Ringers in the playoffs, what do you think?

[RiSeOnFiRe 0]

Any time we have a ringer skating against us, my team will usually up the stickwork on him and the captain. a few slashes here and there can make him not want to 'play down' a level. Mouthing off to em and getting more physical seems to work for me. If you wanna cheat, hey thats cool, but we're gonna make you pay for it.

[Kevin 5]

Playing intentionally dirty is not cool. The "ringer" might have had no clue what level he had agreed to play for.

[DoubleT96 0]

I would report it to the league asap, so the ringer is not there for games two and three. However, it all depends on the league rules.

+1 on that. If he's not on the team, don't let them get away with potentially two more times. As someone mentioned, it may even be grounds for forfeit if the enforce the rules. However, you might rather play the remaining two games over the forfeit (better outcome imo).

[RecLeagueHero 0]

Playing intentionally dirty is not cool. The "ringer" might have had no clue what level he had agreed to play for.

Then you don't score a hat trick. I've been there, some friends of mine that have a team in other local beer league ask me to sub a game for them. The general level of play was pretty novice and I shouldn't have been there. I played, but toned it down 4 or 5 notches and didn't take a single shot.

[sitzlejd 0]

This is my least favorite part about beer league. It happens EVERY time playoffs come around. I think you should do whatever you can to make sure that guy isn't around for the next game.

[DoubleT96 0]

Playing intentionally dirty is not cool. The "ringer" might have had no clue what level he had agreed to play for.

I don't blame the ringer as much as I blame the team for getting him to play when they obviously know he isn't on the original roster and it's against the rules. When he shows up to play the first game of the playoffs, he wouldn't have known the level he agreed to play on b/c he wasn't originally supposed to be playing. I'd assume that if the ringer plays, he wouldn't tone it down, as most guys likely wouldn't; especially if the score was 4-3.

[AnthonyJTa 0]

The rules are clear. That guy has to be on their roster and has to have played at least 5 games.

This is exactly what I was going to suggest... in our local league it's a minimum of 6 regular season games to be eligible for post season. 6 seemed like a lot, and unfortunately, my brothers team had a guy miss the playoffs due to injury... but with it happening so much, it makes sense.

[thecat1792 0]

This is so frustrating!! Especially being a goalie, when I see a guy I haven't seen all season long I know it's going to be a long game. It's disrespectful and makes the regular season mean absolutely nothing. I'd go to the league director with my hair on fire.

[Chadd 916]

Our league requires a player to have played in at least seven games with a team for them to be eligible for the playoffs, goalies excepted. We use pointstreak and it makes it easy to monitor the rosters.

My rink is the same way - you have to be on the original roster. Substitutes cannot participate in the playoffs, and we use Pointstreak.

Our league locks down the rosters after the tenth game, out of a 20 game season, it works well for the most part. Our biggest problem is guys that sandbag until late in the third and always seem to score the tying or winning goal.

[sitzlejd 0]

You know you're in for a long night when the other team is all wearing yellow, except for a guy in white, a guy in light blue, and a guy in red. Non-matching jerseys are always a dead giveaway.

[nexusrage21 1]

We played a team one season that we beat 8-0 and 10-4 in the regular season, no one on the team was a real stand out.

Come playoffs, they have two guys who I've never seen before, who are wearing the same numbers as other players on the team. (Our league gives every team the same home and away jerseys.) As soon as we notice, we are suspicious, especially because the two guys are clearly the best players on this team. We ask the refs about it and they tell us that everyone is checked in, which we know is crap because none of us had to check in.

I guess they just couldn't be bothered with checking everyone.

I've been ringered a few times, I'm pretty sure, but this time stands out because it was after our league made a big deal about people being checked in before games, it just didn't last to the playoffs.

