Beer League Frustrations Vent Thread III

[manictech]

Just cut him. If he won't wear the jersey he should've said it was a deal breaker before you bought the jerseys.

That said, I wouldn't want to wear a jersey that stupid either.

The jerseys don't even have the name on them. It was just a person with a seeing eye stick and sunglasses. I guess we all thought it was funny because we have 3 "mentors" on the team and everybody else is very new and we joke around that they never listen and can't see the puck. I never thought someone would find it outrageously offensive. Anyway we still have the jerseys on order but they are coming blank now. Looking for a new name and logo now.

 

[MullerBrotenVerbeek]

The usual:

1. Guys not paying their league dues in a timely fashion
2. Guys not paying for their unis
3. Guys saying they'll be at a game then noshowing without notice.

 

[FlyChicaga]

I don't currently play in a men's league/beer league, I only play rat hockey (open hockey) as many days a week as I can. When I'm at rat hockey, I stick to D and feel I have a pretty strong game. I get positive comments about my defensive play, which I appreciate.

I ended up playing in a tournament with a well established men's league team, and came in a bit nervous hoping I had a good game and they might consider adding me to the team. Good guys, I wouldn't mind playing with them. Problem is, they played terrible. So therefore, I also played terrible. As D, I'd get the puck in our zone and look up for a breakout pass (something which is my strongest skill), and all the guys were by the opposing blue line. And not moving. So I'd throw it up the boards or end up turning it over to the opposing teams heavy forecheck. In one of the games, the other team was forechecking hard, and it felt like 4 against 2 in our zone. Three forwards floating around up high hoping for a magical breakout pass.

The worst part was, guys were blaming us (defense) for the goals against. So since that tournament, my motivation to play hockey has been kinda shot... I played a pick-up game and tried to get back going and have some fun, but the tournament was so bad that it was even hard to play rat hockey. I'm hoping to skate tomorrow and try to have fun again. I've been hoping to find a men's league team to try and play some competitive hockey again, but at this point I figure I'll be a career rat hockey player.

 

[Ozz]

I don't currently play in a men's league/beer league, I only play rat hockey (open hockey) as many days a week as I can. When I'm at rat hockey, I stick to D and feel I have a pretty strong game. I get positive comments about my defensive play, which I appreciate.

I ended up playing in a tournament with a well established men's league team, and came in a bit nervous hoping I had a good game and they might consider adding me to the team. Good guys, I wouldn't mind playing with them. Problem is, they played terrible. So therefore, I also played terrible. As D, I'd get the puck in our zone and look up for a breakout pass (something which is my strongest skill), and all the guys were by the opposing blue line. And not moving. So I'd throw it up the boards or end up turning it over to the opposing teams heavy forecheck. In one of the games, the other team was forechecking hard, and it felt like 4 against 2 in our zone. Three forwards floating around up high hoping for a magical breakout pass.

The worst part was, guys were blaming us (defense) for the goals against. So since that tournament, my motivation to play hockey has been kinda shot... I played a pick-up game and tried to get back going and have some fun, but the tournament was so bad that it was even hard to play rat hockey. I'm hoping to skate tomorrow and try to have fun again. I've been hoping to find a men's league team to try and play some competitive hockey again, but at this point I figure I'll be a career rat hockey player.

I feel ya, I hate when nobody moves but expect you to magically get them the puck. At the very least they can move SOMEWHERE and act like a decoy, opening up ice for you to walk it in a bit. I like doing that if you can't use your D partner as a give/go outlet to get it flowing. There ought to be at least one F relatively neutral though, even if he's not going to carry the puck he can receive/give a pass to one of the D who will. Or again, act as a decoy to help move your opponents out of the way for whoever will carry it. I realize that's tough to get some drop-in guys to realize/try/care about though.

Good luck finding a team to land on!

 

[sectachrome]

There's a guy on my team who is friends with the captain but really has no business being in our league. It's like being short handed when hes out there. He can barely move or handle the puck at all. He's a nice guy and I'm all for everyone from every level getting out and playing, but it just seems like you're doing yourself and the team a disservice when there's such a large gap in skill.

