Lloyd Duhaime's Ice Hockey Goalie Years: Tghe Old-Timers Shutout

Contrary to some old-timer, aka beer league 9ice hockey players who shall remain nameless, and who always have to tell us what their bloody jersey number is ... that they're busy painting etc., al of which deprives us of the more frequent form the high-value visitor/reader such as Gary Kilgour, Bert Buckley or Donald Wilson, we do have a sports historian on the roster. It cost me some good coin, but I got him to give us an anal-ysis (spelling?) of the shut-out in old-timer ice hockey. It is in the process of submission to Sports Illustrated.

By guest blogger: Karry Hope.

Is a shut out in old-timers, recreation hockey a big deal? Well, it definitely is a rarity.

I wondered how a shut out could come about with lots of chance occurrences and all of the weirdness that happens at recreation level hockey. But too, I don?t want to take away from a goalie that might have had the right mix of food, sex and biorhythms that made for a shutout game. It?s a big deal at the NHL level, and a shutout at the rec level is rare.

I?ve played a lot of hockey over the years, mostly recreational level hockey. The type of hockey that involves a more or less stable roster of 20+ plus guys, divided into what someone thought would be equal teams and a never ending rotation of spares making up the numbers, but hardly ever changing the initial talent levels. Talent is a bit of stretch at most times, whereas heart, trying hard and having fun make up most of the games. Sometimes though things come together for a shift or two, and for that we all feel encouraged.

Old-timers hockey in this case are players over 50 with a median age of 57, and where almost no one has hockey training farther than pond hockey or late nights at local outdoor arenas, and nothing more organized than recreation level hockey.

I?ve cobbled together a few observations on recreation level oldtimers hockey, things that I think would make a shutout such a rarity.

General Perspective

Ice surface ? who was on the ice before, the speed skaters or the figure skaters or a recreational skate, or another hockey game. And what was the Zamboni driver feeling like that day, did he/she want to do an extra heavy flood or was it just an ice scrape this time. All of these add up to surface that can make a puck dance like a Hornby Island hippy, and that can send an oldtimer crashing into the boards when they catch an edge. A rec goalie has to be damn good anticipating the ice surface.
Chances are good that a puck will go in the net!

Rules ? a range of rules and at times no rules, and sometimes made up rules. Everyone knows the right and wrongs in a game. There definitely is a rule about offsides, but after that it gets kinda grey. Too may men, delay of game, body checks, stick work??.the understanding on these are more byzantine than a papal bull. And most times the spares are not told the rules.
Chances are good that a puck will go in the net!

No Referees ? Referees are also a rarity at these types of games. In fact the years that I?ve played at this level if someone attempts to grab a whistle and officiate they are ignored and maybe even ostracized. Hearing is an issue with some and refs would be blowing themselves blue trying to get someone?s attention. The function of a ref is to stop play, but at this level without a ref it?s all about self regulation and there?s a lot of room for interpretation. When did the goalie really freeze the puck?, Was it still loose, and according to whom?
Chances are good that a puck will go in the net!

Equipment ? Team jerseys, but especially socks are seldom matched for a whole team. In fact, how often has this happened, someone dresses and puts on the wrong coloured socks or that?s the only type of sock they have and it?s the same colours as the opponent, but different than their team. Or the times when they notice they have the wrong socks on but then only change one sock (not enough time!) so then they have both colours on one player. How?s a goalie supposed to sort who?s on his team or not, and who is that random mismatched sock guy playing for?
Chances are good that a puck will go in the net!

Lack of coaching ? there are so many styles of play and players and all can benefit from a few words of guidance or inspiration at this level, but without that most teams are made up of the loose cannon players. You know the guys who will not pass, or cannot pass or cannot take a pass or will not take a pass. The randomness of all of these playing permeations make it outstanding if a goalie can anticipate what to expect.
Chances are good that a puck will go in the net!

Pucks ? unfrozen and unround. Like dimples on a golfball the dents on a puck can make them travel farther and straighter than expected. Of course out of round pucks bounce and jostle on the ice much more, making it harder for a goalie track their trajectory.
Chances are good that a puck will go in the net!

No score board ? does anyone really know what the score is? Lack of time keeping -When did the game begin and when does it really end?

Chances are good that a puck will go in the net!

Some Intangibles

Age of players ? Reflex speed isn?t what it used to be, for some at least. So hard shots aren?t and some shots are surprisingly heavy. A goalie has got be prepared for every eventuality when the puck is being shot.
Chances are good that a puck will go in the net!

Playing style - So many sticks banging around for the same puck at the sametime in front of the net. It?s got to be hard for the goalie to know which way the puck is going to go and off which stick. And then how about this (and you?d be surprised how often it does happen), some player chooses to be a benevolent god of hockey and they allow an opposing player to skate uncontested in on their goal because it?s not that important after all. What?s a goalie supposed to do?
Chances are good that a puck will go in the net!

Why do we play this game? There?s no remuneration for playing, which is bad, because there?s no incentive to play consistently. But it?s also good because there are no distractions that come with a salary, such as wine, women and song. Then again, there is no holy grail to strive for. Bragging rights are as short lived as a bright idea after a bottle of wine. The reason for playing varies from one player to the next
Chances are good that a puck will go in the net!

I?m not saying that all of these things happened that fateful night, but even if one happened the Chances are good that a puck will go in the net! But you know what a puck didn?t go into one of the nets and it all adds up to how rare it is that after 75 minutes no goals would be scored.

Source: http://breakerswha.blogspot.com/2012/02/tghe-old-timers-shutout.html

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