Dealing with Long & Short Benches In Beer League

[nickerjones]

I play a lot of beer league. The most frustrating things for teams is how random the numbers are each game. So tried our best to lay-out each situation to make a universal guide on how to deal with having 6 - 14 guys on any given night. Any other suggestions ?


Seven beer league players

Fairly similar to the above scenario, except that you can dedicate one sub to forward and one to defense. Buy plenty of ice for the beer and try your level best. The forwards should change for the next available without set positions, although the personnel on the ice at any time can make adjustments. With three defense, have the first change occur on a half-shift (about 45 seconds into the game) to establish a three-player rotation. It helps to have the new guy go the side furthest from the bench.
Eight Players

This is going to be every game during the dog days of the season, especially the summer season. You’ll have 13 players signed in at 8:00am and by 10:00pm it will be down to eight. Because of course it will. The split here is to have five forwards and three defense. Forwards should change for next available and defense should rotate three as described in the above scenario for seven players.
Nine players

Nine isn’t so bad because you will be able to set two dedicated lines of forwards. The defense will run the three player rotation used for seven or eight players.
10 players

This is considered the ideal number of players for a beer league hockey team game. This gives you two dedicated lines of forwards as well as two dedicated defense pairs.
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[Filthy Dangles]

Find more reliable players who show up to games.

Two forward lines and two d pairings for 10 is probablt the ideal number for beer league. Anything short of that, I usually lean towards having more forwards because more skating is involved. Especially if your bettter players are on defense, they can play more minutes.

I play on a team where we have 8 pretty commonly and we usually go 5F and 3D. Even when we have 9 guys, we will go 6F and 3D. Might not fit your team but it does ours.

 

[Dueling Banjos]

Find more reliable players who show up to games.

Two forward lines and two d pairings for 10 is probablt the ideal number for beer league. Anything short of that, I usually lean towards having more forwards because more skating is involved. Especially if your bettter players are on defense, they can play more minutes.

I play on a team where we have 8 pretty commonly and we usually go 5F and 3D. Even when we have 9 guys, we will go 6F and 3D. Might not fit your team but it does ours.

Always. Only option if you ask me.

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

The problem with Beer League/Public Hockey is the lack of communication between teammates.

 

[JustJokinenAround]

The problem with Beer League/Public Hockey is the lack of communication between teammates.

i find the biggest problem is we just aren't very good

 

[beedee]

I find the biggest problem to be 11:30pm game times, having at least 8 skaters, other teams having ringers, etc..

 

[tarheelhockey]

I favor this setup:

6 players = just keep rotating positions, pickup-style

4F / 3D
5F / 3D
2LW - 2C - 2RW / 3D
2LW - 2C - 2RW / 4D
2LW - 3C - 2RW / 4D
3LW - 2C - 3RW / 4D
3LW - 3C - 3RW / 4D

14+ players = knock it off, this is beer league not the NHL

with 11 players, I prefer the 3-centers setup with the expectation that the centers are going to go balls-to-the-wall with short shifts. In a beer league environment, that can tilt a game by the 3rd period.

 

[expy]

We only ever have 10 or 11 players including the goalie on our teams.
We call people up if we need subs.

More than that is a bit excessive, but in D1, you need to have enough players in the bench to at least provide a decent rotation, otherwise your team will get extremely tired out.

 

[Outl4w]

My second beer league that I cannot have fun on due to having too many players wants a minimum of 13 each game. They have 15 guys rostered and only want to have 4 defenseman and the rest play forward .Being the best forward on the team and 2nd best player it gets boring watching d/beginners play more than you because they play d in a c league. The league is set where it is the same cost no matter how many players on the team and the cost is 280 per players for 14 games no playoffs with 45 minutes run clock. Most teams I have ever played on only kept 11 or 12 guys on the roster and it was rare all showed up. Usually is 9 + 1 sub or 10 and no sub. So I am just going to drop to playing one night per week at a better rink and league. We had 13 guys and they added 2 more which makes no since to me.

 

[Yukon Joe]

Weird. My league we hardly ever have less than 10 skaters - in fact I don't know if we ever have barring a mid-game injury. I mean yes we have guys flake out. We have a roster of 18 (including 2 goalies who alternate) but have never, ever had every single guy show up. Hell we have one guy who signed up at the start of the year, paid his fees in full, and yet by mid-December has never shown up.

