Town league hockey to start next week… maybe

Lack of officials keeps season in flux

by Than Acuff

Town league hockey is the most spectacular showcase of local athletic talent and brings out the best, and sometimes the not-so-best, in people and the fun starts next week. It’s definitely gained in popularity, rivaling the local numbers in softball and definitely surpassing the local enthusiasm for softball.

It’s been said before and I will say it again: This is a ski town with a hockey problem.

Truth is, when it’s crushingly cold outside at night, what better way to spend the long winter evenings than on a sheet of ice?

And the timing couldn’t be better. As we all know, I am an ordained minister of the Universal Life Church and they just reached out to me with this wonderful email:

Hello Rev. Nathaniel,

Congratulations! You have officially hit your 6-MONTH mark as a minister of the Universal Life Church! We are so glad that we’re able to count you as a member of our Universal family. We’re proud of you, even if you haven’t had a chance to ‘stretch out your ministerial limbs’ yet. Note that your ordination is good for life, and that the world will never stop needing your help…

Best of luck as you venture forth! As you go out into the world, remember our core value: We are all children of the same universe. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions or concerns.

Peace,

Brother Andrew

Thanks Brother Andrew, I intend to “stretch my ministerial limbs” and embrace town league hockey each and every week. If I were single, I’d “stretch out my ministerial limbs” and embrace some of the local ladies, if you know what I mean Brother Andrew… I think you do. When I was a bit of a drinker, I “stretched out my ministerial limbs” to embrace some vodka.

Hell, I’m “stretching out my editorial limbs” to fill space this week.

Town league hockey organizers hosted the annual draft night on Tuesday, December 22 and when the picks were picked and the trades traded, close to 100 players were divided up to make eight teams.

“The draft was awesome and it seems like the teams are well balanced,” says director of operations for the West Elk Hockey Association (WEHA), Jack Gibbons. “But you never know until they start playing.”

Weeks ago, Gibbons heeded the call of a handful of hockey hopefuls and initiated a push for a beginner—or “not-so-fast”—division for town league hockey. While that interest remains to some extent, the numbers have yet to dictate the need for such a league and things will remain the same for the 2016 season.

“I was about eight players short,” says Gibbons. “So all of the players but one decided to move up into the regular league.”

Last year’s champions, the Lightning, have disbanded and will not be able to defend their 2015 title and it’s safe to say that should open the door for any one of a number of teams to make a run at the 2016 title.

Except…

Except for the fact that SKA (a.k.a. Brick Oven. You can run but you can’t hide behind a new name, Brick Oven!) won a league title in Gunnison this fall and has a core group of players from that team on the Crested Butte town league team.

That being said, burnout may play a factor and while those teams should hit the ice skating hard at the start, that energy could wane come mid-February when the town league playoffs begin.

A special Sports Barrel preseason shout out goes to Matt Wark. Wark was a big part of the local leagues back when it was played in the open air under the night sky, complete with rickety boards and hitting. Wark was also a major part of the Storm during the heyday of the Pigs/Storm rivalry. Well, after a stint honing his skill set on the East Coast, Wark is back.

 

Then there are the names. Each season I look for the names that will give me the most trouble typing all season long. Well, this year we’ve got two, Nicholas Koukoutsakis and Sohrob Nimrouzi.

Are you kidding me?

The first name harkens back to the Red Army days of Russian hockey eventually dismantled by the U.S. team in the Miracle on Ice. The second name sounds like someone from NPR.

“From Baghdad, for NPR, I’m Sohrob Nimrouzi…”

At any rate, none of this will matter if town league can’t find refs. In fact, the season is honestly on the brink of completely folding, if officials can’t be found.

“Town league is in jeopardy,” says Gibbons. “The hockey population is just not stepping up. Skaters in Crested Butte are not helping out with the referee situation. I’m afraid games are going to get cancelled this winter.”

Currently there are just two refs available, with two more getting trained for a total of four. According to Gibbons, he needs six to eight trained officials for a successful town league season.

John Mortell used to be a town league ref and when the name-calling and disputes would pitch in intensity during games, Mortell would settle into his happy place knowing that all the money he made from officiating town league games would go to pay for his Mexican vacation come springtime.

My hope is that officials are located, trained and ready to go when the season opens on Tuesday, January 5 at 7:30 p.m. Games will be held Tuesday through Thursday evenings at Big Mine Ice Arena every week until mid-February, when the playoffs begin.

I know I’ll be out there and hopefully so will you.

“I hope we have refs,” adds Gibbons.