The Venting Spot

[Jamarquan 201]

Our Sunday afternoon game that wasn't originally on the schedule game got cancelled 10 minutes into the first period because the rink wasnt fully enclosed (the actual playing surface was fine, but the walls of the arena were partly mesh fencing) so the ice was covered in fog.

 

I was playing well in that game too, dammit.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

Time to go lose in the playoffs for the first time in 5 seasons. I figured people might actually show up for playoff games… NOPE!

[JoeyJ0506 192]

On 11/5/2017 at 8:04 PM, IPv6Freely said:

Time to go lose in the playoffs for the first time in 5 seasons. I figured people might actually show up for playoff games… NOPE!

It just seems like it is always to one extreme or the other, does it not? 

I got placed, as a free agent, on a team at another rink (I just wanted a team on which I could show up, play, and leave) and the captain has a "more the merrier" approach. We have between 16 and 20 skaters every game... it's rough. 

Edited November 14, 2017 by JoeyJ0506
grammar

[IPv6Freely 2092]

33 minutes ago, JoeyJ0506 said:

It just seems like it is always to one extreme or the other, does it not? 

I got placed, as a free agent, on a team at another rink (I just wanted a team on which I could show up, play, and leave) and the captain has a "more the merrier" approach. We have between 16 and 20 skaters every game... it's rough. 

We’re at a point where we’ve been taking that approach as well, but in reality all we’ve been getting are people who only show up occasionally. So now we have a roster of close to 20 and still can’t get a full lineup. 

We lost that game. But then in the “consolation finals” aka 3rd place game we had a full lineup (10 players) and won 5-2. 

Weve started using BenchApp for this season. The way we’re using it is basically: anyone who pays upfront is a regular, anyone who pays per game is considered a sub. Even the guys who have been on the team for years. 

Once the regulars have checked in, the software starts inviting subs and will allow up to 10 slots total, first come first served. 

Were hoping that avoids any issues where everyone decides to show up on the same night since we have so many pay-per-game players.

[chippa13 1844]

Sounds like a decent way to run it. My teams just run text chains.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

2 hours ago, chippa13 said:

Sounds like a decent way to run it. My teams just run text chains.

That’s what we had been using but it’s become so disjointed. We have probably twice the number of people who pay per game than pay up front. I think the attendance problem for us has a lot to do with people figuring it’s not costing them anything to stay home. 

[psulion22 402]

30 minutes ago, IPv6Freely said:

That’s what we had been using but it’s become so disjointed. We have probably twice the number of people who pay per game than pay up front. I think the attendance problem for us has a lot to do with people figuring it’s not costing them anything to stay home. 

One team I'm on remedies this by charging those who wanted to be "subs" $100 up front.  That guarantees them 4 games during the season, and priority on the list.  But if we call for a sub, and you turn it down, that counts as a game (with one freebie).  This way you're really only charging that money to a couple guys and will get coverage for most games.  If for some reason those guys still don't fill the roster, we'll go to individuals, but those guys probably aren't going to get many games, if any at all.  We find that guys will show up if they have skin in the game.  (just like how guys who are good enough to not pay to play won't show up if they find literally anything better to do).

Another team goes by the 3 strike rule.  If we call and you don't play 3 times, you don't get called again until everyone else does the same and list comes back around to the top.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

18 minutes ago, psulion22 said:

One team I'm on remedies this by charging those who wanted to be "subs" $100 up front.  That guarantees them 4 games during the season, and priority on the list.  But if we call for a sub, and you turn it down, that counts as a game (with one freebie).  This way you're really only charging that money to a couple guys and will get coverage for most games.  If for some reason those guys still don't fill the roster, we'll go to individuals, but those guys probably aren't going to get many games, if any at all.  We find that guys will show up if they have skin in the game.  (just like how guys who are good enough to not pay to play won't show up if they find literally anything better to do).

Another team goes by the 3 strike rule.  If we call and you don't play 3 times, you don't get called again until everyone else does the same and list comes back around to the top.

The problem with the second suggestion is that turning people away because they didn’t play when called doesn’t help us fill our lineup, as much as I agree with the concept.

[psulion22 402]

2 minutes ago, IPv6Freely said:

The problem with the second suggestion is that turning people away because they didn’t play when called doesn’t help us fill our lineup, as much as I agree with the concept.

It does require a long list of subs and only a few available spots on a regular basis.  That team in particular has maybe 8-10 guys we can call, but maybe only one or two needed a game.  So if they want the opportunity to play at some point, they'll have to come when we want them to not only when they want to.

