New Schedule Tentatively Posted, but we have a problem......

11/19/08 - The new schedule is posted but I fully expect some revisions so I will update things as I get the info. This week is all set so please pass the word. As you probably noticed the website has been restored to the previous format for now and Dan's tribute pages can be accessed through the menu on the left. Eventually I will find time for a complete re-work but this will have to do for a while...... As the headline reads, we do have a serious problem on the horizon and it warrants the immediate attention of every FNHL player. Last week, after yet another frustrating night of trying to chase down the money that was due, George said that he is done chasing - for good. As of last week there were about 14 unpaid spots - nearly 25% of the league. We have tried for a long time to get cooperation from everyone in order to ensure that the FNHL can keep going but nothing seems to stick. For those of you who may not know, this league is not run by the rink and if you fail to pay George he is personally on the hook for the money. He can't afford to pay for your hockey and he shouldn't have to. That is why we cannot operate like a skate and shoot and all spots have to be paid for a full six week session even if you have to miss some games. I've been maintaining the website and working closely with George for quite a few years now and have seen session after session pass with this same basic payment problem. George has consistently gone well above and beyond the call of duty to keep this league afloat and I firmly believe he has truly had enough - which brings us to a crossroads. If we want the league to continue, this problem must be solved. It must be solved immediately and not allowed to resurface - ever..... If anyone has any comments and/or ideas on how to fix the problem once and for all, now is the time to bring them up. We've tried adding the Paypal option but only a few guys use that each session. We've tried having one team captain take charge of his team and pay George the full amount but can't seem to get someone from each team to step up and truly be responsible and reliable. We've also tried reminders on the website and roster replacement and things improved for a little, but not enough..... Bottom line - please pass this message on to every player on your team. If you still owe money absolutely do not step on the ice until you find George and pay him. Next session if the money (all of it) is not paid when due I sadly am certain that this league will not continue.  

10/28/08 - George called tonight and said we have one sheet available on Friday at 8:45pm. Please e-mail me right away if you want to play - obviously spots are limited, first come, first served.

10/26/08 - I just found out today that we will not have hockey this Friday due to Halloween. There were too many vacant spots already known to realistically cover the games so the schedule has been pushed back a week. Please pass the word to your teammates..

10/09/08 - Phil Valeriano asked me to post the following.

Dan could you put a note on our Web site that I need 2 players for the lysander Sunday night league it is a solid B league game times range from as early as 6pm 730 815 9:00 and 9:30. My cell number to contact me is 450-2632

Thanks Phil

10/01/08 - The schedule for the next session has been posted. Also the schedule for the Sunday group has been updated as well. If you still owe George from last session please do not step on the ice this week until that has been paid.

09/23/08 - George called me this evening and asked me to spread the word that a special Friends and Family night will be held on Friday, October 24th from 6pm-10pm. On that night we will suspend our regular games in favor of an evening of celebration and remembrance. The rink has graciously agreed to cancel their usual public skate and we will be holding our own public skate instead. Also on that night we will raise a banner at the rink in Dan's honor and retire his number. My understanding is that admission and skate rental will be free. Donations will be accepted and George will also be raffling a number of items with the proceeds going to benefit Dan's daughter Erica. I will post additional details and information as it is confirmed. We hope that everyone will take this opportunity to come out on a Friday night and bring family and friends to skate, celebrate and remember our good friend Dan. Please pass the word on to anyone who might be interested.... In other news, the schedule for this week is posted. Due to the number of people who have said they can't or might not be able to make it we've decided not to try to schedule "ABC" games this session. Brian Banks has sent in an alternate twist for this week and it goes as follows.

1...schedule teams as you would normally

2...when all players are on ice, have one team take a player off of the other team....the other team would then take one of their players for their team...

3...i think 2 or 3 offensive players should be exchanged and 1 defenseman so that 3-4 players would be playing on a different team BUT, players of similar abilities would be exchanged so that one team or the other doesn't have a significant advantage.

An example would be 6 vs 3 team 6 takes Tony Pompo....team 3 counters with Dave Cavallaro team 6 takes Brian Pompo...team 3 comes back with Dan Jervis team 6 takes Brian Banks.....team three picks George Fleischmann a 4th player could be swapped but 3 is a safe number this way equally skilled players are traded AND the chemistry of the game is re-arranged to change things up a bit tell the captains to have their team bring both jerseys OR they can just swap jerseys with the other team..

