Beer League Frustrations Vent Thread II

[Ozz]

I play pick up twice a week with players who are predominantly far better and more experienced than I am. I don't get my ass kicked, but I just can't do what they do in terms of consistency and skill level with the puck, but I learn plenty even if I can't always execute it at their level. I listen to to those guys, even if they're busting my balls, because they have a few clues, a ton of experience and they're helping me out.

My league play is at a lower level where there's a lot more time and space than I find at pick up and I can put some moves on, hold onto and skate with the puck for long enough to find someone open and put it on the tape for them. Invariably the same service isn't reciprocated in terms of receiving many quality passes; and too often it's those guys who pass poorly, play with heads down and have poor positional play and situational awareness who have far too much advice for others.

Never say anything, because I'm not up for any disharmony. I'm way ahead of them and get to see them butchering the set ups I hand them.

High level consistency often gets me. One game, I don't know how I do things. The next, I'm killing myself to not look like an idiot out there

 

[damack]

High level consistency often gets me. One game, I don't know how I do things. The next, I'm killing myself to not look like an idiot out there

haha, I get that shift to shift!

 

[blackout44]

If one just yells about bad plays, it'll put guys in bad moods, get them off their game, and get them rattled. Not like I think anyone should treat people with kid gloves, but I believe there are ways to tell people what they want/need to know that make them listen, and ways to make them want to smack you. I take rough criticism with a grain of salt when it comes from better players, but some don't and see it as a way of being put down. Above all we're all friends, and we have to know we have each other's backs and trust we can all do our part for the team.

Yea, there's a guy on our team who only *****es and complains. It's the lowest division, and for many people it is their first or second season playing, ever. It only makes everyone more frustrated when he's screaming from the bench, and that only hurts our play as a whole.

 

[Ozz]

Yea, there's a guy on our team who only *****es and complains. It's the lowest division, and for many people it is their first or second season playing, ever. It only makes everyone more frustrated when he's screaming from the bench, and that only hurts our play as a whole.

That's what I keep telling the couple guys on my team who do that when it's not even warranted. Everyone gets put on edge, can't think well, is apprehensive to do anything, etc. It throws gas on the team dumpster fire, so to speak

 

[542365]

Scored my second goal in my second game(playing as a dman). Third man in the zone on a 3 on 1, probably should've passed in retrospect, but I took the shot, low glove side(above the pad below the glove) off the bar and in. Felt great as my shot is my biggest weakness. Also picked up an assist, but I didn't have much to do with the play. Made about a ten foot breakout pass and my winger did the rest. 5-2 victory. Now with 2 goals and 3 assists on the younng season. Best part is I'm playing on a very fun team. We're pretty good, but we are all there just to have fun and play hard. No screaming or anything.

 

[Islanderfan17]

I have no problem with a little criticism or advice, but not from anyone who would benefit exponentially from just thinking about and concentrating on their own game and what they could be doing better or need to improve on themselves.

I never comment on or give advice to anyone or others as individuals, just as a team or what we need to do or improve on as a team, which is tactics stuff. I doubt any player playing recreationally ever turned a corner or lifted their game markedly because someone whose own game was full of shortcomings told someone else on the bench what they needed to do to improve.

This is exactly how I feel. I hate players that simply point fingers but never turn it on themselves, which is what some of my teammates do.

 

[Goonzilla]

I don't lose too much sleep over it though. You've just got to accept that playing socially or recreationally unless you set up your own team or are part of a really tight bunch will always have a wide variety or disparity of personalities, skill sets and experiences.

I'm with a pretty good bunch of guys, just some appear pretty limited in their sporting experiences or athleticism, probably most readily apparent in the guys that do everything at three quarter speed, don't push themselves and coast through long unproductive shifts. I really think they're just oblivious to intensity or doing anything up tempo as opposed to they don't give a #%*^ about winning, competing or contributing to to a team performance or outcome, just thinking that they're entitled to their twenty minutes of ice time or whatever, never coming off gasping or really low on gas.

 

[Brunomics]

This is exactly how I feel. I hate players that simply point fingers but never turn it on themselves, which is what some of my teammates do.

I have one of those guys on my team. Just a big guy that can put the puck in the net, insists of playing center yet refuses to do anything defensively in the defensive and neutral zones, skates with his head down, etc. Funny thing is he's the first and only one to scream at our goalie and the other players on the ice as well as the refs when he gets mad. Total team cancer.

 

[Clarkington III]

Goalie not showing up.

We only had 7 skaters so our Captain elected to take the forfeit for GA/Goal Differential reasons in the even of a tiebreaker.

The other team had a skater dress as a goalie and we played pickup with the refs skating out.

Other than the goalie not showing up, my only other frustration was the other team not understanding we were just playing pickup. A chippy team in an actual game is one thing. A chippy team hooking and slashing left and right in a game of pickup is all sorts of nonsense. I had to finally remind a guy that it was a pickup game and that I was sure he wouldn't appreciate the same reciprocated.

 

[PlamsUnlimited]

This dude kept cross checking me high and then around the net he tripped me/hit me in the side of the head with his stick blade. Refs didn't call it. Meh

 

[Goonzilla]

This dude kept cross checking me high and then around the net he tripped me/hit me in the side of the head with his stick blade. Refs didn't call it. Meh

Did you pound on him or otherwise sort him out?