[JoeyJ0506 192]

12 hours ago, JoeyJ0506 said:

It just seems like it is always to one extreme or the other, does it not? 

I got placed, as a free agent, on a team at another rink (I just wanted a team on which I could show up, play, and leave) and the captain has a "more the merrier" approach. We have between 16 and 20 skaters every game... it's rough. 

To this point, went to my game for this team tonight and we had 20+ guys show up to play. I skated one shift and left. 7 defensemen is a joke.

Subs should only be asked to come if a bunch of regulars drop out. This free for all is getting old quick.

Edited November 15, 2017 by JoeyJ0506

[marka 526]

Howdy,

11 minutes ago, JoeyJ0506 said:

To this point, went to my game for this team tonight and we had 20+ guys show up to play. I skated one shift and left. 7 defensemen is a joke.

Subs should only be asked to come if a bunch of regulars drop out. This free for all is getting old quick.

Where at / what division?  That sounds pretty lame to be sure.

I love having 13 skaters and that seems like a goal for teams I'm on over at Baierl.  10 is ok, but I'm old and slow and get pretty beat if its a quick game / against someone tough.  At 8 I know I'm going to be slowly dying, its just a question of when I go into "ah, fuck it, I probably couldn't get there anyway" mode.  :-)

 

I can't imagine 20 guys though.  That sounds awful.  I don't think I've ever played with more than 15 and guys were bitching about that one.

 

Mark

[IPv6Freely 2092]

2 hours ago, JoeyJ0506 said:

To this point, went to my game for this team tonight and we had 20+ guys show up to play. I skated one shift and left. 7 defensemen is a joke.

Subs should only be asked to come if a bunch of regulars drop out. This free for all is getting old quick.

That’s brutal. I hope you didn’t pay for the season! 

[chippa13 1844]

10 guys is the max I'll play with. The team I play forward on, 2 full lines works best. When I play defense I prefer to go with 3. Sometimes 4 D can be too many depending on the game.

Edited November 15, 2017 by chippa13

[JoeyJ0506 192]

9 hours ago, marka said:

Howdy,

Where at / what division?  That sounds pretty lame to be sure.

I love having 13 skaters and that seems like a goal for teams I'm on over at Baierl.  10 is ok, but I'm old and slow and get pretty beat if its a quick game / against someone tough.  At 8 I know I'm going to be slowly dying, its just a question of when I go into "ah, fuck it, I probably couldn't get there anyway" mode.  :-)

Mark

Mark, it's actually at Hess Ice Rink in New Castle, PA. Honestly, the majority of the guys that play in that league are from your way (Youngstown area, and a ton of YSU guys). There is only one skill-tier in the league, so you have beginners/amateurs mixed with guys that played Semi-Pro/College/Juniors, etc. The team I am on was assembled from the "Free Agent" list (Getting on an established team means you know somebody, or they liked the college/junior experience listed on your Free Agent resume) so the majority of my team is composed of college kids that wanted to try ice hockey out for the first time. We are getting beat pretty badly every game, but it is extra ice time, so that is not a huge deal to me.

6 hours ago, IPv6Freely said:

That’s brutal. I hope you didn’t pay for the season! 

I paid up first game. I know what it's like to run a team and have guys that won't pay until you put a gun to their head. But, the captain and I are going to have a conversation about what we are doing for the rest of the season.

33 minutes ago, chippa13 said:

10 guys is the max I'll play with. The team I play forward on, 2 full lines works best. When I play defense I prefer to go with 3. Sometimes 4 D can be too many depending on the game.

I agree, 10 skaters and a goalie (max) is best. And I agree, 3 D is more than enough most nights. Talked to one of the other guys on the team this morning, he got 6 shifts the entire game.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

59 minutes ago, chippa13 said:

10 guys is the max I'll play with. The team I play forward on, 2 full lines works best. When I play defense I prefer to go with 3. Sometimes 4 D can be too many depending on the game.

Totally agree. I don’t know why but we’re often much better with three D-men. The only thing I can think of is that you don’t get both trying to change at the same time? Or maybe they play a bit more conservatively to save energy?

[marka 526]

Howdy,

1 hour ago, JoeyJ0506 said:

Mark, it's actually at Hess Ice Rink in New Castle, PA. Honestly, the majority of the guys that play in that league are from your way (Youngstown area, and a ton of YSU guys). There is only one skill-tier in the league, so you have beginners/amateurs mixed with guys that played Semi-Pro/College/Juniors, etc. The team I am on was assembled from the "Free Agent" list (Getting on an established team means you know somebody, or they liked the college/junior experience listed on your Free Agent resume) so the majority of my team is composed of college kids that wanted to try ice hockey out for the first time. We are getting beat pretty badly every game, but it is extra ice time, so that is not a huge deal to me.

