Rangerland Forum Information

[ideserveabeer]

I know there is a thread for rec. hockey but I thought this was thread worthy. Feel free to merge if necessary. Anyway, this was the way i started playing hockey, on feet at a rink in Oakdale, NY. After that came Centereach, Miller Place, East Setauket, Bayport and Patchogue/Medford before finally getting into roller hockey. There are still a few hard core dek players out there but back in the late 80s and early 90s, this hockey ruled on Long Island. Nobody played roller hockey and roller blades were just starting to pop up. Mylec made a fortune off of the "air flow" stick and the shin pads made just for street or dek hockey. Not to mention their helmets but I always favored one of those light Jofa helmets, they felt better wearing them then the Mylec brand. And I didn't wear hockey gloves, just a pair of gardening gloves would be fine.

This is a video from Tansboro, NJ. I played here in a couple of tournaments. Tournaments were intense.



This post has been edited by ideserveabeer: Nov 28 2007, 03:48 PM

[hoser]

Ahhhh, yes. We called it floor hockey growing up. Man, tough sport. Sprint, sprint, sprint. But yeah, lots of fun. Didn't wear gloves. I remember bending those plastic blades until they made practically 90 degree angles.

[leedsy99]

I pretty much lived at the Miller Place rink from age 13-18, right up to the time I went to college. I played on dozens of travel teams in tournaments all over, though I'm still sad that I missed the Canadian tournament because I was playing lacrosse, where Patrick Roy and some of the other Canadians showed up to play the adult teams. I kept playing through my twenties, right up until I left for law school four years ago. I'd probably go find a league to play in right now, except I have no money for league fees (and I'm insanely depressed that I'd officially qualify for the same old timer league that my Dad played in 25 years ago when I first started playing). Plus it's somewhat depressing to play these days because none of the kids play, so it's usually just the same core of 20 guys in a competitive league or you end up playing against a bunch of drunken hacks that would just assume as break your hands than let you stick-handle around them. None of the kids these days want to play, and with more opportunities to play ice hockey on Long Island now than I had growing up, they'd rather play that. If I get a local job in the next few months and anyone has a team nearby that needs a ringer, let me know.

[ideserveabeer]

I pretty much lived at the Miller Place rink from age 13-18, right up to the time I went to college. I played on dozens of travel teams in tournaments all over, though I'm still sad that I missed the Canadian tournament because I was playing lacrosse, where Patrick Roy and some of the other Canadians showed up to play the adult teams. I kept playing through my twenties, right up until I left for law school four years ago. I'd probably go find a league to play in right now, except I have no money for league fees (and I'm insanely depressed that I'd officially qualify for the same old timer league that my Dad played in 25 years ago when I first started playing). Plus it's somewhat depressing to play these days because none of the kids play, so it's usually just the same core of 20 guys in a competitive league or you end up playing against a bunch of drunken hacks that would just assume as break your hands than let you stick-handle around them. None of the kids these days want to play, and with more opportunities to play ice hockey on Long Island now than I had growing up, they'd rather play that. If I get a local job in the next few months and anyone has a team nearby that needs a ringer, let me know.

What years were those when you where there? You probably know a lot of the guys I played with. We won 2 Christmas tournaments at Miller Place in the mid-90s, back to back. Those were great tournaments. The first we won in OT after having the game tied late in the 3rd. The 2nd we won going away. We played a trap, defensive game. We had one awesome, amazing player, Kevin Masters, and a bunch of really good players (John Ferazzi, Eric Quinn, Billy Britenbecker, John Dagastino (RIP)). Our goalie (Bob Evers) was solid, we'd get the lead and then we'd use what we called the "Masters Trap." Dump it in, have Kev chase like crazy and the 4 other guys would hang back at center and in the D zone. Worked almost all the time. I missed the Can-Am tournaments in Canada as well, but I heard they were out of control. I heard the fans would spit on you and be generally out of control.

Kevin Masters is a dek hockey legend. I have video tape, if I knew how to get them online I'd post them on YouTube.

Who knows, we may have crossed paths at one time. And you are right, I've seen some dek teams playing in some places and it the same 20 guys. I last played about 10 years or so ago at E. Setauket. We won the title and that was it, I moved on to roller.

This post has been edited by ideserveabeer: Nov 28 2007, 10:03 PM

[Trademarked15]

now this is the rec hockey that i can relate to! ive spent the better part of the last 9 or 10 years playing a dek hockey league at my local church, and for the last 3 years-ish, once winter comes along me and my buddies usually play pickup games at my old elementary school parking lot 2 or 3 times a week. speaking of which we need to start doing that again...

anyhoo, we're planning on forming a team for a league at SportsArena out on Long Island next summer, anyone have any experience with that place? if so, how is it?