 

[FlyChicaga]

I feel ya, I hate when nobody moves but expect you to magically get them the puck. At the very least they can move SOMEWHERE and act like a decoy, opening up ice for you to walk it in a bit. I like doing that if you can't use your D partner as a give/go outlet to get it flowing. There ought to be at least one F relatively neutral though, even if he's not going to carry the puck he can receive/give a pass to one of the D who will. Or again, act as a decoy to help move your opponents out of the way for whoever will carry it. I realize that's tough to get some drop-in guys to realize/try/care about though.

Good luck finding a team to land on!

I try to tell guys all the time, move laterally on the ice and I'll get you with a pass. If you're standing still, it's too easy for the opposing team to read the pass and intercept. Or move up the boards, I can bank it around you to pick up and get some momentum into the zone. None of us can go 0-60 from a dead stop into a breakaway...

 

[nickh1]

My biggest complaint from the scrimmage I played tonight was the guys who take ridiculous shifts. One guy was out there almost the entire time, he would take a 10 minute shift, and the rest of us were taking 45-60 second shifts. We could tell he was getting tired, as he is a better player than some of us, and was absolutely worthless 90% of the time he was out there. About 60 seconds in, he starts slowing down. 2-3 minutes in, he's casually skating along, well behind the play. His exhaustion was causing him to miss passes that any beginner should have been able to catch, and he got mad when we tried telling him to take shorter shifts.

Dude, if you're tired, get the **** off the ice. It's simple. You aren't doing yourself any favors, and you're not contributing to the game in any way when all you can do is lazily follow the play, rather than getting into position for a one-timer, helping out defensively, or even getting involved in the battles for possession along the boards. I've been skating for 3 months, and even I know that I'm worthless when I'm tired. If you want ice time to practice skating, hit a public skate or stick/puck once or twice a week, don't screw over the other players because you think you're gods gift to hockey, and physical exhaustion doesn't hinder your game play at all.

Sorry for the rant, I just can't stand when guys show up to play a team sport, and act like they are the only ones there that matter. I know I'm not the only one who was bothered by it, I just kept my mouth shut, since a D or low C league player isn't going to listen to advice about hockey from the bender on the bench.

 

[Fremitus Borealis]

Yeah that stuff is ********, but it's a common complaint. Best to nip it in the bud before it becomes a major issue. One sort of "passive" way to handle it is to say stuff like "short shifts, boys!" on the bench, and hope they get the idea. If not, you may need to talk to them directly, though that can be... uncomfortable.

What's stupid about guys taking 8 minute shifts is really that if EVERYONE is keeping it to a minute or less, you'll get the same amount of ice time (if not more), and be more productive at the same time. Why this doesn't occur to people is beyond me.

 

[Ozz]

Yeah that stuff is ********, but it's a common complaint. Best to nip it in the bud before it becomes a major issue. One sort of "passive" way to handle it is to say stuff like "short shifts, boys!" on the bench, and hope they get the idea. If not, you may need to talk to them directly, though that can be... uncomfortable.

What's stupid about guys taking 8 minute shifts is really that if EVERYONE is keeping it to a minute or less, you'll get the same amount of ice time (if not more), and be more productive at the same time. Why this doesn't occur to people is beyond me.

The people who like to do that on my team are just dumb and want to be selfish. So, naturally, that trickles down to the others who want their fair share of ice, and then you have long shifts all around. Nearly every time I start, I make it a point to come off quicker than anybody and start the positive affirmation down the bench. "Hard, short shifts, keep em going! Stay fresh!" Stuff like that. Usually it works but as the games go on people fall out of liking that idea. They watch the clock and count shifts in their heads

 

[Beezeral]

being passive aggressive will never get the guys who take long shifts to take shorter ones. They don't care about anything except getting their ice time. Best bet is to address it directly

 

[nickh1]

Meh, it was just a scrimmage at the end of practice, so none of us really felt like addressing it. It wasn't a big deal, because it was basically rat hockey, but it was kind of annoying sitting there waiting for someone to chase the puck, and seeing him skating slowly up the ice, just in time for the play to whiz by him going the other way.