Oh, cool.  Yeah, at least some of those teams / guys are ones I've played against.  A bunch of them switch between the league that plays here in Boardman (The Ice Zone) and Hess seemingly depending on the weather.  :-)  Normally the problem around here is "not enough folks", so its crazy to hear that there's a team with 20+.

Hess remains the rink I always think of when I'm somewhere else and people are bitching about wherever that is being a shitty facility.  I've yet to see anything as bad as the locker rooms at Hess.  :-)

Mark

[psulion22 402]

3 D is a different mindset.  You're typically on the ice for 4 or 5 minutes straight at least, so you get more engaged in the game.  Plus, since the pairings just rotate, it's more fluid and consistent when the same defenders are playing with all of the forwards, rather than switching as a unit of 5 as often happens at a stoppage in beer league.  I find that a feel more like I'm "rolling" when we have 3 D.  But at the same time, if the D is doing what they are supposed to be doing, 3 D can get tiring and lead to too much passive play.

[chippa13 1844]

If you're running 3 D well then it should work out to about 3 minute shifts (stop time) with 1 1/2 minutes on the bench. The 2 ways you can run into problems is if 1 guy either takes really short shifts or really long shifts.

I find I'm much more into the game when we play with 3 D as opposed to 4.

[stick9 888]

On 11/14/2017 at 11:32 AM, JoeyJ0506 said:

It just seems like it is always to one extreme or the other, does it not? 

I got placed, as a free agent, on a team at another rink (I just wanted a team on which I could show up, play, and leave) and the captain has a "more the merrier" approach. We have between 16 and 20 skaters every game... it's rough. 

We had people bitch when we expanded out roster to 14 for the winter season. We've never had all 14 show up. The most was 12. I joke, 14, it's the new 9.

I can't imagine playing mens league with that many guys on the bench. 6 forwards & 4 D is ideal.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

I just checked the roster for this season. 13 skaters active for this season, maybe 4-5 of them paying up-front. 3 additional that we generally don't count on but occasionally show up.

We've given out 28 jerseys in the couple years this team has existed. 

[beerleaguecaptain 999]

We keep 15 on the roster.  The team likes to play with either 12 or 13.  10 is fine too.  We always have guys who miss for one reason or another so it never becomes a problem except maybe come playoffs.  We always go 4D.  The pace is fast and guys get tired late in the game.  On the team I play D for the pace is not so fast but we are not that good either so it takes more effort.  4D in that situation works well.

[JoeyJ0506 192]

3 hours ago, marka said:

Howdy,

Oh, cool.  Yeah, at least some of those teams / guys are ones I've played against.  A bunch of them switch between the league that plays here in Boardman (The Ice Zone) and Hess seemingly depending on the weather.  :-)  Normally the problem around here is "not enough folks", so its crazy to hear that there's a team with 20+.

Hess remains the rink I always think of when I'm somewhere else and people are bitching about wherever that is being a shitty facility.  I've yet to see anything as bad as the locker rooms at Hess.  :-)

Mark

Locker rooms are a disaster there, but new lighting, new boards, new benches, and a new chilling unit have all been installed in the past two years (Chiller was done last week). There are plans in the pipe for spectator seating and new locker rooms/showers. It just takes time to raise the money needed for the projects. But, the place is definitely on the up-swing.

[chippa13 1844]

We've even gone 6 and 2 a few times when we've only had 8 show up. It actually works out better than going 5 and 3 because it keeps the forwards fresh and that can make up for the 2 D getting a little winded here and there.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

14 minutes ago, JoeyJ0506 said:

Locker rooms are a disaster there, but new lighting, new boards, new benches, and a new chilling unit have all been installed in the past two years (Chiller was done last week). There are plans in the pipe for spectator seating and new locker rooms/showers. It just takes time to raise the money needed for the projects. But, the place is definitely on the up-swing.

We have a brand new arena they just built a couple years ago, but they installed used boards, glass, nets, etc. What a shame. At least the locker rooms and showers are clean... for now... 

13 minutes ago, chippa13 said:

We've even gone 6 and 2 a few times when we've only had 8 show up. It actually works out better than going 5 and 3 because it keeps the forwards fresh and that can make up for the 2 D getting a little winded here and there.

We've done the same. 

[Stewie 721]

8 or 9 is probably my ideal number for a one hour game. for longer drop ins, 4-5 on the bench isn't half bad a situation.