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Island Lake State Park to Kensington Metropark

My go to bike ride is about 20 minutes from my home.

It starts in Island Lake State Park, which offers free access with the Michigan Passport.

Here are some quick stats:

  • Enter the park off Kensington Road and park at the Island Lake Picnic Grounds. (option to add  a couple miles by parking at Trail Head)
  • Ride your bike north, under I-96 and enter Kensington Metro Park
  • Turn left when you come up out of the tunnel to ride down the biggest hill or just stay right to ride around and up the biggest hill. We go right first, then left on second time around.
  • The trip from parking, around Kent Lake and back is 10.8 miles according to Strava app on my phone.
  • Bathrooms are available a few times along the ride, very clean.

Enjoy to ride!

 

Great Skate Last Night! Salsa was a hit.

A Big Thanks!

With Greg Weingarden and Chuck Irwin in net and skaters: Andrew Wright, Bob Gidcumb, Brian Mullin, Conner Bigelow, Darren Newton, Dwight Hicks, Jeff Rouse, Jim Doan, John Finn, Keith Kiernicki, Logan Rothley, Mark Vansaw, nicholas gilbert, Patrick Nord, Reed Clark, Scott Poliskey, Simpson, Tony Hall.

Thanks for skating last night. Special thanks to Jeff Rouse and John Finn for bringing guests. As long as we can get enough skaters, we will skate on Fridays.

Fridays are special skates for the after party in Skaters Bar. This Friday was exceptional as I brought lots of home made salsa, guacamole and chips to wash down with a few beers. Skaters Bar was packed with our skaters and GFHA coaches who hung out after a practice.

Wish I had taken some pics, but I was too busy chowing on the salsa and reliving the better moments of the skate.

I’ll set up a link for this coming Friday the 12th. I have a 7am flight to Denver on Saturday, so I won’t be hanging out this week! Need some beauty rest!

We are just a few short weeks away from the 3 on 3 tournament. If you are putting a team together, now is the time to do it. At least register the team, payment can be dealt with at registration. I’ll share my video chalk talk of the way a 3 on 3 game works.

Flint Oldtimers Tournament

Team Gears Beer is competing in the 50+ Division of

BILL EVERETT’S 32nd ANNUAL

VEHICLE CITY INTERNATIONAL OLDTIMERS HOCKEY TOURNAMENT

Flint, Michigan, USA

April 7, 8, 9, 2017

AMERICA’S QUALITY OLDTIMERS HOCKEY TOURNAMENT BENEFITING THE

WHALEY CHILDREN’S HOME

Whaley Children’s Center serves resilient youth, teaching them how to succeed as individuals,

by providing continuity of care across all programs and supporting them with the resources

they need to succeed as individuals.

We hope to see you there,

The Bill Everett Family

 

Gears Beer Team Lineup

Bob Gidcumb

Darren Newton

Dave Crabill

Don Edwards

Dwayne Gidcumb

Mark Hochkins

Phil Burak

Scott Poliskey

Scott Walters

Time Johnson

Tom Willet

Tournament Schedule

Gears Beer game times:

Friday at 8:30 PM at Crystal Fieldhouse
Saturday at 5:00 PM at Crystal Fieldhouse
Sunday at 8:30 AM at Crystal Fieldhouse

Full Tournament Schedule

Double Your Drop In Hockey!

Double Your Drop In Hockey!

Full Sheets For Wednesday & Friday Drop In Hockey

There has been more interest in our skates the last few weeks and the list fills up fast! Soon we will have a new system to organize the skates, but it isn’t ready just yet. For now the Whoozin.com system has been serving its purpose. Yet, it has been a challenge to keep space open for the “regulars” when the list fills up so quick. So, I’ve booked two sheets for a series of Friday nights. I’m working on locking in the goalies, which is the biggest challenge to pull this off. It will work out, but I wanted to give you a heads up on the schedule so you can recruit a few MORE skaters to fill two sheets. With tournaments coming up, generally we have more guys wanting to get some ice time in. I’ve only booked four dates of doubles so far.

Two Sheets Dates

  1. February 10th
  2. February 24th
  3. March 3rd
  4. March 17th

I had expected to start next week, Feb 3rd, but that won’t work with the rink. Also, note that Feb. 17th isn’t on the list for a double, we are off that Friday. So I booked the ice for Thursday the 16th of February. Yep, for some of us that will be back to back nights of skating! Were up to it!

Doan’s Winter Classic

A much smaller, outside 3 on 3 tournament is scheduled for February 25th. Yep, we moved the date back again! Winter and Jim’s family commitments have us pushed back a bit. There is only room for 24 skates. 6 teams of 4. We do a random draft based on a rating system. Everyone brings a dish to pass. You can learn more about Doan’s Winter Classic at https://gears.beer/product/2017-doans-winter-classic/
Contact Dave if you have an interest in joining the tournament.

3 on 3 Ice Battle – June

Jeff, Annabelle and Dave

Annabelle and Jordyn

Also, a heads  up on the 3 on 3 Ice Battle. I’ve booked 23 hours of ice time in June! 6 pm – 10 pm Friday June 2nd; 9 am – 8 pm June 3rd and 10 am – 6 pm June 4th. We are running a sanctioned USA Hockey 3 on 3 tournament in conjunction with the GFHA and the EHL. If you missed the New Years Day Ice Battle, you can check out the info at http://gears.beer/battle 

The 3 on 3 Ice Battle details are still in development. We are looking for a few sponsors to keep team cost down. More details to follow.

angry biscuit t shirt

Angry Biscuit T-Shirt

Angry Biscuit T-Shirts are in stock. Limited supply. Full color prints, $15 each.