If this was an actual game, I think everyone would have addressed it with him directly.

 

[Caeldan]

Usually about the only way I find to keep the ice time hogs to shorter shifts is to be able to change full lines at a time. Most of the time they have enough sense to realize that if their linemates are off the ice, they should be too.

That and make eye contact and look like you're about to jump on the ice the next time they're dogging it on a back check

 

[Ozz]

A real downer last night. Opening playoff round vs. a team we haven't come close to beating in a couple seasons. We took an early 3-0 lead, blew it to go down by 2, came back, took the lead, and gave up the tying goal in the final 10 seconds. Then of course we blow it in OT.

We played one of our best offensive games this season, but all but 1 or 2 goals we let up was a softie. Scrambles, goalie not tracking well, goalie out of position, etc.

One guy got so frustrated with me he slashed me on the glove and broke his stick. He also swung his stick wildly in the corner and almost clobbered one of our guys in the head. Ref said he was "this close" to throwing him out of the game. Wouldn't you know, he's the one who got the tying & winning goals

 

[MegaAlf]

I play in C-League. Some of these guys are wild with high sticks and roughing. Last weekend a guy checked me really hard in a non-checking league. This happens to me at least once a season. I've never retaliated until that game. He skated hard into it, lowered his shoulder and aimed it at my chest. Knocked me onto my back. He landed it so hard he fell down too.

He was on his knees with his face facing towards me. Didn't apologize either so I knew it was intentional. I just sat up and punched him on reaction. What is it with guys in rec leagues trying to injure people?

 

[Goonzilla]

I play in C-League. Some of these guys are wild with high sticks and roughing. Last weekend a guy checked me really hard in a non-checking league. This happens to me at least once a season. I've never retaliated until that game. He skated hard into it, lowered his shoulder and aimed it at my chest. Knocked me onto my back. He landed it so hard he fell down too.

He was on his knees with his face facing towards me. Didn't apologize either so I knew it was intentional. I just sat up and punched him on reaction. What is it with guys in rec leagues trying to injure people?

You cop a hit once a season? Non checking or otherwise, you're still playing hockey. Was it a high or dirty hit? Were you hurt or injured? You're playing a contact sport and still need to protect yourself at all times, expect the unexpected and expect to get knocked on your ass occasionally. I'm picking it didn't really hurt you one bit?

I don't take a lot of penalties, but very occasionally I let someone have it, always because they've been dishing it out or taking liberties to begin with. Never high, from behind or late and never to injure anyone, but certainly to send a message.

 

[Beezeral]

Play in a low quality C league. We won the league last year and people complained our team was too good, because I was clearly the best goalie in the league and despite our team being outshot in every game, we would win most games.

The response by the other teams was to completely transform their rosters with B+ level players from another rink. Team we played last night had 8 new players. Our team barely touched the puck. This was after the manager of the league gave us a hard time for trying to add my younger brother who is a C level player who hadn't skated in 4 years prior to last nights game. We went from the best team by a small margin to being the worst team by a large margin

Personally, I don't care, I have enough friends to blow out the competition if the league manager is going to allow a full on arms race but I feel bad for the C/D level guys on our roster who were nowhere near the play all game because they simply couldn't keep up with the speed of the opponents

 

[Caeldan]

My summer league is going to be 3 of the mid-level teams (really just portions of them plus some free agents), and the 1 of the higher level teams (we really only have two divisions) fully intact plus their usual summer ringers.
We lost something like 7-1 (and it wasn't the fault of the goalie )... and we might actually be the stronger of the other 3 teams.

It's gonna be a fun 8 weeks

 

[Sinistril]

Playing on a rep ball hockey team. A guy came in at full speed on a breakaway, I made a save in my crease, he crashed into me HARD, knocked my helmet off and got me with his stick blade to boot. Blood everywhere. The ref didn't call a penalty on the play because "he wasn't intentionally trying to charge me". I argued that I was in the crease the entire time. He said,"yeah but when he left the air he wasn't in the crease". Considering we were playing in a tournament where the winner goes to nationals, the refs had called a lot of light penalties on my team and nothing on the other team I'm pretty choked. Played the final period with half my face cut up and a numb jaw. I guess I should be happy I'm not concussed? At least we won.