[leedsy99]

What years were those when you where there? You probably know a lot of the guys I played with. We won 2 Christmas tournaments at Miller Place in the mid-90s, back to back.

I stopped playing there around 1991 when I went to school. The place really went downhill around then because it kept changing owners, repairs weren't getting done, and they completely lost the family element by making it uncomfortable for spectators. I'm sure I know a bunch of the guys still playing there around that time. I think I played once in one of those Christmas tournaments (or "jamboree" in dek hockey parlance), because I remember meeting one of my buddies in a bar or something and getting roped in, only it snowed that day so the dek was a mess and my team was a disaster; I think we ended forfeiting our remaining games.

Kevin Masters is a dek hockey legend. I have video tape, if I knew how to get them online I'd post them on YouTube.

I know Masters. He was amazing because he was like one of the fastest white dudes I've seen, and he played in like jeans and Sketchers or Airwalks or some other clunky sneaker. And he played with his stick backwards! Totally forgot about that. He was awesome, but I never had too hard of a time playing against him because you knew he couldn't shoot. He was like playing against a really quick point guard that, as long as you didn't let him behind you, he couldn't score. I remember when I first started playing against him people tried to warn me and I was like "That's the dude? Really?" Then I tried to stop him once at the redline and he blew past me like a breeze. It was more impressive what he could do without playing the right way. He was a freak.

Who knows, we may have crossed paths at one time. And you are right, I've seen some dek teams playing in some places and it the same 20 guys. I last played about 10 years or so ago at E. Setauket. We won the title and that was it, I moved on to roller.

Probably played against you, and if so, f**k you for slashing my hands. The place in Setauket was that little box, right? Hated that place because it was turn and fire. At the time I was playing in Smithtown too, which is like an Olympic sized rink. It was crazy.

[leedsy99]

anyhoo, we're planning on forming a team for a league at SportsArena out on Long Island next summer, anyone have any experience with that place? if so, how is it?

That's where I played before law school. Haven't been there in almost four years, but it was decent when I was there. The problem I had with that place was that I started in the A League, and I was on one of the two stacked teams that no one else could compete with, so it was the same 20 guys beating the hell out of each other every season. The lower leagues were pretty good, though, if you're just a bunch of guys f**king around.

[Papagolash]

There was a hockey rink in Oakdale? That's my town! Where was it?

[Hockey101]

Hehe, that's my kind of hockey that i used to play with my friend in his neighborhood. It was just shoes, hockey stick, Franklin ball/puck, and play.

To think that i played goalie at first, during the cold winter, with just a jacket, baseball glove, and at first a normal hockey stick, then i got the goalie stick. Now that was fun. Painful at time on the legs and arms, but fun.

[Ian]

Yep, I loved that Bayport arena, although it was pretty much a piece of shit. The first year I ever played in an organized non-ice league was at Faceoff and it was still played as straight dek hockey. I think the year after I joined we moved to regular roller hockey with a ball, and then like a year later we made the move to puck, right before they tried that stupid skate park thing and went out of business because Cookie was a crack head.

Also that Centereach rink was awesome. That's pretty much where I learned to skate, although I used to use old quad style skates for so long, was so weird getting used to inline.

Trademarked, what church was it, St Joes? I believe that was like the big roller hockey one, I played a season there maybe 5-6 year ago. Sports Arena isn't too bad also, the dek hockey there usually seems pretty active. The team I usually play with played roller there for probably 2-3 years, but last year we decided to move over to World Gym in Setauket. Price is a little lower, plus my main problem with Sports Arena is the rink is pretty shitty for roller, always seems dirty and sandy.

[ideserveabeer]

There was a hockey rink in Oakdale? That's my town! Where was it?

Right off of Sunrise, behind Sunrise Toyota. It was a dump but I loved playing there. One night Kelly Hrudey showed up and he was playing forward for some team. It was during the summer.

[Yep, I loved that Bayport arena, although it was pretty much a piece of shit. The first year I ever played in an organized non-ice league was at Faceoff and it was still played as straight dek hockey. I think the year after I joined we moved to regular roller hockey with a ball, and then like a year later we made the move to puck, right before they tried that stupid skate park thing and went out of business because Cookie was a crack head.

This is where I made the switch over to roller. They played with a ball back then, I don't think they perfected the pucks just yet. Plus the surface was concrete, not sure how well the puck would have worked. Probably OK.

I think I played once in one of those Christmas tournaments (or "jamboree" in dek hockey parlance), because I remember meeting one of my buddies in a bar or something and getting roped in, only it snowed that day so the dek was a mess and my team was a disaster; I think we ended forfeiting our remaining games.

Yes, that was the 2nd time we won. There was a snowstorm that weekend. There were like snow drifts in the corners and stuff. I remember waiting around for a game and Jay Meachem, who worked at every dek rink in the world I think, was yelling at Masters that he wasn't coming down there with his group of nobodies and winning again. Wrong.

