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| Mike Baldi fires the puck from his knees as Matt Brey (third from left) charges into the fray. Photo by GM Pinkston |
Matt Brey fastens his shin-guard straps with care and then slowly pulls on the heavily padded gloves intended to protect his hands. A strong sense of ritual permeates his actions. The worn gloves need taping-up. As he meticulously wraps each finger with black electrical tape his gaze drifts out to the skaters already on the rink. Isolating themselves from one another, each on his own private patch of concrete, they skate in small circles or figure-eight's as they mentally prepare for what lies ahead. It is Wednesday night and the B&B are about to do battle on the new Nobel Creek Park Roller-Hockey rink.
"We built the rink ourselves," Brey says, as he finishes the taping. "The Beaumont Rec. Department supplied the materials and we provided the labor in exchange for exclusive rights to the place on Wednesday nights."
The second half of the B&B tag is Mike Baldi, manager of Baldi Construction. The Rec. Department has put up a sign on the rink naming it the B&B Roller-Hockey Rink--in recognition of Brey and Baldi's efforts in getting the place built--but the men don't really call themselves the B&B. They don't call themselves anything.
"We're just a bunch of guys who like to skate together," says Baldi. "We've been doing this for years. First in parking lots, then in my warehouse; but the insurance company was afraid of injury so we had to move out of there. That's when we went to the Rec. Department. They were interested in building a rink but said it would take months to put a program together. We needed a place to skate right away, so we went to Nancy Owen and she told us to take the proposal of building it ourselves to the board. They went for the idea and we built it."
The rink is small, having been built on an existing tennis court. It can still be used for tennis by simply dropping the posts back in and stringing the net.
"It's only 120 by 60," says Baldi, "so we can only skate eight men at a time, four-on-four. We're hoping that by having this rink here the Rec. Department can get up a league. Then they could justify building a full-sized facility, 200 by 80. That would be great."
The two men step through the wooden gate in the side-boards and slide home its heavy bolt, then glide slowly towards the far end. At mid-rink Baldi Breaks into a sprint towards the corner then cuts a steeply leaning turn around the back of the net. He coasts out the other side grinning widely and takes up a position on the left wing.
With no words spoken the group has arbitrarily divided in half and formed two lines facing one another. The man at the right center of the near line brushes the orange plastic puck back and forth a few times with his stick and then says, "Ready?" Someone in the far line nods and the aggressors move forward abreast, picking up speed as they go.
As the two lines come together just past mid-rink all hell breaks loose. The man with the puck breaks sharply right. His right wing cuts left behind him and drives for the crease. The center spins 180 degrees and drops the puck back to the streaking wingman who picks it up and fires at the net. The stick of a defender ricochets the puck wide of the net and it rattles into the corner. Three men scramble after it. The quickest of them digs it out and sprints up the rink along the boards. The others bend back towards the near end with him and the melee continues.
You don't have to watch very long before you begin to understand this game's appeal. First, there's the skating. The level of skill required is high. Speed is essential. The ability to cut and turn, to stop on a dime, and to skate backwards with confidence are too--as is the endurance to keep up the pace for the 15 minute periods of play. Then there are the skills of the game itself. Puck handling and passing must be deft and shooting has to be both quick and accurate.
A stronger attraction, however, appears to be the personal challenge to which each man must rise in order to compete. This is a physical game. Picking and checking and driving each other off of the puck are how it is played. Mano-a-Mano confrontations are frequent as defenders throw themselves in the way of the attackers.
Some of the skaters are noticeably more accomplished than others. Disparities in both size and age also exist. Most are between twenty and thirty-five, but one is older and some younger and smaller than the rest. None are shown any quarter and the smallest, in his late teens, is knocked down often. Mike Baldi is one of the oldest but is also among the smallest. He too spends a good deal of time on the concrete, sometimes stabbing at the puck from his knees.
But as physical as the game is these men are obviously friends. They have skated together for years--in parking lots and warehouses and now here at Nobel Creek--and they play the game in its purest form. There are no spectators, not even a spouse or girlfriend watches. They play only for themselves. There are no uniforms either; knowing who is on which side comes solely from personal recognition. And though there is no referee to call penalties sticks are kept low and checking along the boards is hard but clean. Some may be better players than others but on the rink they are all equals as men--probably the games strongest appeal.
Down at the Beaumont Recreation Department, Nancy Owen is hoping to get up a league for the new rink.
"Give me a call at the Rec. Department (845-9555) and I'll put you in touch with Ken Walling," Nancy says, "he's trying to put this together. We'd love to have a league so we could build a bigger rink."
Use of the rink is free. There is a small fee for the lights if you want to skate at night. Skates, stick and protective gear run from $200 up, depending on the quality of skates and helmet you choose. So if you'd like to get some guys together and get up a team Walling would love to hear from you. Just don't plan on skating on Wednesday nights. Because on Wednesday nights the new Nobel Creek Roller-Hockey rink belongs to the B&B--and no wimps are allowed.
© Gary M. Pinkston, 1998.
