pick up hockey (shinny) pet peeves

[chk hrd 164]

If it's a USAH game he has to wear a chin strap. You would think the rink would also make it mandatory.

[strosedefence34 175]

If it's a USAH game he has to wear a chin strap. You would think the rink would also make it mandatory.

nope just a group of guys who rent the ice no refs or anything. It is probably mandatory however no one from the rink is going to come look at it or notice it.

[sheffy92 3]

I play with my son whenever I can who is 15. My new and recent pet peeve is watching guys lay the lumber on him and really work him over body wise. He is 5' 7" and about 140. He averages about 1 penalty minute a season for the past 6 seasons. He is the epitome of Lady Byng. He is hearing impaired (which some guys probably don't know) and he really doesn't yap AT ALL on the ice. He has good hands but he does not go coast to coast and passes A LOT. I've told him that I won't bring him out if he is a selfish player and doesn't move the puck.

When I see (usually older defenseman) lay the lumber on him hard or really rub him out when they have 60 to 100 pounds and 4 to 5 inches on him in a pick up session I absolutely see red for about 10 seconds. I'm 5' 11", 250 and the main reason I started playing was to hit people. I since have developed a love for the game and am a coach and am a much nicer player. However, when I see guys doing that to Lady Byng I just want to light them up. I could understand it if my kid was a punk and would actually be fine with it as I'm a big believer in respect for your elders, but he is truly not.

Just drives me batty.

Now, I have some friends that I play with that know my son and me and they go after my son, try to hit him, rough him up and I'm all good with that. I want him to get tougher. He tries even harder against those guys and even throws some hits at them. It's great and I'm all for him getting tougher. It's just when it's guys that really don't know him well that get mad getting beat by a kid, even though it's clean, and they get dirty. That pisses me off to no end.

Do you know that there's deaf hockey in Canada and USA, that your son could tryout and hopefully play for someday!

[kingofnooyork 30]

If you've all got an understanding that it's okay to grab anyone's water bottle and drink, that's up to you guys, it's unusual, and you didn't mention it.

Otherwise, you'll find that most folks consider it bad form to grab someone else's stuff. You'll find that's a common complaint running through this thread, for years.

This annoys the shit outta me. I had a this 18 year old kid at pickup one time take a swig of my water look over at me and say: "mmm thats good water" I wanted to slap him so bad. First of all it's not wise to drink random waters as who knows what's crawling on some random person's mouth. Secondly, the fact that i take 2-3 min of my life cleaning my bottle and then filling it with filtered water each time i play i think entitles me to not to have to share.

[thejackal 46]

Played pickup hockey in socal for the first time ever (optimusreim's neck of the woods) and found some good skates w good groups of guys, but it was a bit funny to see the difference in style between canadians and americans. Not that much of a gap in individual skills, but lots more cherrypicking and generally less hustle on the defensive side of the puck. Some guys get the puck and become essentially autistic, hogging it and skating straight ahrad until they get stripped

[chippa13 1844]

Those are more skill level distinctions than American vs Canadian differences. The higher up the skill chain you go, the more puck movement you will see.

[Stewie 721]

yeah you are talking about so-cal hockey too.

[IPv6Freely 2082]

It's Southern California, nobody matters here but yourself ;)

[Neo5370 132]

Played pickup hockey in socal for the first time ever (optimusreim's neck of the woods) and found some good skates w good groups of guys, but it was a bit funny to see the difference in style between canadians and americans. Not that much of a gap in individual skills, but lots more cherrypicking and generally less hustle on the defensive side of the puck. Some guys get the puck and become essentially autistic, hogging it and skating straight ahrad until they get stripped

Dat roller-hockey influence...

[DocShawn48 7]

<--- Never a skater, always a net tender, so no perspective on the skaters views or issues that don't directly involve the goalie.

People who can't skate - Seen this one a lot. Fair points on both sides. Personally, when I wasn't there I went to the rink early on the weekends to learn and let my oldest work on his drills etc. After getting to the point I could skate but was by no means Blades of Glory Michael Michaels or even a Jimmy Macavoy, I went to some schools. A goalie school, USAH coaches course, which had an hour of ice time and I dressed as a goalie. (Instructor had me do all the red goal line to goal line drills like a skater with stick and puck, then tossed me to "station 3" which was 45 minutes of 3v3 on quarter ice with one net. Everyone wore black that day btw.