Jamborees were different then tournaments. Those were shorter games and every penalty was a penalty shot. I loved playing in those. I was more of a defensive player and I was asked to play in these tournaments because of that. We'd load up with offensive guys and I'd be the one guy staying back.

I know Masters. He was amazing because he was like one of the fastest white dudes I've seen, and he played in like jeans and Sketchers or Airwalks or some other clunky sneaker. And he played with his stick backwards! Totally forgot about that. He was awesome, but I never had too hard of a time playing against him because you knew he couldn't shoot. He was like playing against a really quick point guard that, as long as you didn't let him behind you, he couldn't score. I remember when I first started playing against him people tried to warn me and I was like "That's the dude? Really?" Then I tried to stop him once at the redline and he blew past me like a breeze. It was more impressive what he could do without playing the right way. He was a freak.

Kevin had a decent slapper but rarely used it because he could beat most guys one on one. He also was great at passing the ball. If you were a sniper, you wanted to play with him. He really was like Wayne Gretzky in that sense. He was the best forward I saw and Mark Goode was probably the best defensement I played against. And he would show up in jeans and stuff like that, too. That's funny you mentioned that. He was smooth though. I remember a game we played at Centereach. We were down 5-2 in the third and in a mattter of about 45 seconds he scored 3 goals and set up 2 more and we won 7-5. And forgot about breakaways. He had one move, to the backhand, but good luck trying to stop it. He lives upstate now and from what I hear he's put on some weight.

There were some awesome teams. Coram Canadians were probably the best I saw. Absolute were right up there. There was a team from Boston that was pretty good. The house team at Centereach were awesome. We weren't as good as those guys, not close, but we had a good goalie, Kevin Masters and a bunch of good players who knew how to play the game. We stayed with them but lost more often then not. They were just to good. But we won a couple of tournaments, too.

And I only slashed you because you speared me.

This post has been edited by ideserveabeer: Nov 29 2007, 08:57 AM

[leedsy99]

There were some awesome teams. Coram Canadians were probably the best I saw. Absolute were right up there. There was a team from Boston that was pretty good. The house team at Centereach were awesome. We weren't as good as those guys, not close, but we had a good goalie, Kevin Masters and a bunch of good players who knew how to play the game. We stayed with them but lost more often then not. They were just to good. But we won a couple of tournaments, too.

Ah, memories. I was a Miller Place rink rat, so I more or less grew up around most of the Canadians and was coached by them. Absolut started as the house team at Miller Place and I played with all those guys, but I was slightly younger than most of them. I remember playing my first senior tourney in Mass. and being about 16 years old, probably the youngest guy there because I missed the cutoff for the lower age division by a few months, and being scared shitless like Brandon Dubinsky (never mind that I played defense and I was terrified of making a mistake). Plus, in the kindest sense of the word, most of those guys were dirtbags, and I was an honor student trying to get in to Princeton -- the dek was pretty seedy after hours and my Dad used to watch almost every game I played, just to make sure that I didn't get corrupted, which isolated me from most of the older guys. Still, it was great because I was playing (and schooling) adults when I was teen, and the minute anyone went near me, those guys went ape shit. They also all dated the slutty ultrahot dropout girls from high school, who all loved me because I was the quiet cute little kid that followed them around like they were gods. Good times.

The house team at Centereach was like the Reapers or the Reavers or something. That was Goode's team. He was like my dek idol growing up, because he was the best defenseman around. In my prime I had all the skill that he had, but not nearly the athleticism. It was like playing against Scott Niedermeyer. He controlled everything on the dek at all times. I played against him at St. James like five years ago, and even completely out of shape and a shell of what he was (like all of us) he's still impossible to play against.

Best player I saw was Paul Baker. His control with the ball was so sick, he might as well have picked it up and ran by you. I saw him score goals from behind the net like the Michigan kid or Sidney Crosby with a ball. If you f**k around at it on an open cage you might be able to do it once or twice. He would do it full speed in games with a goalie defending.

[ideserveabeer]

Ah, memories. I was a Miller Place rink rat, so I more or less grew up around most of the Canadians and was coached by them. Absolut started as the house team at Miller Place and I played with all those guys, but I was slightly younger than most of them. I remember playing my first senior tourney in Mass. and being about 16 years old, probably the youngest guy there because I missed the cutoff for the lower age division by a few months, and being scared shitless like Brandon Dubinsky (never mind that I played defense and I was terrified of making a mistake). Plus, in the kindest sense of the word, most of those guys were dirtbags, and I was an honor student trying to get in to Princeton -- the dek was pretty seedy after hours and my Dad used to watch almost every game I played, just to make sure that I didn't get corrupted, which isolated me from most of the older guys. Still, it was great because I was playing (and schooling) adults when I was teen, and the minute anyone went near me, those guys went ape shit. They also all dated the slutty ultrahot dropout girls from high school, who all loved me because I was the quiet cute little kid that followed them around like they were gods. Good times.

