I skated with the Budtenders against the Gooners Dogs in January. That was big fun. I’m out of the habit of getting up and going early on a Sunday morning, but the party in Skaters Bar was worth the effort. We were kicked out of the bar at 4 pm as the rink was closing due to the snow – weird.

As expected, the play is a bit faster than the 50+ and 60+, but I was able to contribute a little. I even got an atta boy for a clapper, which we can’t do in the old man leagues:)

There is a little grumbling about parity in the Sunday EHL league, as expected. There is always grumbling when things get competitive. Some of the players in the league can control a game and score seemingly at will. That is why I made a few efforts to switch to a draft league but found little support. I was tempted to take that Sunday am time and just restart with a 50+ draft, but so many of the guys who have stuck with me for the ten-year run are still kids! (under 50)

Oh, and I was told by Arnie (scorekeeper) that I was an illegal player! My own team didn’t put me on the roster. No respect! 🙂

50+ Oldtimers Hockey Club

Monday nights lead into Tuesday. Good thing I set my own schedule and don’t clock in for my work! We have had some late games, and the bar closes just a few hours after we are done!

The ten team leauge is not being dominated by Gears Beer Hockey this season. Speaking of the Championship team. I ran into JP Dumolin the other night and learned the Denise is getting a new hip. There are not any old hockey players, just rebuilt and refurbished!

This season we have a talented team for Gears.beer but have struggled to put a string of wins together. Phantom and Flint Oldtimers are the clear top of the season so far.

Tonight is the last game before playoffs begin!

Playoff Format

2/9  teams 7,8,9,10 play a 1 game play-in to the top 8 positions.

Winners become seats 7 an 8

2/16 Two-game total goal 1st round

1 vs 8  2 vs 7  3 vs 6  4 vs 5

losers of play-in play against each other

2/23 Second game of the two game 1st round

3/2 Second round with 4 winners playing best 2 of 3

3/23 Third round with the remaining 2 teams playing for the championship in a best 2 of 3, round 3, Final

The following are the tie-breaker rules to determine final team standings:

1. Most wins

2. Best record- head to head

3. Goal differential 

4. Most goals for 

5. Least goals against 

6. Coin flip

60+ Wednesday Hockey

Wednesday are great because you can hang out in Skaters Bar for a few hours and still get home by a reasonable time! See a theme here for the beer leaguge?

Four teams on Wednesday with some great competition and lots of laughs. The standings are tight and I expect the Flint Oldtimers team I run to be the top of the league soon. Saber has us by a point right now.

For over ten years I’ve been helping Jim Doan put up a killer rink in his back yard. Boards, netting, led lights with a heated barn. Last season was our best with ten games outside. We take every advantage to put a quick game together weekday evenings and Saturday mornings as the weather permits.

This year, the rink is moved 100′ back behind the barn in a 4′ deep hole. The dirt from the hole forms a sun and wind screen. Our hope is to extend the season but the start has been a bit slow. We plan to skate Wednesday and Friday night this week and run a 50 and older tournament on Saturday. The tournaments are limited to 24 skaters and four goalies. Contact me if interested in the tournament. Just show up on Wed or Friday. We get out on the ice 7 ish. Full gear, but some don’t wear a bucket.

For past photos and more, visit the link.

I was fortunate to get the invite to the Senior Olympics with the Flint Oldtimers Hockey Club Team a couple of years ago. Mike Petty assembled an all star team last year and we just couldn’t score enough to take the tournament. We did compete, but no medal. 

Mike and Art have built a 70+ team and gave me the task of organizing a 60+ team. With the work on the Soo team I was a little behind on getting the roster for the Senior Olympics going and in the pursuing scramble I built a huge roster and left some off that should have been invited. I apologize to those who did not get a roster spot, it wasn’t intentional. There are some good skaters who recently turned 60 who are on our roster and I brought in Jim Doan to reward him for his work on the outdoor rink. I was shocked when he said yes! I have high hopes for this team. Go ahead, make your joke:)

The Senior Olympics are March 4-6 at Buffalo Wild Wings Arena in Troy, MI. Stay tuned!

P.S. Reach out if I missed you and you wish to play as you never know what might happen between now and then. Just might have a spot open.

Did you see the latest goalie fight:) Swayman and Vasoleski looked like sumaria warriors in their scrum. I can understand Swayman getting pissed about the stick in the cup. Sucks that Tampa came back to beat the Bruins. We have a tight race for the Atlantic Division and the Wings look great for the playoffs. Hoping they don’t get embarassed by the Avs tonight.

Speaking of Olympics…

U.S.A. Women play Czechia 10:40 am Feb 5th on USA Network.

U.S.A. Men play Latvia (Russians I suspect) on Feb 12th 3 pm ET on USA Network.

I’m grateful to be able to play this great sport of ice hockey, however poorly. My love of Cannabis helps fuel this journey and the CBD salve I rub on my back, knees and ankles help a ton. Let me know if you want to give it a try. I generally have a few samples in my coat pocket. It doesn’t take much as I tend to make it strong.

Speaking of strong. I promise to never give you a strong Chocolate Peanutbutter Ball without warning. Those treats for after the game and mostly CBD with a touch of THC. They help relieve some inflamation and relax you. Find it all on iHempHarvest.com

Peace & Love

Dave