Beer League Hockey, The Movie

If you are looking for the beer league baseball movie, sorry, we are talking about hockey. There is a feature film looking to get produced that sums up what all of us beer league hockey players experience once or twice a week. The trailer is great and, of course, the caveat is they need money to produce the movie, Beer League. Check out the Beer League Hockey trailer at, http://www.zoomcom.ca/beerleague/. At the very least, you will get a good picture of what most beer league hockey teams are made up of. Come to think of it, there is a lack of beer being shown in the lock room scenes and they did forget the carb loading that goes on pre-game and post-game. Enjoy!

Sidney Crosby Named Captain

Sidney Crosby named captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins. He is considered to be the next Wayne Gretzky. Sidney Crosby became the youngest player to win the NHL scoring title this season and is now the youngest team captain in league history. One of many new records that this up and coming hockey star will be establishing and taking from the great one.The Penguins made this official on May 31st.

Sidney Crosby, centre, notched 120 points in just his second season in the NHL.
(Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press)

"Sidney has done so much for this franchise in his first two seasons, made so much history, that you have to keep reminding yourself that he is only 19 years old," Penguins general manager Ray Shero said on the team's official website.

"It is obvious to all of us — coaches, players, management, staff — that he has grown into the acknowledged leader of the Pittsburgh Penguins. It is only appropriate that he wears the 'C' as team captain.”

Crosby, who won't turn 20 until August, served as an alternate captain while topping the NHL with 120 points (36 goals, 84 assists) in his second season, earning him a nomination for the league's most valuable player award.

"I was always told that age is just a number," Crosby said. "I try not to let it get in the way of anything."

Best Hockey Fight

Hands down this may be the best hockey fight, the Senators vs. the Flyers. With over 4 minutes of a true bench clearing brawl after you see this you will agree it is the best hockey fight you have ever seen. For your listening pleasure you have in the background as the commentators deliver a play by play, blow by blow details of the fight, you have Metallica's Sandman playing in the background. It doesn't get any better that this...best hockey fight ever!

Hockey Fight Clip

This hockey fight clip shows Downey of the Dallas Stars knocks out Boulerice of the Carolina Hurricanes with 1 swing. The preparation and poise that Downey bestows is a tell tale sign that he has done this before. In fact, this hockey fight clip is his16th fight of the season. Giving hockey fans what they want, highlights and water cooler talk for the office.

Pond Hockey Just Got an Upgrade

Yes, this is for real. Where was this when I was growing up? No more pond hockey when you can have the real deal in your backyard. Looks like neighbors collaborated for this. Back in the day, our version of pond hockey was to shovel the snow to clear off an ice rink area, chop a hole in the ice and run an extension cord from the house to the rink and oh yeah, plug in the portable water pump and flood the ice (old school zamboni). When your shots missed the make, you skated your #$%@ off to get it back into play. Here, you get the ultimate in pond hockey which represents near home hockey playing convenience with state of the art hockey technology. NICE!

Beer League Hockey...Competitive Hockey?

For those that have played competitive hockey growing up, the next evolution is beer league hockey. So the question remains, is beer league hockey competitive hockey? First, for those not familiar with the beer league, the above jersey and name alone should sum it up for you. Some beer league hockey fanatics believe the best approach to the sport is pre-game carb loading. Others, are advocates of post game relaxation carbs as a sleep aid. Ofcourse, there are some that feel pre and post game carb loading is the essential. So, if you are still in the dark, you shall remain there. Competitive hockey is how you define it and where you play it. As for me, I have been playing in the beer league for 18 years and 8 years prior to that in high school and college (it was kind of the beer league in high school and full fledged in college). All 26 of these years and 7 years prior to this can all be defined as competitive hockey.

Interestingly enough, although the NHL seems to be lacking in fan participation and tv coverage, hockey has grown tremendously with player participation. For a lesson in the leagues that you can start at and graduate to, it goes like this; mite hockey, squirt hockey, pee wee hockey, bantam hockey, midget hockey, high school hockey, college hockey, minor league hockey and the NHL. Varying levels of play include house league hockey, minor league hockey, all-star hockey, travelling team hockey and more.

For the 11 years I have played Arizona hockey in the beer league, we have grown from 3 ice rinks to 11 ice rinks. Hockey may lacking in fan participation but if there was one sport that growing up kids wanted to play most or wish they played is hockey.