The house team at Centereach was like the Reapers or the Reavers or something. That was Goode's team. He was like my dek idol growing up, because he was the best defenseman around. In my prime I had all the skill that he had, but not nearly the athleticism. It was like playing against Scott Niedermeyer. He controlled everything on the dek at all times. I played against him at St. James like five years ago, and even completely out of shape and a shell of what he was (like all of us) he's still impossible to play against.

Best player I saw was Paul Baker. His control with the ball was so sick, he might as well have picked it up and ran by you. I saw him score goals from behind the net like the Michigan kid or Sidney Crosby with a ball. If you f**k around at it on an open cage you might be able to do it once or twice. He would do it full speed in games with a goalie defending.

The Reapers! That was the Centereach team. Couldn't think of the name. They were awsome. They're goalie, Jose, was amazing. He'd go down to C-Reach and find the worst team around so he can just face shots. I've seen him win so many games 1-0 and carry bad teams to victories that had no business winning. I did hear a lot of rumors about that team being big time into drugs. I have no idea if that's true, but that's what I heard, even back then.

I didn't like Goode personally (most of the Reaper guys were a-holes) but he was amazing, definitely the best d-man I saw. Last I saw of him was at a jamboree at Miller place about 10 years ago or so. He was getting married or something and he wasn't playing as much. But yeah, he was amazing. I always thought it was to bad these guys were so freakin' awesome at dek hockey and not ice hockey. Most of those guys couldn't skate. Masters was actually just as good at roller hockey. Same for his brother, Tommy.

I don't recognize the name Paul Baker, who did he play for? A couple of my friends probably remember him.

EDIT - I do know him except we just called him Baker, like "Watch out for Baker." Never knew his name was Paul.

Tournaments were the best. We'd go to these rinks in Penn. or CT or NJ and we'd whind up playing guys from LI anyway. But the best time I had at a tournament was the first XMas one we won over at Miller Place. We went unbeaten and untied and won the championship game in OT. We beat what was considered the house team, which was Meachem's team. It wasn't the Canadians but they had some top guys on the team. I remember they had a coach who was a big dude, like a muscle guy. I just remember that game being the most intense game I ever played. You didn't think, you just went out, shift after shift and played. I was on D and we had 5 D but we cut one guy out and just went with 4 the 2nd and 3rd periods. It was probably the best hockey I ever played and I didn't do much. I just went out and did my job. They tied it up late on a bad giveaway by one of our d-men (not me, I was on the bench when it happened) so it went to OT. We had a guy by the name of John Ferrazi who would slide on his pads when he shot. One of the guys who we played against that day eventually started playing with us (John Whelan but we called him "Woody" ring a bell??) was saying before the OT started the coach was yelling at them, imploring them to keep an eye of Ferrazi because he'll score a goal while on his head. That's basically what happened. I broke up a rush into our zone, passed the ball to my d partner, he hit Masters and Kevin passed it over to John who was sliding and wound up on his neck as the ball went it. I can remember that like it was yesterday. Like I said, it was the most intense game I played and I played in some good ones.

Sorry to ramble but I can tell these dek hockey stories for awhile. Good times, indeed.

I have some video of games played at Miller Place somewhere at my parent's house. If I can dig them up and find a way to put them online, I'll link it here.

This post has been edited by ideserveabeer: Nov 29 2007, 02:24 PM

[Trademarked15]

Yep, I loved that Bayport arena, although it was pretty much a piece of shit. The first year I ever played in an organized non-ice league was at Faceoff and it was still played as straight dek hockey. I think the year after I joined we moved to regular roller hockey with a ball, and then like a year later we made the move to puck, right before they tried that stupid skate park thing and went out of business because Cookie was a crack head.

Also that Centereach rink was awesome. That's pretty much where I learned to skate, although I used to use old quad style skates for so long, was so weird getting used to inline.

Trademarked, what church was it, St Joes? I believe that was like the big roller hockey one, I played a season there maybe 5-6 year ago. Sports Arena isn't too bad also, the dek hockey there usually seems pretty active. The team I usually play with played roller there for probably 2-3 years, but last year we decided to move over to World Gym in Setauket. Price is a little lower, plus my main problem with Sports Arena is the rink is pretty shitty for roller, always seems dirty and sandy.

oh god, faceoff, i remember i went to sign up there when i was like 10 or 11 ready to make the switch over to roller, got all my shit together, and was so pumped to start playing. then like 3 weeks later i get a call saying the place closed down. i ended up playing roller at sports arena a few years later but it still pisses me off that i didnt get into it earlier because of the closing.

nah, it was Good Shepherd, nothing great, but still somewhere i could go and play some dek every weekend. plus, its where i really learned to know and love the game, so i'll always have a soft spot for that place

[leedsy99]

They're goalie, Jose, was amazing. He'd go down to C-Reach and find the worst team around so he can just face shots. I've seen him win so many games 1-0 and carry bad teams to victories that had no business winning.

