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It almost feels disrespectful to put Ali and Howe in this thread.

I have been practically jumping thru hoops to get my hands on this blade pattern. It still blows my mind that Bauer doesn't offer the actual curve that two of the most dynamic players prefer to use everyday. It's been extremely frustrating not to be able to just get a stick with the curve I grew up using. Here are a few more pics that I have which I have not seen posted.

I don't necessarily mean that they should be calling every ticky tack play. But there are things that need to be deemed unacceptible, other than those already called match penalties. An intentional body check (in a no-check league), for example. That should be an ejection. End of story. Any head contact should be a minor. If two guys are shoving and one goes high and gets the other in the head, it should be 2. If one throws a punch, even with a glove on, that makes head contact, it's an ejection. Those are the big two that I see most often that are very easily identified and can be enforced with less subjectivity. Neither has a place in a no-check adult league. And I find that, especially in lower leagues, those are the two things that players who don't know any better immediately turn to when they don't like something. Often the two things don't equate. A player gets hooked and he turns and checks the guy. Or there's a battle in front of the net and someone's immediate reaction is to go for the head. Those kinds of things. The stuff I'm talking about is already supposed to be penalized in Adult male classifications. The standard of enforcement needs to be emphasized. In my case, a player violated a rule, either tripping or unnecessary roughness, causing an injury. That's an automatic 5 and game. It wasn't called appropriately.

That's awesome. Yep, and also heads of official's organizations. USAHockey as a whole needs to begin to look at player safety standards for adult leagues. Things that may be more tolerable in competitive divisions should not be tolerable in non-competitive divisions. I have zero respect for any referee that does not emphasize player safety anymore. And I will take care of things myself if the referees won't now. Sadly, this approach has been working for me. By going nuclear on the ice, it has caused directors and officials to take notice. I make a big enough commotion that they feel something must have happened to get me that angry. This has also given me the opportunity to talk directly to two of the directors of the rinks I play in, and explain exactly where I'm coming from and what I expect. So far both of them have responded pretty well. And actually, I have a better relationship with some of the refs because of it. They know that I'm not going to get on them for little stuff and that I'm going to look for explanations and remain calm. And I will commend them if they do a good job, and give specific details. I do the same to the directors when refs do a good job. Just last game the refs (specifically one who I used to hate) ejected two players with no ceremony. One head butted one of my guys. And it was immediate - whistle, went right over to the door, and told the guy to get off. He tried to argue but there just wasn't the opportunity. Very good job. Everyone knows that is a no-no, but the process is usually a lot less efficient. A second guy was ejected for simply throwing a punch in a net front scrum, even with his glove on. That's something that happens in a lot of games for all of us. It may be only 2 minutes, if that, in the NHL or travel hockey, but there is no place for it in adult hockey. I think that was the first time I've seen someone tossed for it, as it usually goes unpenalized. I told the refs after the handshakes how impressed I was. And I searched out the league director to tell him too. I am a strong believer that referees should be taking an overly cautious approach to these things. There should be a lot more guys complaining that they were thrown out for no reason than ones wondering how a ref could let that go. At least if you go overboard, you can give a definitive reason to the player. It puts the responsibility on the player to not do dumb things.

Been through a lot the last 2 and half years. In 2014 Diagnosed with recurrent PSC (Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis) Tubes in my liver for three months in the spring. In July I had a massive infection in my kidneys. Where the doctors at one point told my wife I had 24 hours to start to improve or I wouldn't make it. Then my second liver transplant on November 7, 2014. In 2015 Had a hernia surgery in May Had another hernia surgery in October. In 2016 Finally got the OK to start working out in February. Starting public skating in May. Last night I got back on the ice for the first time since Summer Jam in Toronto in 2013. I wasn't very good last night, but boy did have a lot of fun.