Point is, I knew I had big frikkin knives on my feet, and not being able to turn, stop, keep my head on a swivel would result in worst case, an injury, best case, a point and me feeling like I didn't pull my weight.

Learn to skate, you're a liability to others and yourself, then do the adult hockey pick ups. This isn't mites where no one can skate and they're all flailing, you're often at various skill levels and I don't expect you to do all the crap I did, I do expect you to be able to do the basics so the game doesn't stop and everyone goes into a circle around you giving you space while you attempt to move the puck looking like Bambi on ice. From a goal tending perspective, I can tell when a skater is about to crash into me and while I don't know 95% of their names, I know how they skate and shoot, so I have an idea if it was because I've offended your sensitive sensibilities, or you can't stop. Either way your getting rolled, before I turn my attention to the puck that's hopefully still in play. If you have time to play pick up, you have some time to devote to learning to skate first as a courtesy.

Not playing D - everyone likes to score, I get it. You're a sniper. (As an actual former trained military sniper I always grin at this term.) Skaters who play D are awesome, skaters that don't, meh my expectations were low on this, just don't do a long elaborate score celebration (skating on one leg while fist pumping then breaking into some stick air guitar, shit you not...) if you're not trying just as hard on D. I've heard D is the most difficult position to play after goalie, skater's words not mine.

One sided line ups on pick up hockey - Happened to me last night but not isolated. 5 new players all on my Dark side, couple former Pittsburgh Elites, College, etc. on the other. I don't mind a whooping but when it's half ice for two hours, and the other goalie needs a magazine, yeah the lines need adjusted. Organizers, we appreciate you putting this together, emailing, taking money, etc. Don't stack your team. Look at the roster you're making up, if it's the Maple Leafs versus the Boone County Squirt team, no one is going to have a good time.

Goalies - Show up if you say you will, do your best, outside of a safety issue with gear, or your injured, unless you have a back up goalie, plan to be there till the ice time is up. My mantra when I'm tired, sweating like crazy, and it's a bad night: "A goalie suffers, so that other's may play." Sounds weird, but I get goalies are rare. A game I love wouldn't be played because I didn't hydrate properly, and give a gut check till it's done. You get injured okay, (currently playing with a broken collar bone from previous pick up but I'm not normal) go home. Don't kill yourself for pick up. Otherwise get your butt back in the net. Temper tantrums should be confined to anger at your own performance only, lower the expectations.

Skaters who've never played goalie - Yes goalie is hard. No I'm not twiddling when the puck isn't across my blue line. Yes this gear really is that hot. If you have no frame of reference, dress the position once or assume it's difficult and stop making ignorant comments about your thoughts on playing goal, or the difficulty of the position. At least don't act taken aback when I get annoyed. Also if you're not satisfied with the goalie performance level, lower your expectations, we do.

Fighting at pick-up - Shouldn't happen. Reevaluate yourself and your life. Accidents happen, let those go. If you did something that wasn't an accident, you're a grown ass adult. Act like it. We're here to have fun. Not watch some middle aged adults box it out on the ice because they have no other outlet for the frustration of a receding hairline, or their lost dreams once reality and kids hit. Go play GTA V for that, your already out of breath from shoving and its wasting ice time and kinda sad.

Mite level break outs - pass the puck. No one came to watch you shoot on net all night, and knowing you're not going to pass is boring as a goalie. If everyone is doing this I've put all this crap on for a two hour shootout. That's not fun for me.

Kids below the age of 15 - Several reasons above for safety alone, don't bring em into adult pick up. You never know who's going to be a pick up for sure unless your the organizer, and the adults may not be mature enough to handle the pubescent kids on the ice.

Not wearing full gear at ice hockey - Seriously, who's doing this? When people ask how you ended up in the wheelchair, or ask your caregiver if it was a car accident, and they say "no, adult hockey" think about that legacy for a second. If I can lug in all my crap as a goalie in a carry bag, you can wear full gear. Don't care what color your socks are, three jersey color options, black or navy, and white. I think that's a great hockey team too! Unless the team jersey is black, navy or 90% white then put it back in the car so you have something dry to wear after. We actually have a cage in the rink where we can put items we don't want or wear for donation to new players ot emergency gear replacement for children to adults. This includes plain jersey. Rink is awesome that way, if yours isn't maybe a tote in someone's truck. Jersey colors apparently are international for pick up outside a few isolated instances so get a 10$ black and white jersey.