Personally I think the ideal would be to have 14 skaters: 9 forwards where you can run three full lines, and 5 D. Personally I like skating as hard as you can, then get the f*** off the ice. Now that being said we have rarely ever had that many guys.

So last night we had 11 skaters. So D was easy: take our 4 D and you have two pairs. For the 7 forwards we had our strongest two guys playing centre and just shifting each other off, and the remaining 5 wingers just rotated through. So there's no consistent lines but that's more of a luxury.

I have played shinny with 7-8 guys, but I don't know how much fun that even is - everyone is just kind of coasting around, it doesn't quite feel like hockey. But maybe that's just my perspective - I'm a new player with very little skill, so I try to make up for it with hard work and sometimes I can catch someone napping. More skilled players can probably get away with just cruising at 50% effort.

 

[ilyazhito]

Speaking of bench players, do beer league teams have backup goalies? I believe they don't, because then there would be no reason for the leagues to have substitute goalie lists, but I could be wrong.

 

[Yukon Joe]

Speaking of bench players, do beer league teams have backup goalies? I believe they don't, because then there would be no reason for the leagues to have substitute goalie lists, but I could be wrong.

So my own beer league team has two goalies (I wouldn't call anyone a backup though - everyone pays, everyone plays). That's because we have two goalies who want to play but know they can't commit to the marge majority of all games. But most teams just have one goalie and call around for a backup if/when needed.

The issue can be for playoffs though. In my own league you can't just bring in new players for playoffs - they have to have played X number of regular season games (I think ours is 10), or else you can only bring in someone who already plays in the same level/division as your current team. I think a lot of leagues have something broadly similar. And since goalie is the single most important position, if your goalie is unavailable for playoffs that becomes a major issue.

 

[ilyazhito]

That's awesome. It's a pity that 2 goalies is not common, because that would be perfect for when 1 goalie is hurt or unavailable. The other goalie is already dressed and steps in. Then, the sub goalies become EBUGs available to the other team, just like in the NHL, assuming both teams have a 2nd goalie. 2 goalies would also give a chance for a less experienced goalie to practice with a higher level team, and play a normal game with his lower-level team.

 

[Yukon Joe]

That's awesome. It's a pity that 2 goalies is not common, because that would be perfect for when 1 goalie is hurt or unavailable. The other goalie is already dressed and steps in. Then, the sub goalies become EBUGs available to the other team, just like in the NHL, assuming both teams have a 2nd goalie. 2 goalies would also give a chance for a less experienced goalie to practice with a higher level team, and play a normal game with his lower-level team.

I perhaps didn't explain well. My team at least has two goalies on the roster - but only one shows up to play. The other guy just doesn't show. Because this is beer league hockey - it would suck to show up, dress, and not play. Like I said - 'if you pay, you play'. (though I'm 99% sure our goalies don't pay). Everyone gets equal ice time regardless of skill (to which I am very grateful as my skill level is very low).

Sub goalies are just guys (almost exclusively, though girl goalies do exist) on a list. If you know in advance your goalie can't make it you start working the list in advance. In 4 years I've never seen it happen that a goalie just can't continue, though I'm sure it's happened at some point. I suspect though that if a goalie is injured but not too badly they just don't play aggressively - they just stay on their feet, for example, no matter what.

And "practice with a higher level team"? This is beer league son. Occasionally someone books some ice time, or sets up some time on the Out Door Rink. But as a general rule we don't practice - we just play games. Badly.

 

[ilyazhito]

Say a beer leaguer gets good and wants to move up from a D-level team to a C or B level team. Does he register with the league for a higher level? Does he try to contact captains at the higher level?

 

[Yukon Joe]

Say a beer leaguer gets good and wants to move up from a D-level team to a C or B level team. Does he register with the league for a higher level? Does he try to contact captains at the higher level?

So I have three kids who play minor hockey. They have to go through evaluations every fall where their skill and talent gets assessed, and they're placed with a team that matches their skill level.

None of that happens in adult rec hockey. Teams signs up by themselves. In some leagues you can sign up as an individual player and teams can pick you up to play with them, but there's little to no skill assessment.

So yes - if you want to play at a higher level you just reach out and talk to the higher level teams. Generally speaking teams are always looking for more players.