 

[Disengage]

Playing on a rep ball hockey team. A guy came in at full speed on a breakaway, I made a save in my crease, he crashed into me HARD, knocked my helmet off and got me with his stick blade to boot. Blood everywhere. The ref didn't call a penalty on the play because "he wasn't intentionally trying to charge me". I argued that I was in the crease the entire time. He said,"yeah but when he left the air he wasn't in the crease". Considering we were playing in a tournament where the winner goes to nationals, the refs had called a lot of light penalties on my team and nothing on the other team I'm pretty choked. Played the final period with half my face cut up and a numb jaw. I guess I should be happy I'm not concussed? At least we won.

Ball hockey as in wearing sneakers? That's ridiculous that someone would run into you at full speed.

 

[tfong]

Playing on a rep ball hockey team. A guy came in at full speed on a breakaway, I made a save in my crease, he crashed into me HARD, knocked my helmet off and got me with his stick blade to boot. Blood everywhere. The ref didn't call a penalty on the play because "he wasn't intentionally trying to charge me". I argued that I was in the crease the entire time. He said,"yeah but when he left the air he wasn't in the crease". Considering we were playing in a tournament where the winner goes to nationals, the refs had called a lot of light penalties on my team and nothing on the other team I'm pretty choked. Played the final period with half my face cut up and a numb jaw. I guess I should be happy I'm not concussed? At least we won.

You guys going to Kelowna?

 

[althoma1]

Playing on a rep ball hockey team. A guy came in at full speed on a breakaway, I made a save in my crease, he crashed into me HARD, knocked my helmet off and got me with his stick blade to boot. Blood everywhere. The ref didn't call a penalty on the play because "he wasn't intentionally trying to charge me". I argued that I was in the crease the entire time. He said,"yeah but when he left the air he wasn't in the crease". Considering we were playing in a tournament where the winner goes to nationals, the refs had called a lot of light penalties on my team and nothing on the other team I'm pretty choked. Played the final period with half my face cut up and a numb jaw. I guess I should be happy I'm not concussed? At least we won.

If someone crashes into the goalie in his crease I call a goalie interference penalty whether it's on purpose or not unless he's propelled in by the opposition. A couple weeks ago in a roller hockey game I reffed, a player scored and then lost his balance and fell on the goalie. The goal stood because the ball was in before any contact was made, but I assessed a double minor for goalie interference even though it was accidental because there was significant contact. You have every right to be upset about the non-call, but congrats on the win.

 

[AD1066]

Last week, some try-hard took out my legs from behind after I beat him wide. Didn't come close to playing the puck. Crashed into the post and sprained my elbow. Thankfully it wasn't broken, but I'm going to be in a sling for a few weeks.

He got a two minute penalty, I got a bill for an ER visit.

 

[Ozz]

Last week, some try-hard took out my legs from behind after I beat him wide. Didn't come close to playing the puck. Crashed into the post and sprained my elbow. Thankfully it wasn't broken, but I'm going to be in a sling for a few weeks.

He got a two minute penalty, I got a bill for an ER visit.

Hope you have a speedy recovery. Been there done that from getting hit with high sticks a few times.

Reminds me of last year, one of our guys got smacked dead in the nose with a puck that was cleared from about 20 feet away. Of course he could have had a mask on, possibly a visor would've helped as well, but that was absolutely unnecessary especially considering the positioning of the play and everyone involved.

 

[Goonzilla]

Guys; someone got tripped, someone else got hit by a puck being cleared?

Did you both get lost on your way to tennis or miniature golf? Please.

 

[Ozz]

Guys; someone got tripped, someone else got hit by a puck being cleared?

Did you both get lost on your way to tennis or miniature golf? Please.

I don't know what goofs you play with, but people getting their noses broken isn't a common occurrence at any of the rinks I frequent.