[NuggyBuggy 0]

This topic has come up before:

http://www.modsquadhockey.com/forums/index...=ringer+playoff

Some leagues require players to have a special sticker for each season on their helmet, identifying the player as someone who is at least registered to play in the league *somewhere*, though of course they could be playing in a different tier. Helmets could also be switched, but any obstacles like these make this activity less likely.

OP, you say asking the league for an ID check would be a "dick move" (if I recall your phrasing), but ultimately that's what you really want them to do, isn't it ? - you just don't want to be the one asking for it. You can't expect the refs or the league to know who is on what team without doing an ID check, and you can't count on someone else's sense of fair play to rule the day. If it pissed me off enough to post, I would ask for an ID check - I don't care about winning per se, but I paid to play, and if that ringer ends up bumping my team from the playoffs, it means I get to play a lot less because of him.

You could also just tell the other team sometime before the game that you're going to ask for an ID check, even if you won't.

One final thought: sometimes you don't know how a ringer ended up playing for a team. Once, our team was going to be extremely short for one of our games. Someone said he could bring a couple of guys to fill out the roster, so we took them, counting on our player's good judgment. As soon as they walk into the building, you can tell they can *really* play hockey. Before the opening faceoff, I talked to one of them and found out they play at the highest levels of men's hockey, and that they didn't know what level we were playing at - they were just helping out their buddy. They ended up being WAY too good for the level of play, which was not cool with many of us, but by then it was too late. The convenor warned us that if they ever showed up again, we would be moved up.

I know that this is unlikely in your situation, being playoffs and all, but I wouldn't blow a gasket about it. I'd just take advantage of the one recourse available to me - an ID check, or the threat of one.

[Jason Harris 31]

Our league requires a player to have played in at least seven games with a team for them to be eligible for the playoffs, goalies excepted. We use pointstreak and it makes it easy to monitor the rosters.

My rink is the same way - you have to be on the original roster. Substitutes cannot participate in the playoffs, and we use Pointstreak.

I like the league's intention but it wouldn't prevent a player wearing someone else's jersey. At that point, it's up to your memory if number 12 is playing a lot better than you remember.

[Jason Harris 31]

We have a 5 game minimum played, but I think he was wearing the jersey of someone who couldn't make the game, so without us having challenged them there about his eligibility (which I DO think would have been a dick move)

Why is it a dick move? He either belongs on the team or he doesn't. If he doesn't, most leagues give you the right to challenge his eligibility.

I don't have a problem with teams bringing in players because they are going to be woefully low on numbers, such as friends of mine who once had to play a game with five players -- one guy was on his knees at the blue line while the puck was in the other end -- but I have a problem when they upgrade.

There's a guy I play pickup with that everybody likes when he's on their side. He's the best passer I've ever played with. Even when you think you are covering the only guy open to him, he skates fifteen more feet and chips the puck over a stick to another player who is now open. One night I saw he playing for a team that was short of players, and it was funny because he was smacking the puck around like he had no idea what he was doing. Anyone who knew him could tell he wasn't going to be a ringer, he was just going to be a body to help for that night. I had a lot of respect for that, but I'm sure the team that had asked him to help was thinking, "Oh, come on, Jim, we were hoping you'd score a few goals!"

[iceholes 0]

too bad it happens in many places... but I think it depends on if your league cares or not. Our league says it up to us to tell a ref. But many teams would never step up and challenge it as to not be portrayed as poor sports... sort of a catch 22.

[NuggyBuggy 0]

I can't see how anyone could be called a poor sport for asking a league to enforce a rule they put in place and that is known to all. If it were the playoffs and it meant a possible extra game or loss of same, I'd probably do it. If it was the regular season I wouldn't care.

[taigyr 0]

It happened to our team in the finals. Both times the finalist had a "backup" goalie. We were fortunate enough to split the best of three series. In the deciding game *poof* the regular goalie shows up. We won both times. Just funny how the backup happened to be better than the regular.

