Outdoor Hockey Etiquette

[foofighter15]

Originally Posted by Hesla

Wildwood Rink in the SW has daily floods..... but it can get extremely busy. I used to play there about 20 to 30 times a year and there would always be the same group of guys out.

Anyone know any good rinks in the Woodbine/Braeside area?

back in the day there was one down the street from Mac's and Pizza hut at the community centre in braeside.
I think there is one at the Cedarbrae community centre as well.
I'll always be partial to OakRidge tho because you can get your gear on inside

[Locke]

Originally Posted by metal_geek

You should see the look on the kids faces when I lay my best toe drag on um!!... I'm MARIO FREAKING LEMIEUX!!!

On a side note, alot of the lake communities have machine flooded ice.. Of course someof them you have to live there or know someone does to get on it...

You should see the look on the kids' faces when they see the big "Scott Stevens" open-icer headed their way.

If you can imagine the fear of death in an 8 year old's eyes, thats the look......

See if he tries splitting the D vs. me ever again.....

[Hakan]

Wonderful article on shinny hockey from the Walrus magazine and contains some ethics for the game:

http://www.walrusmagazine.com/articl...pickup-sticks/

If someone is hung up on formalities, there’ll be a faceoff. More often, a player on one team will just slide the game puck over to someone on the other team as the signal to start playing. The first minutes tend to be chaotic and confused, as players figure out who exactly their teammates are, who is playing where, and who is worth passing to — all the while skating too hard, too fast because it feels so good to be out on the ice again.

Gradually, the game evens out and hits its stride. Coordinated rushes explode out of own zones as if practised for months. Rinkwide passes land on the blades they were intended for as if sent FedEx. Shots wend their way through impossible forests of skates and sticks as if pulled by an invisible thread.

Some nights, the nights when the rink is dominated by eighteen- to twentyfive- year-olds blessed with endless cardio and strong hockey skills, it will be almost forbiddingly fast. Other nights, when the mix is, well, more mixed — an eleven-year-old tagging along behind his older brother and his buddies, a few women in figure skates, maybe another not-so-young dad out on evening leave, perhaps a guy who is even older, creaking around for what is clearly the first time in years — it will be, if anything, too slow.

But usually a game will be both fast and slow. In the unwritten code of pickup hockey, democracy is primordial: anyone who shows up gets to play. If a player isn’t very good, the game might whir around them at a dizzying speed. But once they pick up a loose puck or are fed a pass, the game will decelerate abruptly. They’ll be allowed to skate a little, take a shot, or make a pass themselves. It’s a nurturing gesture one wouldn’t expect from a group of mostly young men, and it suggests that their own first forays onto the intimidating ice to play with the big kids are still fresh in their memories. And if someone is so unschooled in rink etiquette as to strip the weaker player of the puck as soon as he gets it, that person — typically a thirteen- or fourteen-yearold hotshot — will usually have the puck unceremoniously stripped from him, often by his own teammate, and see it returned to the weaker player.

These accommodations, coupled with constantly changing lineups as new players come and winded players go and trades are made to even out teams in terms of strength and number, mean that nobody takes the score seriously, if they bother keeping track of it at all. It is thus understood that all goals are not equal — players will pass up an easy tap-in and instead try an elegant deke or spinarama, a drop pass, or a tic-tac-toe. In this way, pickup is more about the beauty of hockey than any final result.

[pope04]

Nice find, Hakan. Thanks.

[SarichFan]

That's a good read but not intirely accurate. I give guys time and space to make passes. I get the puck on my stick and I get poke checked instantly. Which is why my best asset out there it to pass it off instantly. As long as I know who's on my team and where they are when I get the puck.

I consider myself a master passer

[Sainters7]

Here's another one, from a goalie's point of view. If there's like 10 or more of you there, as soon as a goalie steps onto the ice, don't suddenly all line up at centre ice, getting ready for 10-15 mins of shootouts. I know people love to do em, but breakaways are NOT fun for a goalie...at all. Maybe for a couple minutes to get warmed up, but the constant up and down every 7 or 8 seconds just kills you. This happens to me all the time, eventually I get annoyed and yell at em to start a f***** game already.

Plus, warm me up at first for God's sake before a shootout. Like line up at different spots and fire pucks at me first so I don't tear somethin when trying to stretch out to stop someone thinking they're Pavel Bure with seven or eight dekes as soon as I set foot on the ice. Haha sorry to vent, but this stuff happens all the time when I bust out the goalie gear and it drives me nuts, people just love the shootouts.

[SarichFan]

Just leave the net to let them know you're tired and have a break. Don't even say anything.

The other night we had a goalie and switched between long shots and breakaways, when he got tired he just went to the side, and relaxed.

But yeah, I agree with you Sainters. I think it's because people are excited to see a goalie out there they don't think about the man behind the mask. lol

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by Hesla

Wildwood Rink in the SW has daily floods..... but it can get extremely busy. I used to play there about 20 to 30 times a year and there would always be the same group of guys out.

Anyone know any good rinks in the Woodbine/Braeside area?