  • Charcoal 6.0 oz., pre-shrunk 100% cotton
  • Double-needle stitched neckline, bottom hem and sleeves
  • Quarter-turned
  • Taped neck and shoulders
  • Seamless seven-eighths inch collar
  • Satin Label
  • Medium, Large, XL and XXL in stock

Buy Now

will skate for pints t shirt

Will Skate For Pints

Will Skate for Pints t-shirt design. The Stanley Pint is the EHL Champs trophy awarded each year.
$15 Each

  • 6.0 oz., pre-shrunk 100% cotton
  • Double-needle stitched neckline, bottom hem and sleeves
  • Quarter-turned
  • Taped neck and shoulders
  • Seamless seven-eighths inch collar
  • Satin Label
  • Medium, Large, XL, XXL in stock

Buy Now

EHL Playoffs & Banquet

Old Fockers Wins Regular Season!

Stanley Pint

Playoff Schedule

Sunday, March 20th

11:30 am – 12:45 pm Old Fockers vs MoJoes

12:45 pm – 2 pm   Crystal Fieldhouse vs Ergomatic

2:45 pm – 4 pm  Battle for Third Place

4 pm – 5:15 pm  Finals!

Stanley Pint

After Party & Awards Banquet

The Hop & Barley Prize Darren Newton of Old Fockers won this $50 prize last December.

The St Paulie Girl Prize $50 Prize to player with lowest number of penalties. Draw your card on the way into the rink – if you don’t have a penalty!

The Guzzler Prize $50 to the player with the most points at the end of the season. Looks like seasoned pro, Don (Doc) Edwards stole the show with 46 points!

The Stanley Pint Prize Custom championship beer pint glasses will be awarded to each player on the winning team. With a case of beer!

Plenty of beer will be available on Sunday for the festivities!

I’m trying to get an idea of how many guys want to eat so I can order enough food. Use the Whoozin.com linke, or call or text me at 810-471-7767 or email dave@gears.beer to let me know your status please.

The 2015 / 2016 EHL Season is drawing to a close. This has been a lot of fun! Thank you to all who take the time to communicate with me, that helps me to make this work for everyone. The positive feedback really helps motivate me to put the time and effort in to keep things rolling along properly. We have made a number of changes throughout the season, the biggest being the game times. There have been few problems. My goal is to tackle the problems as quickly as possible to move on.

We have had some injuries, very sorry to report that. Mike Karas of MoJoes has a few screws in his ankle now, but is recovering. We hope to see Mike on Sunday hobbling along! Wayne Bruebaker is probably one of the older guys skating and he bounced back quick after separating a rib! The usual chipped tooth, cuts and bruises are all stories to tell. 

Big thanks goes out to all the team leaders, a thankless job. These are the guys who stress over what team is going to actually show up every Sunday! Darren of Old Fockers has a solid core group on his roster. Bobby from MoJoes brings an army every week practically, but had serious goalie problems. My team skates with a short bench just about every week! Ken Micketti was thrown into running the house team and has done a great job of making a team out of every stray player we could find! Thank you all who help with the teams and keep them functioning.

sue-Friday-check-in-tableNow, whoever said that behind every successful man is a good woman doesn’t know the half of it! We were fortunate to have two strong willed women to help all season. Bethany Kurtz brought her skill and passion for the game to our score keeping and organization. She has been my adviser all along the way and isn’t afraid to speak her mind! Without her taking the time to record all the stats on paper as well as in the app, we would have had a mess on our hands. Thanks Bethany! Another constant all season was my wife Sue at the front to act as the information center for the league. Having that point of communication all season helped us work through any challenges quickly. 

Quick thanks to Andy Pavolich who runs the refs. We had some challenges early in the season with some younger refs who just weren’t there to work. We have been getting the seasoned refs and they take a more active role in controlling play, thanks Andy!

Final thanks goes to Crystal Fieldhouse, our host. Mark and Michelle have been very accommodating to us. From changes in game time, to access to cheap beer, they have been there for us! Thanks! Crystal Fieldhouse is our home.

Now spread the word! We want eight teams next year in the early Sunday league! Games will run between noon – 4pm next year.

 

EHL Update – playoffs, Mike & Firebirds

EHL Update – playoffs, Mike & Firebirds

Mike Karas ankleUpdate on Mike from Mojoes.

First things first.

Check out Mike ankle work. Man, he is an iron man!

3 Months and those two big screws come out.

We are all pulling for you Mike. Hope you recover swiftly and we see you at the party.

Playoff Schedule 3/20

Game 1: 1st vs 4th @ 12:15 pm

Game 2: 2nd vs 3rd @ 12:30 pm

Game 3: game 1 loser vs game 2 loser for 3rd and 4th place @ 1:45 pm

Game 4: finals, game 1 winner vs game 2 winner @ 3 pm

I’m making arrangements for the festivities that will be held after the finals. Awards will be given out.

Invite other team leaders that you would like to see join our league next year.

The St Paulie Girl Prize
$50 Prize to player with lowest number of penalties. We will draw cards
if a tie.
The Guzzler Prize
$50 to the player with the most points at the end of the season.

For the winning team, I’m getting feedback that t-shirts would be preferable to a pint glass. Looking for feedback, make it quick!

Flint FirebirdsFlint Firebirds Tickets this Sunday 3/6

I have 19 tickets to move for the 5pm game this Sunday. They are in my possession. Only $10 per ticket for Silver section seats ($15 value)

Please pass the word. My Optimist Club purchased 100 and we have 19 left to move. Bringing the Whaley kids to the game.