Old goal scorers never die, their shot just weakens 'til they don't score any more, and their bodies age into the older demographic of those present in any given game of shinny. I have played Friday afternoons for many years, as a spare at first, for years, maybe a decade or more, and then as …
Waking Up Sore
Today is Tuesday. I played Sunday night and I played last night. Both were wonderful skates and I was tired at the end of each. This morning, when it seemed as dark as it could get and when my first somewhat coherent but still foggy thought was that I wished the dog was not a morning person, …
Flooding The Rink in Style
A fellow old-timer regaled us pre-game recently with a story about how his dad, and another (whose sons also played old-timer with me), were discovered one night out flooding the neighbourhood rink in perhaps the most creative and social manner possible. His story goes something like this. When he was a kid, the phone at …
End of the Weekend
I looked forward to Sunday night hockey all weekend. Right from the point I left the dressing room after Friday afternoon hockey in fact. It is good to have good things to look forward to. As I hustled through the parking lot into the rink, I had to weave through some kids playing footy in …
Peanut Butter Cups
The older I get, the nuttier (no pun intended) the world gets. I'd like to think I am open-minded and believe there are few absolutes in this thing called life. (Perhaps it was my upbringing - ie. one of my father's sage chestnuts was that when it came to pie, there was no such thing …
Old Sticks Never Die
Let's get a little philosophical today. What is it that compels some of us hockey acolytes to keep old sticks after their playing days are done? Is there a parallel in how one puts a thoroughbred out to pasture to live out their years? Are they like old books read long ago, or vinyl records …
Like The Masters, But Without The Patrons
To be fair, the WOHL's year-end tourney usually does have some fans show up. Not as many perhaps as those that make the trek to Augusta National in the spring, but hey, a golf course is far roomier than an indoor rink so it's not really a fair comparison of the popularity of these two …
I Love Me Some Play-off Hockey
da-da da-da daa daaaaaa, da-da da-da daaa daa naaaa.... As coach Babsy might say it, "Ok Boyz, let's get out there and play hard and play right, eh?!" Allow me to explain where I'm going here. While the world has some pretty serious problems right now, and NHL play-off hockey is, and should be, a …
The Golden Boot – 2020
So...here we go eh? Another year in the W has passed and the season ending tourney played out in all its sporting glory. Even in these strange times, the show must go on, no? Buckle up boys, and I'll do my best to chronicle how this year's event went down. There were some moments that …
I’m ready to go Coach, put me in!
Sometimes taking a bit of a break gives one some perspective. I've written a total of 4 posts in just over the past 6 years here on Rink Tales. Time truly flies. A couple of those posts were written about 4 years ago while my mind was hyperventilating with the prospect I might not be …
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