This is actually my favorite thing about hockey. Once you learn to play (whenever that is), if you enjoy it you can continue playing as late in life as you are physically able to do so. In graduate school, between classes I used to go to open hockey at a rink near campus and one of the regulars at the mid-day skate was a guy in his eighties.
OT: What Is the Highest Level of Hockey You've Played?
- Thread starter Dingo44
- Start date
This is actually my favorite thing about hockey. Once you learn to play (whenever that is), if you enjoy it you can continue playing as late in life as you are physically able to do so. In graduate school, between classes I used to go to open hockey at a rink near campus and one of the regulars at the mid-day skate was a guy in his eighties.
brian_griffin
"Eric Cartman?"
The team from the early-mid 70's who played at Sabreland on the Boulevard in Wheatfiedl? I grew up a few blocks away.
HS buddy of mine, he said his parents went to a norsemen game where the goalie got cut on the neck by a skate. Does that ring a bell?
I only played street and winter pond as a kid. Moved down south and we started an adult street league through work, and got some outside friends to play. Would run full 3x20min pd games on a ~188' x 65' surface, with no substitutions so you got a true hour of cardio. Was able to do that ~15 years until we disbanded when I was ~42yo. A rink was built here halfway through that stint, and several of the guys moved back to ice. Several of the guys were Junior or Collegiate; their shots left the worst welts.
If I won the lottery and quit work, I'd join a developmental C/D league, although I'd probably need physical therapy. I can skate well enough for a lower league, my back/body just isn't flexible.
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Peak was Jr. B, I guess, and I finished up playing D1 ACHA. Came down to taking a weak "offer" from an NCAA d3 scenario or going to a much, much better school academically and playing club. I don't regret it at all. ACHA hockey was the most fun I had playing, anywhere, at any level.
Der Jaeger
Generational EBUG
Nada. Grew up with college season tickets (ECAC team) and watched a lot on TV with my parents hence the fandom. Ran track and cross country in high school. I'm not thickly built enough for hockey - around 5'11 150 in high school. I'd be killed. If I was a good fast twitch athlete maybe I could get away with being skinny but nope I ran distance and I have the explosiveness of the kids who wore birkenstocks to gym class.
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EichHart
Registered User
I played in high school and played in a league at the Harborcenter this summer. The harborcenter league had players of all talent levels, some that must have played at a very high level. I think some beer leagues around here are better than some college teams in the area.
Played in youth leagues from the ages of 7-15. Ball hockey.
Now I was playing in a pick up league but we haven't played for 2 months. 6 goals 3 assists in 5 games. Just need to improve my cardio, it's terrible. I'm a vaper
EDIT: I want to know who's the funny guy who said he played in the nhl. lol
Now I was playing in a pick up league but we haven't played for 2 months. 6 goals 3 assists in 5 games. Just need to improve my cardio, it's terrible. I'm a vaper
EDIT: I want to know who's the funny guy who said he played in the nhl. lol
Played at genny valley (for the rochester natives on here)...won a scholarship to play there free until middle school. Moved to greece ny tried to keep up with high school hockey for awhile but my folks couldn't afford it so I stopped and did softball and football instead. Hockey was always my favorite though so after high school I got back into beer league hockey. Had some great years and a league championship. Have stopped playing since I got a promotion, got engaged, and my dad died. More important things in life than beer league hockey...now I reminisce on the good times and try to be good at nhl games on my ps4...such is life.
Jim Bob
RIP RJ
When my wife and I started dating, she knew there were two things that I would never give up: 3 days a week of CrossFit and one night a week of hockey.
It helps not only keep me healthier, but I am in a better mood when I get to workout and play hockey.
Beer league starts up next Thursday. Can't wait.
I've been having fun jumping in with the drills and scrimmage segments of my son's bantam practices.
I played youth hockey til 19. Got cut from UB in tryouts in mid 70s due to physical issue.
off and on ice until my 30s.
in my 40s, I coached inline. I started playing inline in my late 40s.
I "retired" at 57, but would play again in a heartbeat. I found at 57, my hips started bothering me if I played in a scheduled league.
I miss the game.
off and on ice until my 30s.
in my 40s, I coached inline. I started playing inline in my late 40s.
I "retired" at 57, but would play again in a heartbeat. I found at 57, my hips started bothering me if I played in a scheduled league.
I miss the game.
Hockeyholic
Registered User
How knowledgeable are Buffalo hockey fans? Do they know what offside, icing are? Do bars ever show games on tv? I'm legitimately asking. Have no clue.
Der Jaeger
Generational EBUG
Extremely knowledgeable. Essentially Canadian.
Top three markets during the Stanley Cup:
1-2. WC Champion/EC Champion
3. Buffalo
Every year.
Seriously? Am I really supposed to consider these questions seriously? Come for a visit during the season and see for yourself. You'll think you were mistakenly rerouted to Saskatoon, SK rather than WNY.
Or any other mid sized Canadian city. The passion and KNOWLEDGE is unmatched ANYWHERE!
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I'm waiting for the next poll on what is the highest level that you've coached at.
Tier II Midget AA Major/High School Varsity..... However I annoy my beer league teammates constantly when I bench coach them too....... Don't think its a higher level in this instance.
I'm betting our paths might have crossed in youth hockey. I played for Hutch Tech. Also on a scrub team that played in a league with the Buffalo Regals, Sloan Rangers, Amherst Knights, etc.. Early 70's mostly.
We used to practice over in Ft Erie at like 3:00 a.m. on Saturday mornings..........
I'm still playing old man's hockey. So many of us are carrying 20-30 lbs extra over our old playing weight. Probably why my knees kill me afterwards.....
