Oldtimers show age is just a number
Hockey league for players 65 and up is going strong
There are no age limits when it comes to the love of the game.
Every week they are out there, Niagara’s senior stars — chasing down the puck, looking for the perfect pass or taking the sweet shot that beats the goalie.
The Niagara Icetimers Association 65-plus hockey league is showing no signs of slowing down, like many of the players. The league held its championship and consolation games for the fall schedule Monday morning at Gale Centre in Niagara Falls.
“The guys just love it,” said Icetimers chair Ed Strohak.
“They have the time of their life. It’s just fantastic. Some of the guys have been off the ice for 35 years. Some of the guys can really play. There is a wide spectrum of ages and abilities. The whole thing is set up so you can play some good, clean hockey.”
Strohak, 80, still laces up his skates occasionally when a team is short-handed.
He said the loop is perfect if what you want is to have fun and enjoy some friendly competition — with the emphasis on friendly.
It isn’t the first league the Niagara Falls resident has organized. Strohak has a place on the city’s sports wall of fame as a builder. He helped organize the Niagara South Oldtimers hockey club, created the Niagara Falls Play
the Puck 55-plus league as well as the Niagara Falls Seniors Pond Hockey. In 2007, Niagara Falls presented him with the Doug Austin award as volunteer sportsperson of the year.
One of the things Strohak realized is competition can bring out the worst in some players, even when they are old enough to know better.
“We want to watch the intensity and make sure there is nothing over the top,” Strohak said. “You never know if the guy you are checking has a bad knee or replacement hips.
“One of the guys told me that it is nice to go out there and not worry about being checked from behind.”
If “over the top” intensity results in a penalty for hooking, tripping or body contact, referees assess a double minor. Directors review all the penalties. Slapshots aren’t permitted.
“There have been a few guys I’ve taken aside and said, ‘This is not your type of hockey. You’re competitive and I think it would be better for you, and everybody else, if you moved on.’ It doesn’t happen very often.”
The league has a fall schedule and a winter schedule because the rosters are dotted with snowbirds who winter in Florida. Even that development has a bright side. It will open some roster spots for “rookies” in January.
“I had a heart bypass,” Strohak said.
“It took a while for me to recover. When I got back on skates, I was elated that I could still move pretty fast. The only problem I had was stopping,” he said with a laugh.