I dont know of one specifically there, but I lived close to there, in Canyon Meadows, and theres a beaut there. I havent lived there for four years now so I can't remember exactly where it is, but I believe its just off of Canyon Meadows Dr(haha sorry, I know thats no help, I havent lived in Calgary in three years. Hopefully someone knows what I mean and can fill you in). Its next to Canyon Meadows community centre I believe, its a great rink...two rinks actually. Great flood lights, nice nets, blue/red lines, benches, even an indoor dressing room thats always never locked. Plus they have a button you can hit to keep the lights on, so you dont have to worry about dispersing at 10 or 11pm. I miss that rink. All the ones I've found here in Edmonton, you actually have to PAY to use($2 or $3).

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by SarichFan

Just leave the net to let them know you're tired and have a break. Don't even say anything.

The other night we had a goalie and switched between long shots and breakaways, when he got tired he just went to the side, and relaxed.

But yeah, I agree with you Sainters. I think it's because people are excited to see a goalie out there they don't think about the man behind the mask. lol

Haha oh yeah I know, people look SO excited when they see me walkin up with pads over my shoulders, its all good. I actually love tendin' goal in outdoor games, once we get all the shootout crap out of the way and get the game goin.

Oh and here's a tip to other "of age" people who play goal in outdoor games, especially when the temp gets to about -15 or lower: you tend to not warm up as fast, especially if there's another goalie too so not everyone's firin at you, so theres periods of time when you stand around alot, freezin. So what I'd do is bring two water bottles; one full of water, and one full of four or five shots of Crown, seriously(obviously just for night games). Haha its amazing how much warmer it'd keep me, and how much extra fire I'd have in net, good times. Obviously a strategy you won't want to employ if you're playing daily haha, as that could lead to some health problems. But the odd time, especially on a weekend when it's ice cold out there, I was always happy to have it there.

[foofighter15]

Originally Posted by Sainters7

Haha oh yeah I know, people look SO excited when they see me walkin up with pads over my shoulders, its all good. I actually love tendin' goal in outdoor games, once we get all the shootout crap out of the way and get the game goin.

Sounds to me like your volunteering for the outdoor game we are going to have

[foofighter15]

Actually, on that topic. Why don't we actually set it up.
Why don't we meet somewhere at noon and play on Sunday, then go watch the game after?
I'd vote Silver Springs because its the best one around shanks north

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by foofighter15

Sounds to me like your volunteering for the outdoor game we are going to have

I'd love to if I still lived in Calgary, I'm up in Edmonton. Depends when it is, as I'm probably gonna head down to Calgary at some point over the holidays.

[foofighter15]

you should head down on sunday

[foofighter15]

Wait. Sunday's I can't! Lets not do a Sunday....

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by foofighter15

you should head down on sunday

As in this Sunday? I'd like to but thats not gonna work. I just finished up my last final exam yesterday so I'm a little light in the yen right now. I was thinkin about comin down after Christmas in a couple weeks when I've got a solid paycheque under my belt after workin fulltime for a couple weeks.

[rubecube]

Anyone play at the Queensland rink? I live in Deer Ridge and haven't played in years but I'm thinking of picking up some skates and giving it another go.

[Ch40s]

Originally Posted by SarichFan

5) Don't be a puck hog.. You make yourself look like a giant tool if you try to go coast to coast more than once or twice.

Excuse me?

I'm all for spreading the puck around and passing to even the bad players, but since when am I obligated to not try my best and put a few moves on?

If I want to make the other team's defense look like crap, I'm going to. With that being said I don't want to take away from the other players on my team by never passing..

I have fun going end to end, others have fun trying to stop me defensively and also getting open for a pass.

(That said hogging the puck and going end to end regularly is selfish and I try to avoid it, but when the opportunity arises and teammates are lagging behind.. well I'm going to go for it)

[SarichFan]

Originally Posted by Ch40s

Excuse me?

I'm all for spreading the puck around and passing to even the bad players, but since when am I obligated to not try my best and put a few moves on?

I'm there for my enjoyment, not others. If I want to make the other team's defense look like crap, I'm going to. With that being said I don't want to take away from the other players on my team by never passing..

Then you're exactly the type of person this thread is intended for, and also the type of person i'd love to hip check as you attempt to go by me...

If you go solely for your own enjoyment you should stay at home, it's a community thing and I go to be part of the game, not THE game. I love setting people up rather than being selfish.

[moon]

Originally Posted by Ch40s

Excuse me?

I'm all for spreading the puck around and passing to even the bad players, but since when am I obligated to not try my best and put a few moves on?

I'm there for my enjoyment, not others. If I want to make the other team's defense look like crap, I'm going to. With that being said I don't want to take away from the other players on my team by never passing..

I am sure that part of your enjoyment is playing with others and if you play like a dick, I am not sure there will be a lot of others there for you to play with.

If passing the puck and trying to ensure that everyone has fun is too much to expect from you, perhaps Outdoor hockey isn't for you.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Ch40s

Excuse me?

I'm all for spreading the puck around and passing to even the bad players, but since when am I obligated to not try my best and put a few moves on?

I'm there for my enjoyment, not others. If I want to make the other team's defense look like crap, I'm going to. With that being said I don't want to take away from the other players on my team by never passing..

So you're probably about 16? 17? Talk about self-centered.