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I'll bet our paths did cross, then. I played for Kensington HS.
The old Ft. Erie barn... I remember it well. No glass, just a wavy curvy fence around the rink, that matched the wavy, curvy boards.
One time, twelve of us got on an NFT bus near our home to go the Ft. Erie barn. We couldn't find any parents to drive us... we got off the bus at Genesee and Niagara and walked across the Peace Bridge with our gear. We played for a couple of hours, walked back across with our gear and caught the bus home.
The Canadian customs guys were laughing their ***** off. They thought it was the coolest thing that a bunch of kids would walk to Canada to play pickup hockey. I remember they didn't even check our equipment bags. I used to carry my gear back then in a big green army duffel bag. Pads over my shoulders.
I'm carrying that same extra weight. When I tried out for UB, I weighed a whopping 127 pounds. If I turned sideways, I disappeared.
The UB trainers and doctor kept asking me where I had played, if I had played before because I was so damn skinny. I was Gary Bromley without the height. lol
Those were the days. We could play all goddamn day and never get tired.
Remember the West Seneca Cougars? I missed the final cut for that team. My brother was one of their stars. My only glory from that team was that I designed their Cougar jersey logo. I still have that jersey, #27.
I played in a bunch of men's leagues against Sloan, Amherst, etc.
I'll bet our paths did cross, then. I played for Kensington HS.
The old Ft. Erie barn... I remember it well. No glass, just a wavy curvy fence around the rink, that matched the wavy, curvy boards.
One time, twelve of us got on an NFT bus near our home to go the Ft. Erie barn. We couldn't find any parents to drive us... we got off the bus at Genesee and Niagara and walked across the Peace Bridge with our gear. We played for a couple of hours, walked back across with our gear and caught the bus home.
The Canadian customs guys were laughing their ***** off. They thought it was the coolest thing that a bunch of kids would walk to Canada to play pickup hockey. I remember they didn't even check our equipment bags. I used to carry my gear back then in a big green army duffel bag. Pads over my shoulders.
I'm carrying that same extra weight. When I tried out for UB, I weighed a whopping 127 pounds. If I turned sideways, I disappeared.
The UB trainers and doctor kept asking me where I had played, if I had played before because I was so damn skinny. I was Gary Bromley without the height. lol
Those were the days. We could play all goddamn day and never get tired.
Remember the West Seneca Cougars? I missed the final cut for that team. My brother was one of their stars. My only glory from that team was that I designed their Cougar jersey logo. I still have that jersey, #27.
I played in a bunch of men's leagues against Sloan, Amherst, etc.
Amazing! I attended Hutch Tech but would have gone to Kensington if I hadn't. I lived on Erskine Street just 3 blocks away from the High School. As kids we played touch football, climbed around the building on those brick ledges, climbed the trees on the lawn all the time. Many of my friends from elementary school went to Kensington. Including my cousins who lived on Roosevelt (where the outdoor rink was located.)
Great Ft Erie story. At 3:00 am they just waved us across. Coming back was sometimes a problem because the US guys were always on the lookout for people who bought new skates at Reids and wanted to avoid the duty. Crossing the border today is nightmare by comparison.
Remember the Cougars. I wasn't in their league. I believe the old rink they played at is still standing and still privately owned.
One of my elementary school mates was on the UB team when I was in college there. Ronnie Reisweber. Natural gifted athlete. The closest I got to that team was taking ice skating as my required UB physical fitness requirement under the tutelage of the UB Hockey coach (really good guy.... Can't remember his name off hand) All the girls who took the class hated my guts because I could skate and they couldn't. Should have been a real opportunity to pick up chicks but most of them were pretty ugly. I think it was held at Sabreland in N. Tonawanda.
PM me sometime and we'll compare some names and events.....
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PlamsUnlimited
Big Church Bells
I skated with some guys in the SPHL for a while, not "real" games but pickups so I guess that. Organized I played in a high end bar league until I broke my foot
I got a bunch of my equipment at Reid's when I first started playing.
I remember the name Ronnie Reisweber. I don't remember if I ever played against him or not. I used to go to so many "skate and shoot" open sessions. I was target practice for a bunch of players; some awesome, and some that stumbled in to about 6 feet away and blazed away.
Been too many years.will do.
La Cosa Nostra
Caporegime
- Jun 25, 2009
- 14,075
- 2,336
Tier 2 SB teams pretty much squirt to midget though when they added the extra midget year I actually didn't play it to party instead. In fact my last year of Midget AA for Bud Bakewell I would skip weekend games at the usual Jamestown, Fredonia type games because no way was I missing going out as a high school senior to waste Friday and Saturday nights playing a game that wasn't even fun for me anymore.
Tonawanda Lightning, North Buffalo THUNDERCATS (**** outta here with that merger, I played when it was north Buffalo AND BISONS at Nichols) then Bud Bakewell.
Tonawanda Lightning, North Buffalo THUNDERCATS (**** outta here with that merger, I played when it was north Buffalo AND BISONS at Nichols) then Bud Bakewell.
haseoke39
Registered User
- Mar 29, 2011
- 13,938
- 2,491
Sometimes Buffalo ranks #2, depending on what markets made the Finals that year. I remember we beat out Jersey when they last went, IIRC.
CarlWinslow
@hiphopsicles
I never made it very far in ice hockey.
In ball hockey I've been to Westerns and had a Nationals invite this past season.
Canada though.
In ball hockey I've been to Westerns and had a Nationals invite this past season.
Canada though.
Ethan Edwards
Registered User
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