Leagues in RI/South Eastern MA

[deathb4dismount 11]

My brother in law and I are looking to join a league in the Providence area and I am trying to get some info on the leagues out there. If anyone has info on these leagues or others I havent listed please let me know. I'm looking for a competitve C skate with playoffs

1.) RI Men's Hockey League - I skated in this league 6 or 7 years ago. There are only 2 divisions B & C and this caused a big gap between level of play in the C division. I remembered there were a lot of B+ players in the C division. Is it still the same or is it a good skate for C level?

2.) NESHL Foxboro - Never had any experience with this league. I have heard it is goonish, which I do not mind. Anyone skate in the C Division in foxboro?

3.) Monarchs Hockey - Two divisions, draft division is the one I would look at. I like both rinks. Anyone with experience?

4.) Stinky Socks Qunicy -I started skating the Friday night C game as a fill in. The skate was decent but the ice surface is abolute garbage and it is a little far for me. Plus it is more like organized pickup with a ref. No playoffs or incentive to skate harder, except pride.

[vectoranalysisgo 3]

Stinky Socks runs the same general kind of game (glorified pickup) in a few other places that might be closer to you... if you were willing to drive to Quincy, they also have some games in Milton during the week. I also play in that Quincy Friday night game sometimes and the ice and play both vary quite a lot from week to week. Same goes for the Milton games but I think the ice there is a little better. There's also a C level skate in Natick on Monday nights where the ice is better but the level of play is hit or miss and attendance varies- lots of weeks there are zero or only one or two subs on each bench (good for ice time, bad for people taking long, slow shifts). Not league-style play, but some other options if you want them.

I also play on a D level NESHL team (Metro Boston, though, not Foxboro). I heard all the same complaints about the goonish-nature of the league from a lot of people but I haven't noticed anything of the sort. I don't mind a little goonish action, which is why I decided to give it a shot (signed up as a draft player last fall). I realize it may be more of an issue in the higher levels (though in my experience, the better the skate, the less bullshit like that.. but who knows), and maybe it varies from league location to location, but I have yet to encounter anything that supports that reputation. Guys get chippy and loose with their sticks from time to time, but I've encountered fewer hot-headed bros in that league than I would have expected. Could be just the Metro Boston group though. If nothing else, I'd give the Foxboro skate a try.

Sorry I don't have more info but I'm actually hoping to see if others chime in with more suggestions because I'd be interested in finding other leagues or skates in the area as well. I've been living about halfway between Boston and Providence since last summer and initially expected to move closer to Boston right away so I looked mainly at Boston area skates, but that may not happen until the end of the summer now, so if I can find another league to get involved with around here or RI, I'd jump on it too.