If you do nothing you enable that sort of behaviour or invite more of that crap. I find anyone playing like that at a recreational level is either a bully picking on someone smaller and less capable than themselves and who likely can't back it up when it counts or else they are baiting a response, in which case they deserve one well in excess of what they are expecting or hoping for, but at the appropriate time, which will invariably present itself at some stage.

..or alternatively, if it's just not your thing then have your captain bring the player and his number to the referees attention and make sure the refs are made aware of his presence every time he's back on the ice.

 

[JKinCLE]

Tough guys in the non-checking HNA lowest division... get real. His own teammates can't stand him.

 

[Saved]

Two weeks in a row.. two weeks.

Last week, I got highsticked in the head. Guy spun around after I went around him and he swung his stick and it got me in the side of the head. He said he only had one hand on his stick so he didn't think he hit me hard, but I am pretty sure I was knocked out for a few seconds as I only remember skating to the bench after trying to stand up a few times but feet sliding out from under me.

Then last night, same guy gets me in the face, right across the cheeks. Half of my face is swollen.

The thing is, this guy is clearly either the best or the second best skater on the ice and should know how to handle his stick... I was so close to just losing it and attacking him. Thankfully cooler heads prevailed but ****, it's so annoying.

 

[Startel]

Got high sticked for the first time yesterday, second shift busted me right open, no call. I get chirped for whatever reason by the bench, not a guy for ****talking but I skated by and said "you keep talking and Im gonna put up a touchdown on you guys", we won 10-1 and my line had 7 goals

 

[Saved]

Got high sticked for the first time yesterday, second shift busted me right open, no call. I get chirped for whatever reason by the bench, not a guy for ****talking but I skated by and said "you keep talking and Im gonna put up a touchdown on you guys", we won 10-1 and my line had 7 goals

Of things in this thread that didn't happen, this didn't happen the most.

 

[Outl4w]

Of things in this thread that didn't happen, this didn't happen the most.

Who doesn't score touchdowns while playing hockey? My fantasy football team used to kill it in Sunday beer league hockey.

 

[The Tikkanen]

Who doesn't score touchdowns while playing hockey? My fantasy football team used to kill it in Sunday beer league hockey.

If this guy can kick an extra point on the ice he's the greatest athlete of all time.

 

[Outl4w]

I scored a goal, and the goalie tried to make a glove save. He missed it and the puck went in the net and through it. The puck was on the outside of the net on the back side. The ref said, no goal and that it messed the net completely and ended up on the back. I asked him how since the puck never touched anyone , anything, and did not touch the boards/glass. I explained to him that it is physically impossible to get the puck the back side of the net without going through it or hitting the glass or someone. It did neither went straight through. The goalie never touched it and it went through the net. I then showed him the hole and he still said no goal. I know the nets are old, but I find that pretty laughable.

 

[CanadaBacon]

I scored a goal, and the goalie tried to make a glove save. He missed it and the puck went in the net and through it. The puck was on the outside of the net on the back side. The ref said, no goal and that it messed the net completely and ended up on the back. I asked him how since the puck never touched anyone , anything, and did not touch the boards/glass. I explained to him that it is physically impossible to get the puck the back side of the net without going through it or hitting the glass or someone. It did neither went straight through. The goalie never touched it and it went through the net. I then showed him the hole and he still said no goal. I know the nets are old, but I find that pretty laughable.

This isn't really that uncommon at all. The average arena has ****** netting, the average ref is going to blow a call or two per game. That's beer league.

 

[Clarkington III]

The "I don't care about this game" chirp.

A guy bordering on full potato stands a guy up (good play), but then start throwing after and just loses his mind. As he's in the box absolutely running his mouth about fighting our much smaller guy from the box, I am at the ref circle getting an idea of the penalties.

As he continues his tirade, the smart ass in me (rather calmly) asks him if he feels better about himself and asks him if he feels good now. Some minor words were exchanged and among other things he makes it adamant he "doesn't give a **** about this game."

Cool, so you show up for a make-up game only to get so worked up you start swinging on a guy, and then loose your mind again while in the box enough that a ref has to calm you down.

 

[JFG]

We were playing a team that we share the rink with and the games are always hard fought and pretty tight. This game their goaltender stood on his head and we couldn't find a solution for him. I know he is quite the hot head so after a great save I went over to him and said "I guess this is the evidence that you don't have to look like Henrik Lundqvist to be a good goaltender." He lost his cool, slashed me over the legs and got a penalty.

We still lost the game though.

 

[STC]

We were playing a team that we share the rink with and the games are always hard fought and pretty tight. This game their goaltender stood on his head and we couldn't find a solution for him. I know he is quite the hot head so after a great save I went over to him and said "I guess this is the evidence that you don't have to look like Henrik Lundqvist to be a good goaltender." He lost his cool, slashed me over the legs and got a penalty.

We still lost the game though.

I don't understand why that's even an insult?

 

[JFG]

I don't understand why that's even an insult?

He was pretty ugly.

 

[Tacks92]

He was pretty ugly.

I think that's hilarious!

 

[Reilly]

I was chasing a puck possessing opponent out of his zone and along the boards and was close on his heels stride for stride. His teammate didn't like this and cut in between us and nudged me into the boards to set his guy free. Isn't that interference? The guy made no effort to play the puck--he clearly just wanted to stop me from chasing his teammate.

Would his actions ever get called a penalty in beer league hockey game or is it just a good strategic play on his part that I should adopt in my own game?