Jose started as the Absolut goalie, and probably switched over when you were playing -- Miller Place fell apart in the early 90s and everyone started playing at Centereach. Jose was unreal. He went to my high school, a few years ahead. You'd brag about scoring against him in shooting drills, and the only way to beat him in games was either through a deflection or a screen. It's was like playing against Hasek.

I don't recognize the name Paul Baker, who did he play for? A couple of my friends probably remember him.

Baker was a former Canadian that was a little older than everyone and probably didn't play much in the 90s. I think he was in the marines around then and starting a family. I saw him play growing up and then started playing with him a few years ago, when he was like in his mid-30s and just f**king around. It was funny because when he started playing again, everyone was using the wood or carbon sticks, and he was the only guy still using the Mylec because he couldn't play with the wood. I can't play with Mylec anymore because it feels like a rubber noodle, but he was still killing people with it. Amazing.

We beat what was considered the house team, which was Meachem's team.

Had I stuck around, that would have been my team. If you post the video, I'll tell you who everyone was. Jay Meachem was funny because he was actually a TERRIBLE hockey player, but he worked the dek so much and talked to everyone, so he probably because the most popular dek hockey guy on LI. Last I checked, he owned a dek/gym in Shirley, but that was almost four years ago.

I remember they had a coach who was a big dude, like a muscle guy.

Franky Moscatello. The other coach would have been Louie Christiano (guy yelling with hoarse voice, probably reffed about 50% of your games). Louie taught me how to play hockey. They were both Canadians. I was buddies with Frank's brother in high school.

Come to think of it, maybe I did play in that tournament. It's all a blur. I stopped playing intensely around '91 when I went to school, but every now and then I'd be a hired gun for somebody while I was home. See if you can post the video.

[ideserveabeer]

I don't have video of that tournament but I do have video of games played at Miller Place and Centereach. I asked about Baker and my friend said I know him and he said the same thing, he was a little older then us. But I remember talking about a guy named "Baker."

I'm going to look for the tapes this weekend and then over the XMas break when I'm off for the week I'm going to buy a DVD recorder and a VCR and get them on DVD so I can upload them to YouTube.

My step-sons father lives around the corner from where Centereach (Plaza) Dek was. They tore it down awhile ago and they're just finishing up some strip stores where the dek was. I drove by it a couple of weeks ago. I also drove by where Miller Place was, by that lumber yard, T-Giving night.

Had I stuck around, that would have been my team. If you post the video, I'll tell you who everyone was. Jay Meachem was funny because he was actually a TERRIBLE hockey player, but he worked the dek so much and talked to everyone, so he probably because the most popular dek hockey guy on LI. Last I checked, he owned a dek/gym in Shirley, but that was almost four years ago.

Every rink I've gone to, except for Skate Safe, I have seen Jay Meachem working there or playing there. Jay wasn't that good but he would surrond himself with awesome players. I remember one game down at Centereach. We were playing in the finals in our league and his team was playing in the finals for their league. Anyway it was the third and final game and it was close and Jay's goalie let in a couple of soft goals late and he just unloaded on him verbally. He was killing this guy. So finally the goalie says that's it, and walks off with a couple of minutes to go in the game. Jay loses it. The goalie is on the bench grabbing his stuff and Jay runs across the dek and launches himself over the boards and attacks the goalie. It turned into a big mess and the game was called. I've never seen anything like that since where a guy lost it like that. He just dove into the bench and tried to fight his goalie, who still had all his gear on. They were going to lose anyway. We won though, 8-2.

Franky Moscatello. The other coach would have been Louie Christiano (guy yelling with hoarse voice, probably reffed about 50% of your games). Louie taught me how to play hockey. They were both Canadians. I was buddies with Frank's brother in high school.

I played for one of them once at a Jamboree in Miller Place. I had shown up to play for another team, but it turns out they had to many guys (I think the roster limit was 8 for Jamborees). So I was leaving and he was coaching a team after that game and asked me to play for him. He had thrown this team together at the last minute. We wound up winning and I enjoyed playing for him.

[leedsy99]

Every rink I've gone to, except for Skate Safe, I have seen Jay Meachem working there or playing there. Jay wasn't that good but he would surrond himself with awesome players.