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

The reason I say it would be a dick move is because, it's just beer league hockey. It's lower level beer league hockey. Certainly we want to win, but we don't know for sure if he is a ringer, or if he's just playing in the wrong league. Our goalie now says he remembers him from a previous game.

He may not be the "ringer" I thought, just coming in for the playoffs, but he is playing way down in level.

It may be a case that he is friends with some of the guys on the team and wants to play with them. I don't know.

I just don't like worrying about things like this. I just want to play hockey. It just pissed me off something serious after losing to his goal when he suddenly turned it on with 45 seconds to go.

It was a good game, the refs let us play, it got somewhat physical. It wasn't dirty, the other team are not a bunch of dicks or anything. It was just a tough pill to swallow getting beat by one guy, not by the team

[grossie 0]

Disclaimer- I'm not a shill for Hockey North America (HNA), just a captain of a team there...

HNA has a roster freeze in January of the Oct to April 20 game season. If you bring on guys who are too good for your level you'll move up a level. Likewise, if you are getting clobbered every game you'll move down. I've been in both those boats.

If I (as the Captain) get caught bringing a ringer to a game we get a)forfeit of that game b)automatic misconduct penalty for me, which might carry a suspension c)monetary fine up to $1000 (donated to charity of my choice) before my team can play again. This rule makes me think very carefully before I consider an unauthorized player (in my 3 years there I've never brought one).

It's the most fair league I've ever been involved in, except for my other current league which is self-governed by the captains and is a lower less-competitive situation.

[Tikkanen 1]

In my league if you play with a player who isn't on the roster it's an automatic forfeit.

Yah, we won a championship thanks to that rule. Bringing in ringers for the playoffs is douchy, the only thing you can do is roster check them, make the league enforce their own rules. And if that doesn't work fight him first time he lines up or shadow him the entire game. I like that ID check before playoff games, I wish all leagues would have some sort of proof before you're allowed to play. I paid my money and ice leagues are not cheap, I want to know the guys I'm playing with and against also paid their fees.

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

So, the guy is on the roster (somehow) but is being moved up after the season.

The refs don't call penalties as much against him, so we were able to get in his head a bit (although the refs warned us after the 2nd that the leniency was over, and they would be calling them in the third)

We won 4-1, game 2 of a 3 game series, tied 1-1, game three tomorrow

[Law Goalie 147]

My only hesitation with calling out "ringer" goalies is that they may have been the only ones available, or the only ones the other team knew.

In my experience, most senior teams are lucky if they know ONE reliable goalie.

[Chadd 916]

Our league requires a player to have played in at least seven games with a team for them to be eligible for the playoffs, goalies excepted. We use pointstreak and it makes it easy to monitor the rosters.

My rink is the same way - you have to be on the original roster. Substitutes cannot participate in the playoffs, and we use Pointstreak.

I like the league's intention but it wouldn't prevent a player wearing someone else's jersey. At that point, it's up to your memory if number 12 is playing a lot better than you remember.

We have the same half dozen scorekeepers and most of them know most of the players pretty well. It's also not uncommon for a guy on one team to work with a guy on the other team or have played with the other team in the past. It's also a dead giveaway when #12 has two points over 15 regular season games and 6 points in a playoff game.

[Vishi05 0]

In my league if you play with a player who isn't on the roster it's an automatic forfeit.

Yah, we won a championship thanks to that rule. Bringing in ringers for the playoffs is douchy, the only thing you can do is roster check them, make the league enforce their own rules. And if that doesn't work fight him first time he lines up or shadow him the entire game. I like that ID check before playoff games, I wish all leagues would have some sort of proof before you're allowed to play. I paid my money and ice leagues are not cheap, I want to know the guys I'm playing with and against also paid their fees.

Those little pukes deserved it.

[Scoobersti 0]

I always wonder about those ringers or guys who play in divisions way below their level. I mean, is it that much fun scoring bunch of goals by playing few divisions below your skill level?