Cherry picking - Only guys guilty of it here are obese and that may be as far as they got before it came back. They're working on it. If you're that "sniper", I can't wait to see the celebration ritual if you score.

The stinky guy - Wipe down your gear. You're an adult. We shouldn't be having this conversation.

Excessive amount of time naked in the locker room post or pre game - Played goal, you're not that overheated in skating gear if I'm okay. Put some clothes/gear on or get in the shower. No one wants to sit where your ball sweat puddle used to be. You're an adult, again why are we talking about this.

Finally, The crease has an infinity pool for 30 minutes into the game. Seriously zam guy? An infinity pool. Ever try to rough the surface of a pool? Really difficult.

This is supposed to be fun. I'm wearing 2000$ or more in gear to stop a 4$ rubber puck, this allows me to enjoy hockey and you're not shooting at a jersey, least you could do is show some courtesy and have fun.

[IPv6Freely 2082]

I was seriously going to say eff that, tl;dr, but it was worth the read. Well done.

[MThockeydad 469]

Good read, DocShawn48.

Goalies - Show up if you say you will, do your best, outside of a safety issue with gear, or your injured, unless you have a back up goalie, plan to be there till the ice time is up. My mantra when I'm tired, sweating like crazy, and it's a bad night: "A goalie suffers, so that other's may play." Sounds weird, but I get goalies are rare. A game I love wouldn't be played because I didn't hydrate properly, and give a gut check till it's done. You get injured okay, (currently playing with a broken collar bone from previous pick up but I'm not normal) go home. Don't kill yourself for pick up. Otherwise get your butt back in the net. Temper tantrums should be confined to anger at your own performance only, lower the expectations.

Skaters who've never played goalie - Yes goalie is hard. No I'm not twiddling when the puck isn't across my blue line. Yes this gear really is that hot. If you have no frame of reference, dress the position once or assume it's difficult and stop making ignorant comments about your thoughts on playing goal, or the difficulty of the position. At least don't act taken aback when I get annoyed. Also if you're not satisfied with the goalie performance level, lower your expectations, we do.

Hey Goalie, feel free to talk to us if we're behind the net and let us know about oncoming traffic, or let us know if we're screening you or crowding the crease. I know it's dropin/pickup, but most of us are listening, :)

Don't be quiet and then pissed. Only get mad at our lowly skills if you say something and then we don't listen.

[DocShawn48 7]

I was seriously going to say eff that, tl;dr, but it was worth the read. Well done.

If nothing else I try to entertain. I'm often guilty of "wordy emails" so no surprise it appears too long. I try to at least give a grin when conveying a point. Especially from the perspective of the goalie albeit I'm not as well spoken or experienced as Law Goalie. Odd that there's so few people who enjoy 70+ mph pucks (convert to kph if you like) shot at their face in the hockey world. So I like to throw in our two cents when I'm not looking in the plexiglass to see how cool I look.

[IPv6Freely 2082]

Good read, DocShawn48.

Hey Goalie, feel free to talk to us if we're behind the net and let us know about oncoming traffic, or let us know if we're screening you or crowding the crease. I know it's dropin/pickup, but most of us are listening, :)

Don't be quiet and then pissed. Only get mad at our lowly skills if you say something and then we don't listen.

Always always always. I don't care if it's pickup, I talk probably more than anyone else on the ice. Definitely saved a few goals over the last few weeks by yelling "SCREEN!" and having somebody get out of the way. Well, except for the less experienced guy who stuck his stick out in front of a slap shot along the ice and tipped it right into my facemask. Thanks, bud.

[start_today 757]

The HILARIOUS guy who has to make some vauegly (or not so vaguely) racist comment when we choose which colors to wear. You're super edgey, we're all very impressed.

[MN old and slow 92]

The guy worrying about cherry picking and breakouts at pick up. The folks that think pick up is Gophers vs Bulldogs in the MN cup. The guy that says he played for the Bulldogs or Mavericks or Gophers that cannot skate. Might have to take part of that back the gophs are having a tough year. The guys that whine.