A few years ago I was playing in St. James with a bunch of kinda hacks in a low-talent rec league, and Meachen entered this stacked team of LI snipers that just destroyed everyone. Anyway, we were playing them in the finals and they were KILLING us like 15-0 (and not letting up), so finally I had enough and just decided that I was going to beat everyone and score a cosmetic goal. I stopped passing and was just darting around and trying to beat everyone one-on-one like Jaromir Jagr ... and finally Anthony Cillo, who's probably the best dek player on LI, just had enough, came over, stripped the ball away like I wasn't even there, and ran the other way and scored a goal. It was like the worst "F**k you" humiliation ever. I was so pissed off that the next guy that came near, I absolutely laid out like Scott Hartnell. They threw me out and as I was leaving, Meachen said something to me from the bench, so I grabbed him by the jersey and tried to drag him out. Caused a riot and they had to end the game early. Good times. He was like Sean Avery when he played.

[ideserveabeer]

A few years ago I was playing in St. James with a bunch of kinda hacks in a low-talent rec league, and Meachen entered this stacked team of LI snipers that just destroyed everyone. Anyway, we were playing them in the finals and they were KILLING us like 15-0 (and not letting up), so finally I had enough and just decided that I was going to beat everyone and score a cosmetic goal. I stopped passing and was just darting around and trying to beat everyone one-on-one like Jaromir Jagr ... and finally Anthony Cillo, who's probably the best dek player on LI, just had enough, came over, stripped the ball away like I wasn't even there, and ran the other way and scored a goal. It was like the worst "F**k you" humiliation ever. I was so pissed off that the next guy that came near, I absolutely laid out like Scott Hartnell. They threw me out and as I was leaving, Meachen said something to me from the bench, so I grabbed him by the jersey and tried to drag him out. Caused a riot and they had to end the game early. Good times. He was like Sean Avery when he played.

I remember that Cillo guy. Another guy we just called by his last name. Meachem is a d-bag, plain and simple. He totally kissed the ass of every decent player and surrounded himself with them.

[ideserveabeer]

I finally have a VHS/DVD burner and I'm hopefully going to get some of my old games on a DVD and post them online.

[ideserveabeer]

OK, here is my first video. Many thanks to Rick for helping me find the software and then giving great instructions on how the programs work.

Here is the backstory to this short clip. This is from August of 1990, the Summer Jamboree at Centereach. This was a matchup between the team I played on, the "Cylindors" versus the Reapers, who were the house team down at the rink. Well, it was most of them. Anyway after scoring a goal early in the first half (Jamborees were 2 6 minute halves), we sat on that goal up until about 30 seconds or so were left when the game was tied. I got hurt on the tying goal, taking a stick to the chin. Since we couldn't get possesion of the ball, the game played on and they scored basically a 5 on 4 goal. Anyway, it looked like a tie game was going to be the decision. With 6 seconds to go, there was a pretty harmless faceoff just inside the Reapers zone, after an offsides. Somehow, right off the faceoff, we had a 3 on 0. Kevin Masters won the draw forward cleanly, took a shot, and the rebound was slammed home by Eric Quinn as time expired, giving us an amazing 2-1 win. Unfortunately they beat us the next day in the finals, 3-2, to win the tournament. But this was a pretty incredible ending.

[Denis Lemieux]

That was pretty cool, thanks.

Did they require the Mylec Airflows in this league?

[Denis Lemieux]

Tell me that wasn't you with the white sweatpants? IDaB with hockey uniform faux pas number three.

[ideserveabeer]

That was pretty cool, thanks.

Did they require the Mylec Airflows in this league?

Not required but it was the best of it's day. This was before roller hockey and using wooden ice hockey sticks. I remember the next best thing was to get an aluminum shaft and cut an airflo blade off and stick it in the shaft. I had an Easton aluminum with a mylec blade and I thought it was the greatest thing ever.

And yeah, that was me in the white sweatpants. Give me a break, the 80s just ended, and trust me there were a lot worse. There was one guy playing with florescent short shorts, so in comparision, I wasn't so bad.

This post has been edited by ideserveabeer: Mar 22 2008, 12:02 AM

[jconnelly16]

That was funny as hell. The opposing center trying to kick the ball to seal the win instead of trying to win the faceoff with his stick. Awesome.

[ideserveabeer]

That was funny as hell. The opposing center trying to kick the ball to seal the win instead of trying to win the faceoff with his stick. Awesome.

Yeah, not sure what he was thinking. It was a stunning win and I remember we had a big party that night in my basement. I have 2 other tapes to go through with some good stuff on it, all from the early 90s. Mainly from 90 to 94.

[Denis Lemieux]

I think the first Easton available to regular folks was the dark blue aluminum, which I used an entire two weeks paycheck on because "hey, I'll use this thing forever". I used to cut and fit a red Titan blade into the shaft. Even though it was composite or whatever the blade part weighed three times as much as the shaft (= dumb). I even swiss cheesed the top part of the blade, a la Mylec Airflow. Few things smell worse than dull drill bit burning through plexi-graphite or whatever that shit was.

