator as to what I should've expected for the number of injuries that keep cropping up with this group.

[unofan]

How scared are these men of the women in their lives?

In my pickup old group, when a woman played the intensity on the ice went way down. Someone (might have been me, might not've) started calling it our "girlie graces". It was never a stated rule that we had to treat the women differently, but the guys would just naturally chill out a bit on the ice. We would never challenge the woman with the puck directly, at least never with the same commitment we would when a guy had the puck. With my current pickup group, the women are all treated just like the guys. They're not given any special treatment whatsoever, which I think is a shame and gives an indicator as to what I should've expected for the number of injuries that keep cropping up with this group.

In my league the few women are chippier and dirtier than most of the guys. And the refs let them get away with that crap because they're smaller.

[Nick Papagiorgio]

Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

I realize I'm super late to this post, but in my poop-level coed league, there are some guys who can't stop and run into each other. There are also a couple of guys who seem to target women on the ice, which I'll never understand. They'll make comments like, "well, if you wanna play with the guys..." after cheap shotting them.

This type of thing was the reason for my one dustup in several seasons with the league. It's also why our "coed" league is down to very few women.

Wow a lot of older posters have made appearances recently.

[St. Clown]

Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

In my league the few women are chippier and dirtier than most of the guys. And the refs let them get away with that crap because they're smaller.

Well, league is different than a regular pickup group. When I first started playing league again, we played a team that had a woman who was like that, except that she was also better than most of the guys on the ice too. She got a lot of calls in her favor, both in drawing penalties and not having them called against her. There was only one ref who wasn't fooled by the situation.

[MavHockey14]

Wow a lot of older posters have made appearances recently.

That's what I was thinking!

We have a pick up league that is technically co ed but no league.. Usually not any issues there as it's the same group that rents ice twice a week and plays together.

[Nick Papagiorgio]

Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

You know what sucks? Carbon fiber splinters in your hand.

Advice: just toss the stick aside and fix later while playing with your backup stick.

[jen]

Re: Who here actually plays hockey?

More tales from the D league: some guy cross checked me in the face with 4 seconds left in the game (hard enough to knock me down, and right in front of my bench).... then had the nerve to complain to the ref that he called it.