Rent the ice and play by invite if you desire two way play and nice break outs.

Heading out to to breakfast to play pick up at the park. Same early morning group for many years but all are welcome.Will play till noon or so then again tonight.

I will smell nice, will pass da puck but may do some cherry picking. Water bottle, no issue I will bring a cooler full. I promise to take da short shift and not fight with da guys. Will play just a tiny amount of D though not too much. I see my self like Vanek no two way garbage. ( just kidding) do not get upset.

Park pick up: Show up, throw the sticks , put your white or black on and do not whine.

Hockey day in MN today. Please remember to honor the state that invented the game. Also, the state with the finest beer and most beautiful women in the world.

Old and young will play today. Cherry pickers, your guns, crafty vets, players on the edge in MN all unite to celebrate our game.

The Grain Belt and Summit will flow.

Get out and play!

[IPv6Freely 2082]

The state that invented the game?! Errrr...

[MN old and slow 92]

The first hockey game ever is celebrated and described on the Kensington rhunestone

It talks about the Eveleth Golden Bears getting beat by the Duluth East Hounds in roughly 1300.

No composite sticks at that time.

In the minds of many in the twin ports we invented the game and are the best.

Great day at the park even back checked a bit as my dad was watching from heaven and would yell without the two way effort.

Now if we only had an NHL team in MN!

Can we get our Stars back?

[IPv6Freely 2082]

LOL what? That's adorable.

[Larry54 243]

The first hockey game ever is celebrated and described on the Kensington rhunestone

It talks about the Eveleth Golden Bears getting beat by the Duluth East Hounds in roughly 1300.

No composite sticks at that time.

In the minds of many in the twin ports we invented the game and are the best.

Great day at the park even back checked a bit as my dad was watching from heaven and would yell without the two way effort.

Now if we only had an NHL team in MN!

Can we get our Stars back?

I think Walternate reffed that game.

[chippa13 1844]

As someone who usually plays defense at pick up, cherry pickers ruin the game for us. We get stuck staying back because endless breakaways suck for goalies. We don't expect structure but don't fear your own blueline.

[Munsons 2]

As someone who usually plays defense at pick up, cherry pickers ruin the game for us. We get stuck staying back because endless breakaways suck for goalies. We don't expect structure but don't fear your own blueline.

Can't stand playing on a team with guys who won't come back to their own zone, even if it is pickup. I won't even bother passing it up to them if they continue to do it. Sometimes they get mad, but they usually get the message eventually.

[strosedefence34 175]

As someone who usually plays defense at pick up, cherry pickers ruin the game for us. We get stuck staying back because endless breakaways suck for goalies. We don't expect structure but don't fear your own blueline.

Can't stand playing on a team with guys who won't come back to their own zone, even if it is pickup. I won't even bother passing it up to them if they continue to do it. Sometimes they get mad, but they usually get the message eventually.

I used to play pick up every Sunday night and the same group of guys would show up and we would get a few new faces. One of the regulars was a high school kid who had recently started the game and thought he was much better than he was no one really liked him. One night he happen to score two goals and was cherry picking hard for the third so everyone on our bench were getting pissed at him and would yell at him to get back and he would just sit at the red line waiting for a break out pass. So we just didn't hit him with any passes. He would get the puck and people on our team would strip him of it just to prove a point. Nothing worked so finally I decided to feed him his breakout pass so he can get his hat trick after he scored I went over to him and asked him if its out of his system and to get back and play D. He ended up leaving after that.

[MN old and slow 92]

Pet peave is when I get tied up at work too late and cannot make it to the park to play pick up!

Darn bosses, darn issues. Just getting home and darn near 730pm.

[IPv6Freely 2082]

Ugh, the guy who cherry picks. Play is deep in his own end and he's standing at the red line with his stick in the air. He kind of stopped doing it after he had yet another breakaway and I just skated out of the net... not sure if that was why though. Honestly surprised people kept passing it to him after working their butts off a man short in their own end.

I don't mind it on occasion, getting behind the D when he anticipates his team will gain full control, but this guy is literally standing on the red line the whole time.