Good times.

My brother has video of that old Paterson League, I'm sure you'll find me guilty of a few of the other hockey uniform faux pas' as well. Flames jersey + Cavaricci's + Huarachi's = death sentence.

[S.D.Willie]

i spent alot of years in the early 90's playing dek in farmingdale off rte. 110. Hell even won a championship one year. But at some point i started playing ice and i never wanted to go back to running. But yeah, those were the days.

[ideserveabeer]

I think the first Easton available to regular folks was the dark blue aluminum, which I used an entire two weeks paycheck on because "hey, I'll use this thing forever". I used to cut and fit a red Titan blade into the shaft. Even though it was composite or whatever the blade part weighed three times as much as the shaft (= dumb). I even swiss cheesed the top part of the blade, a la Mylec Airflow. Few things smell worse than dull drill bit burning through plexi-graphite or whatever that shit was.

Good times.

My brother has video of that old Paterson League, I'm sure you'll find me guilty of a few of the other hockey uniform faux pas' as well. Flames jersey + Cavaricci's + Huarachi's = death sentence.

I had a red Easton, red and black. And I'm usually pretty good with what I wear. I can't believe I just wore a t-shirt but that was a thrown together team, just for the weekend. I use to play with guys who would wear slacks and stuff while they played, never understood that.

[oahu95]

That video brought back some memories. Was that Artie Russo in goal for you guys? I remember playing against him in Farmingdale. I always felt bad for him because he was a great goalie but was always on this team made up of guys he went to school with any they were horrible. I didn't play much at Centereach mostly Farmingdale, Oakdale and Bayport. I played 2 seasons of roller at Miller Place. It's sad that all of these places are gone except for F'dale. I could go on and on. I hope you post more video, I may have to look back at my parents house for some of my old videos.



This post has been edited by oahu95: Mar 25 2008, 05:36 PM

[ideserveabeer]

That video brought back some memories. Was that Artie Russo in goal for you guys? I remember playing against him in Farmingdale. I always felt bad for him because he was a great goalie but was always on this team made up of guys he went to school with any they were horrible. I didn't play much at Centereach mostly Farmingdale, Oakdale and Bayport. I played 2 seasons of roller at Miller Place. It's sad that all of these places are gone except for F'dale. I could go on and on. I hope you post more video, I may have to look back at my parents house for some of my old videos.

Yeah, that was Artie. He was a great goalie. That was the only time I had a chance to play with him.

I played all over as well, but mainly Oakdale and Centereach. I also played a lot out in Setauket and mostly tournaments at Miller Place. I do have 2 more tapes to go through and I'll post some more as soon as I get to it, probably over the weekend.

[Red Devils '79]

Great stuff here! Certainly brings back memories of playing dek in Suffolk. I'm in my late 40's and probably a bit older than anyone who might have posted here, but it all sounds familiar. I actually coached Paul Baker as a cadet back in 1981. Plaza would send all-star teams to Miller Place and Farmingdale to compete. I played in Leominster on a Plaza team at the nationals in 1980. In September 1979 I played in the first game ever in Centereach as a freshman. The rink was behind Modells at the time before it moved to its final location. I also worked at Plaza for a few years. Prior to Centereach, the only rink on LI was the one in Miller Place.

Three things kicked off the run dek hockey had from 1979-1995 (?) on Long Island.

One, in 1979 the Islanders had the best record in the NHL, but the Rangers beat them in the semis and lost in the SC finals to the Canadians (not Coram!).

Second, in February 1980 the US won the gold medal in the Olympics

and lastly, in May 1980 the Islanders won their first of 4 cups.

The league in Centereach had over 120 teams the summer of 1980. Some games were played at 11:00PM. The popularity was off the hook. Plaza Sports couldn't keep sticks, balls, shin guards and other gear in the store long enough. In the early 80's, my team (Kings Park Red Devils) had many battles with Coram just before they became an unbeatable force. They didn't have a great goalie then. Some of the Coram guys I remember were Nicky Cordanano, Kevin Magraine, Frankie, Lou and Mike Cristino. They won the Nationals in Leominster in 1986. Some great teams prior to then. The Suffolk County Kings (Peter Ausili, Scottie Jiminez) lost to the Rams in the 1981 Nationals. Suffolk County Cobras (based out of Smithtown), Bethpage Patriots, Holbrook Hawks, Sayville Stars, West Islip Lions to name a few.

Great players (Coram aside) I remember: I missed Mark Goodey and Anthony Cillo and Brian Kalina. Although when I played Brian was about 6 or 7. I believe the Dreamers were an offshoot of the Canadians.