But generally, people are more interested in playing with their friends and buddies, rather than what level they are playing at. As well, a lot of people seem to prefer being a C-level player playing on a D-level team where they can perform well, rather than being a C-level player struggling on a B-level team.


Finally, I find it's hard to "get better" as an adult. My kids do tons of practices, extra practices, hockey camps, skill development, the whole shebang. Virtually none of that exists for adult rec players. What private coaching is available all seems geared towards pro players, not beer league duffers trying to get better. But maybe your experience is different.

 

[HansonBro]

I think the perfect scenario is 6 forwards and 5 D.

I got lucky on two teams when I was just starting to play goalie. It just so happened that the current goalies also wanted to play out. So we just rotated each game. We always brought both sets of gear just in case, so technically we did have a backup

 

[Yukon Joe]

I think the perfect scenario is 6 forwards and 5 D.

That's an odd alignment. The usual thinking is D skate less so are able to play more than forwards.

With 11 skaters I would either just rotate 7 forwards, or else rotate 3 centres with two sets of wingers.

 

[HansonBro]

That's an odd alignment. The usual thinking is D skate less so are able to play more than forwards.

With 11 skaters I would either just rotate 7 forwards, or else rotate 3 centres with two sets of wingers.

Its just my preference. As a forward I want to stay engaged and as a D I dont mind the extra rest every two shifts.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Say a beer leaguer gets good and wants to move up from a D-level team to a C or B level team. Does he register with the league for a higher level? Does he try to contact captains at the higher level?

Most leagues don't have any true mechanism for that. One league by me has a 'Free Agent's page where you submit your information, levle of play and nights you are available but i've heard that no one uses it.

So you would most likely have to know someone who runs those teams or try and get in contact with them

 

[Filthy Dangles]

That's awesome. It's a pity that 2 goalies is not common, because that would be perfect for when 1 goalie is hurt or unavailable. The other goalie is already dressed and steps in. Then, the sub goalies become EBUGs available to the other team, just like in the NHL, assuming both teams have a 2nd goalie. 2 goalies would also give a chance for a less experienced goalie to practice with a higher level team, and play a normal game with his lower-level team.

??

It's beer league hockey, only one goalie is going to show up or dress for a game. But most teams have an additional goalie on standby in case the main guy can't make it.

In fact, most leagues will let any Joe play goal for a team because it's obviously imperative a team has a goalie, even if he's not on the official roster. We've had to pry a goalie from another team who played the previous game before. Or call a goalie who didn't even play in the league and it wasn't a problem

 

[ilyazhito]

??

It's beer league hockey, only one goalie is going to show up or dress for a game. But most teams have an additional goalie on standby in case the main guy can't make it.

In fact, most leagues will let any Joe play goal for a team because it's obviously imperative a team has a goalie, even if he's not on the official roster. We've had to pry a goalie from another team who played the previous game before. Or call a goalie who didn't even play in the league and it wasn't a problem

Do they also pull people from the street for playoffs? I've looked through the rules for the adult leagues local to me, and there is a minimum game count to be considered eligible. 4 games for the summer season and 6 for the winter season. I've also read that at least one league has players sign in before games with ID to check in, and that's for both regular season and playoffs. That said, it's beer league, so I don't know how well league and rink staff will actually monitor things.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Do they also pull people from the street for playoffs? I've looked through the rules for the adult leagues local to me, and there is a minimum game count to be considered eligible. 4 games for the summer season and 6 for the winter season. I've also read that at least one league has players sign in before games with ID to check in, and that's for both regular season and playoffs. That said, it's beer league, so I don't know how well league and rink staff will actually monitor things.

They're much more laxxed with goalies as you can't play without one and a beer league goalie probably isn't going to steal the show and influence the game that much. As long as the team is paid up and everything they really don't care. Skaters are different story, no one likes ringers sandbagging a few divisions down.

 

[ilyazhito]

Tell that to someone whose team got shut out in a beer league playoff game. All kidding aside, beer league and competitive hockey are two different beasts. I'm not even sure how a goalie could sandbag, not that they would want to.

 

[RandV]

For the odd 11 skaters routine my team has usually done 3D-2C-6W. Lower div team so D and C are usually the better players. C's sit on the PK, wings skate hard, and if we ever get 14-15 skaters the extras go to D.