Hockey has been a big part of my life in many ways, so I should spend some time going over my memories. The first thing that I can remember is my Dad making an outdoor rink in our back yard. It wasn't terribly big, probably only about 10 feet by 20 feet, and there were no boards. It was just an ice surface to start learning how to skate. I was into right away, pushing around a kitchen chair on the ice until I got enough strength and balance to move around on my own. Then a little hockey stick was added along with a puck and I was on my way. This started when I was five.
We only had that rink for one year because it killed the grass, but my neighbor put a rink in his garden and it was all fenced off so it was a great place for us to play little hockey games. They had a light on their garage that shone onto the rink so we could play after dark. This is where I really got started playing hockey on the ice. Of course, we also played street hockey both on the front street and in the back lanes. In the beginning we only had two pieces of snow for goal posts but in a few years there were small road hockey nets available. I played this for many years, mostly in the spring and fall when there was no ice available. We also played some floor hockey in school, which I really enjoyed.
By the time I was seven or eight I was already wandering down to the corner rink to go skating, although I was too small to play any pick up hockey or shinny. I lived about a block and a half from a small park with a wading pool called Pascoe Park. In the summer we would go there to play on the structures and in the wading pool. In the winter the wading pool side was closed and a temporary hockey rink and pleasure skating surface were erected on the other side of the building. We simply referred to the building as "the shack".
Those were the days of the Baby Boomers and there were always lots of kids around. Before I started playing organized hockey I recall skating at the rink only to be kicked off while the organized teams had games. There were three teams playing out of Pascoe Park, they were 11, 12 and 13 years olds. Keep in mind that this wasn't even a community centre, just a little satellite park for Weston Memorial Community Centre, which had all of its own teams. So there were lots and lots of kids. Anyway, after watching these guys play I was certainly gung-ho to try it also.
I should describe The Shack: There were two sets of doors, one facing north and one facing south. The south facing doors opened to a fenced-off area that had the play structures and wading pool. The north facing doors opened to a field that had a baseball diamond and soccer field and an area where the hockey rinks were installed for the winter. One the west side there were sliding doors that opened to a storage area that housed hoses and equipment. On the inside there were two bathrooms, two small changing rooms and a small office for the "Park Man". The rest of the area was an open rectangle with a row of double sided benches that had uprights between them for hanging coats and so on. The floor was concrete but in the winter it was covered by mats made out of leather and rubber. These mats had seams with metal stitching them together so I think that they were originally some kind of large belt, probably used in a power plant. The place had a particular odor, like a swimming pool, sorting of musty with a vague hint of chlorine.
So I skated a little bit at Pascoe Park but the next winter, when I turned 8, there was an opportunity to go to the Community Centre and play for the 8 year old house league team. I think I went to two practices and played one game but then I lost interest, it wasn't very well organized. I do recall having a wind-up at the community centre where we watched a film of highlights from the previous years Stanley Cup - the winners were the Toronto Maple Leafs, they haven't won since.
The next year I did not bother with organized hockey, just playing at Pascoe Park instead. One time during a quiet afternoon there was just one other skater and myself and the Park Man. Inside his office was a trunk that contained some equipment, in this case, goaltender equipment. He let me put it on, there was a mask, chest protector, shin pads and gloves and also a stick. I went out into the net and let the other kid take some shots at me. That was my first experience goaltending.
The following year I signed up to play organized hockey at Pascoe Park, I was only ten but they placed me on the eleven year old team. I wasn't getting much ice time, in those days the favored few would get all the ice time. After a few games I volunteered to play goal and they let me. So I must have played about ten or twelve games, mostly outdoors. The thing was that I didn't have all of the equipment. All I had was my skates. So I strapped on the big goalies shin pads, a chest pad, a helmet and cage and the blocker and catcher. No armpads, no pants, no elbow pads and no jock! I was a little bit prone to dodging shots, and I would get mad at myself for being such a coward. Anyway, we had a decent season and we lost in overtime in the playoffs.
The next year I played at Weston Memorial. Except I was playing forward and did not get much ice time. Our team was ok and we actually made it to the finals of the "Christmas Knockout" tournament, which meant we got to play in the old Winnipeg Arena. That was a big thrill, although we lost the game. The next year I had the option of going to play for West-End (instead of Weston) and since I hadn't enjoyed sitting on the bench in Weston, that's what I did. There was a good coach there and I really enjoyed playing on that team. I had a really good season and we made it to the city championships before losing in the final. On the way we beat my old Weston team.
The next year most of the players from the West-end team joined a AA team in the area and I did not make the cut. This meant going back to play for Weston. I tried but it was a disaster there. At 14 I knew my hockey career was over. I spent the next two years doing what I loved the most about playing hockey and that was playing shinny at Pascoe Park. Once I turned 16 we moved away from Weston and I really just hung up my skates, although I did go skating maybe 10 times or so until I was in University. I played a little bit with some friends when I was 19 or 20 but I didn't really get serious again until I was in my late twenties.
I started playing some old timers hockey and in some recreational leagues. I even played for a couple of seasons in the Police League and spared in the Charleswood Men's League. I also participated in the number of RCMP hockey tournaments. However I found these leagues to be difficult to play in. So many different skill levels and different attitudes towards the game. Some people were out for fun and some people were out for blood. Eventually I just settled on playing pick up hockey on Friday afternoons at the River Heights Arena. After a year or so I was running the ice time there and was organizing pick up hockey year round in various locations. From about 1992 to 2007 I probably played 100-120 games a year. About 1997 I also took up refereeing for minor hockey. I really enjoyed that. It was great to be involved with the kids, and if you love the game it is the best seat in the house. I reffed up to 2007 but by that time my hips were so bad that I was having trouble skating. I figure that I reffed over a thousand games in that time frame, probably close to fifteen hundred.
So I had to retire from hockey in 2007, although I had one more chance to be involved in 2010 when I coached the Tuxedo Lightning Midget A2 team. That was a great bunch of kids. We had a terrible season but started coming on in the playoffs and won a few games before bowing out. My only regret was that I was no longer able to get on the ice and skate with the players.
My surgeon did not encourage me to play hockey after my hips were replaced. I felt as though I could have but eventually I just would have injured myself. It was definitely time to hang them up. Overall I had many years of enjoyment and camaraderie, and, other than the progressive degeneration of my hips, no major injuries to contend with. I really have so many happy and positive memories about my years playing hockey, that I am extremely grateful. I never got to be in the "show" or be a star, but I sure had a lot of fun.
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