Tony Marrone
Jimmy Murphy
Scott Atwater (goalie)
Billy Bartik (sp)
Paul Baker (a young Paul)
Dave Bennett
Roy Palaez
Mike Rauch
Mike Maxwell

Leagues that existed when I played:
Miller Place
Centereach
Oakdale
Farmingdale
Sayville (run by Cookie right by the train tracks)
Smithtown Indoor (run by Ringo Daly)

Miller Place had the best tourneys and held a regional every spring. Top 2 teams got an automatic bid to the Nationals.


Check out the following link. They have the Coram ranked as the greatest team ever!
www.coolhockeyevents.com

I need to dig out some pictures and post 'em.

[ultimate steve]

i never played deck hockey, i was getting into hockey when inline skates were coming out. i played roller hockey from about 93-2006 in leagues at shelley's place in miller place, then the dome which collapsed, then blue point, then medford, which had the tiny 3 on 3 rink which was awesome. then bulldog arena, then rapid fire arena for many years, and then a few seasons at inline one. now i have no time to play.

it wasnt until a few years ago that i witnessed a real deck hockey game. i always thought deck hockey was for old people who couldnt skate. wow was i wrong. its like a sport of its own, and i would be terrible at it. the things that some of the guys can do with the ball is amazing. lightning fast stick handling while running frontwards backwards every which direction. definitely alot more intense than i thought it was.

anyone here play in the 3 on 3 mini rink at medford when it was open? i was on a team called the grizzlies, we won the A-division one season, but got screwed when they put the banner on the ceiling they wrote B-division. fuckers. the team we beat in A, also played in B and they won the B division. confusion? i duno they were a bunch of dicks. we had bench clearing brawls in that little rink at like 13 yrs old. it was really a recipe for disaster, pretty much the size of an mma cage.

[Paul Smachetti]

I pretty much lived at the Miller Place rink from age 13-18, right up to the time I went to college. I played on dozens of travel teams in tournaments all over, though I'm still sad that I missed the Canadian tournament because I was playing lacrosse, where Patrick Roy and some of the other Canadians showed up to play the adult teams. I kept playing through my twenties, right up until I left for law school four years ago. I'd probably go find a league to play in right now, except I have no money for league fees (and I'm insanely depressed that I'd officially qualify for the same old timer league that my Dad played in 25 years ago when I first started playing). Plus it's somewhat depressing to play these days because none of the kids play, so it's usually just the same core of 20 guys in a competitive league or you end up playing against a bunch of drunken hacks that would just assume as break your hands than let you stick-handle around them. None of the kids these days want to play, and with more opportunities to play ice hockey on Long Island now than I had growing up, they'd rather play that. If I get a local job in the next few months and anyone has a team nearby that needs a ringer, let me know.

Ever been to a tournament in Leominster, Mass.? They have 4 outdoor deks and have/had (not sure if they're still up and running) tournamnets throughout the year. Patrick Roy showed up there once w/his team. We entered a tournament there back in 1991 . We had a county league I ran out of my employer's gym and won the championship so thinking we were hot shit we decided to get into one of their tournaments.We used those Cooper pucks that were thick and travelled true like an ice hockey puck ,didn't tail or sail on you. We get to Leominster and they used balls. Man we got our asses kicked in 3 straight blowouts. First shot I see in the opening game , forward cranks a slapper from the center line, and blows a 100 mph rising/curving line drive over my glove. Right then i knew we were way in over our heads. it was fun though.

This post has been edited by Paul Smachetti: Mar 12 2010, 11:36 AM

[Paul Smachetti]

[quote name='leedsy99' date='Nov 29 2007, 05:57 PM' post='65751']
I remember playing my first senior tourney in Mass.

LEOMINSTER !

[leedsy99]

Ever been to a tournament in Leominster, Mass.? They have 4 outdoor deks and have/had (not sure if they're still up and running) tournamnets throughout the year. Patrick Roy showed up there once w/his team.

I was up there two or three times for tournaments. I heard about the Roy team, which also featured some other NHL guys (Stephan Lebeau, for one). Everyone complained about them because they were slash happy. Dek hockey in those days was about wearing as little equipment as possible. Most guys wore batting gloves or utility gloves, and the Canadian guys were so used to playing in heavy pads that they instinctively went right at the hands to stick-check. I'm pretty sure that Roy's team didn't win the tournament either, which goes to show what kind of talent some of these guys had.

[Paul Smachetti]

i spent alot of years in the early 90's playing dek in farmingdale off rte. 110. Hell even won a championship one year. But at some point i started playing ice and i never wanted to go back to running. But yeah, those were the days.

Yeah I tried ice hockey that fall of 91 and never wanted to go back to dek hockey.That dek surface was pretty treacherous when it was wet.