“Every day is a great day for ice hockey,” Mario Lemeiux.

Some days are better.

Playing outside shinny with your friends is top notch. Big thanks to Jim Doan for investing the time and money to build a rink each season. This will be a record year. The last two years we only played two games outside. This year will exceed that by far. 

There is room for a few more old guys for the 2025 Doan’s Winter Classic outdoor tournament. Limited to 24 skaters and 4 goalies, capacity of the warm barn:)

We form four teams by a ranked draft and play a round robin.

Then we hang out, eat, drink, smoke and then play more hockey until our legs stop working. Big fun. 

Check the list to make sure your registration worked, we had some technical difficulties which have been fixed. The list of skaters and goalies is posted along with what food might be there. We will be buying pizza, byob.

If interested, get on the Doan’s text list at the bottom of the event page. A registration link is also on that page for Saturday’s tournament. We skate on the rink as much as possible as long as possible. The game times vary and can change quickly, but texts to the Doan’s interest list keep you updated. Typically we skate Wednesday at 7 pm and either Friday or Staturday depending on schedules. Expect a Wed / Sat for next week. On weeknights, just show up. Saturday night can be busy, so double check with Jim or Dave.

Only three games left in the regular seson. Frozen has a lead on Solid Ground Concrete for first place. The playoffs will be the top four teams with 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3 for the first week. The last two teams will scrimage and the winner will play the highest seed loser of the first round to mix things up.

During playoffs, we will hold a five-minute sudden death 4-on-4 overtime period and then the three-player shootout if still tied. If still tied then the shootout will continue with the balance of the players until a  inner is determined. No repeat shooters  until the entire bench shoots.

Sault St Marie Tournament News

Five teams from Flint partied in the Soo for the weekend. The hockey was good, but the fellowship was better—big fun for most.
During the Flint Oldtimers’ last game, pictured here with the Gears Beer Hockey jerseys, Paul Martel became extremely dizzy. Paramedic, Mike Galajda, was on hand and took action. Local paramedics delivered Paul to a local hospital for testing and was cleared to head home Monday afternoon. Paul is one of five of our players over 70 years old. 

BTW: Larry Ollearis from All Black Hockey Sticks joined our team and brought his trailer of sticks to the tournament. Look for updates on when we will have Larry bring the trailer to Flint where you can save on shipping and grab a nice twig!

Eclectic Hockey League

Sunday morning hockey has gotten even more competitive. We have a lot of the players from the former Sunday evening A league joining the fun. Find schedules, stats and more at hockey.gears.beer

Doan’s Winter Classic

Skating under the lights outside is special. We generally skate Wed & Fri nights if the conditions are right. Get on the list if you want to be in the know. The tournament is scheduled for Saturday, February 8th. Register using the form below. Limited to 24 skaters and four goalies. No visitors or plus one’s allowed in barn due to space. We need to decide if chipping in for food to be ordered or all bring a dish to pass. Always nice to contribute a bit more to help support Jim’s efforts which are much appreciated!