Hopefully someone will print this out so everyone is clear on how it will work. I will be out of town myself so someone will have to let me know how it goes.... Finally, for those of you in the Sunday group remember we are off this week. 

09/14/08 - Obviously it's been a very bleak couple of weeks for the FNHL. We've begun to say goodbye to our friend Dan and somehow find a way to move forward as he would certainly want us to do. I know that George already has some plans in the works for a benefit night and I'm sure that will be just the first of many.... The schedule has been revised to move up the games originally scheduled for 9/26/08 to next week 9/19/08. That was an error on my part and a carryover from when we moved up the Friends and Family Night to week 5 of the last session. I apologize for the oversight and hope it won't cause too much confusion for all of you. The following friday (9/26/08) is the last week of the current session and I am open to suggestions as to whether you want an ABC week, a different shuffle or just a regular game that night, I will be out of town that weekend so the sooner I get feedback, the better. Also please let me know asap if you also cannot make it that week or if you are not on a roster but would like to play as a sub...... We did have a rare treat last weekend as well known Syracuse Crunch player Jon Mirasty subbed in for the Blue team. Of course Carl Bratt and the rest of the White team played the perfect villain that evening and Blue still couldn't claim a victory, but it was fun nonetheless and we wish Jon well as he starts NHL training camp this week.... Finally, as many of you have heard the prices for ice will be increasing slightly. Beginning next session the price for Fridays will go from $55 to $60 and Sundays from $30 to $35. A price increase is never fun, but George has always worked hard to keep the league affordable and will continue to do so. Overall the rink has been very good to us, especially since the new management took over and this small increase for us will help them out while still allowing us to skate each week at a very reasonable price. I have adjusted the paypal links accordingly for those who pay online. Please remember that money is due this week. Payments had improved for a while but have started to slip again recently and George has had to chase people again and still ended up with several unpaid spots last session.... Thanks in advance for your cooperation and understanding on this.... If you haven't yet signed the remembrance page for Dan, please take a few moments to do so as it will mean a lot to Erica and the family.

08/20/08 - New schedules are posted for both regular FNHL and Sundays. Money is well past due so if you still owe for this session please expect to pay George prior to stepping on the ice. I am on vacation this week so I will see everyone on the 29th.

08/13/08 - Our second Friends and Family Night is officially in the books and based on the feedback I've gotten it seems like it was a great success. Thanks to everyone who helped make it possible including Liam Curry and the referee crew, Patty Ryan and (Owen) Nolan Kokkoris the scorekeepers, George, and of course the friends and family members who came out and supported us. Having the bar open upstairs made a big difference and we appreciate the rink's efforts to help us out as well. My understanding is that Tasha is back now so the bar should be open most Fridays. Hopefully everyone will stop by for at least a while after their games so we can provide enough business to keep that going..... This Friday is the last week of the current session and of course, money was actually due last week. If you still owe, please pay online or find George at the rink before your game to get that taken care of. With the new session will come updated rosters so please keep George advised if you would like to join a team or need to take a session off. It's very difficult to keep things rolling when guys just stop showing up and/or don't pay but haven't told George that they are dropping out. I know that a few spots went unpaid last session and the league (meaning George) is not in a position to just eat those costs. Thanks as always to the majority of the group that does pay on time, it is appreciated.... If anyone has any ideas for the next ABC session feel free to drop me a line... Finally we did hear that longtime FNHL player Mike Pardee will be out for an extended period of time due to a serious knee injury. Mike is a real pain in the butt on the ice (especially if he's on the other team) and has a dubious sense of fashion as he proved last week, but overall he's a good guy and a friend to many of us here in the FNHL. We wish him a speedy recovery and also send our condolences to his wife who will undoubtedly be seeing a lot more of her husband for the next few months...... See you Friday!!

08/07/08 - We are all set for tomorrow night and it should be a lot of fun. The rink has promised that the bar will be open and I believe there will even be some food available as well. The owner of the rink checked in with George  to see what they could do for us which was a nice gesture on their part. Hopefully we will have a representative group of friends and family in attendance and things will go well. One small concern is that a few teams still owe money and that must be paid before the games so that we can cover the refs and scorekeepers. I tried to collect $5 per person for several weeks now and unfortunately in some cases that has not happened. So the bottom line is that the teams that owe have to come up with the balance somehow - I don't care how. The teams affected are Black ($40), Orange $40 and White ($25) and I sent them a separate e-mail earlier in the week. Also, just a reminder that the presence of refs does not change the usual code of conduct that we play under. There is still no checking and fighting will absolutely not be tolerated. Let's do what we can to make sure everyone has a good time and most people go home with the same number of teeth that they arrived with. Also please remember that the regular FNHL money is due tomorrow. We moved the specials week ahead to the date when we could have two early games. I haven't heard from many players regarding the need for subs so I can only assume that the teams will be full tomorrow. Please e-mail me asap if you can't make it or think your team will be short. See you all tomorrow!

07/31/08 - The plans are just about complete for our annual Friends and Family night. The refs are scheduled and George is working with the rink to determine what will be open that night. I hope we will see a good turnout and have some fun with it. Last year's games went well and it's nice at least once a year to play a game in front of a crowd with refs, stop time, penalties, etc. On the business side though I really need to collect the rest of the money this Friday. At the moment about half the league is still unpaid. I will be at the rink for the 9:15 game tomorrow so captains please make sure that all spots are paid and someone makes the effort to get the money to me. This includes people who have a spot but are not going to be at the games that night. This is the only night each year that we ask for the extra $5 and it is critical that every spot is paid for because the budget vs the expense is almost a perfect match. If you are having someone sub for you that week then feel free to recoup the extra $5 from them directly. The goalies are also asked to contribute for this one evening and that is appreciated as well. See you Friday!!! 

07/08/08 - The new schedule is posted and I am please to announce that we are finally able to run the Friends and Family Night on Friday, August 8th. On that night we will suspend our usual routines and invite as many people as possible to join us for games with refs and stop time, penalties, etc. We did this once last year and it went over quite well. On that night we will run two early games - 8pm NHL and 8:15pm Olympic and then one at 9:30 on the NHL. Because of the extra costs involved with hiring refs and a scorekeeper for each game we will need to collect an additional $5 from each player for this session. Please do not wait until the week of the games or we will not be able to do it. I will collect the additional $5 starting this week. Also in the area of finances, George has advised me that we still have 9 unpaid spots for the upcoming session. That is due to both unpaid players and a few that have dropped out and are yet to be replaced. Obviously George can't (and shouldn't be expected to) finance the balance of the league for us. If you still owe, don't bother to show up this week until you find George and pay him. And, if you know of someone who might be interested in a spot this session please call George at 436-6882 and let him know. Finally, on a personal note - many of you know that I have been working to get my house ready to put on the market. This coming weekend should be the last phase of that project. Saturday I need to move a bunch of boxes and stuff out of the house and into a nearby storage facility. I know that Auburn is not exactly close for most of the group but if anyone is available and can help me out I would greatly appreciate it. You can e-mail me here or call me at 246-2940 and let me know.....

07/02/08 - We are off this week so please help get the word out. On behalf of George and the FNHL we wish everyone a safe and happy Independence Day weekend..!!! I will post the schedule for the next session as soon as it becomes available. One other note to pass along from Liam Curry regarding a friend of his who is participating in an MDA fundraiser. See below

From: Beth Sellers
Sent: Sunday, June 29, 2008 8:45 PM
To: Curry,Liam
Subject: Beth Sellers needs your help

Liam Curry, I'm proud to tell you that I'm being locked up...that's right, I'm going behind bars to help Jerry's Kids© and MDA. To be released on good behavior I have to raise bail and I need your help! All you have to do is click here to make a secure, online donation before 07/22/08. Your donation will help families living in our community and help guarantee me an early release. I can't wait to add you to my list of contributors. Thanks in advance for your help. Don't hesitate to call or email me with any questions.

Together we'll make a difference,

Beth

P.S. I'm counting on you, click here to donate. If the link above does not work, please cut and paste the address below into the address bar of your Internet browser. https://www.joinmda.org/syracuse2008/beth_sellers/

06/24/08 - It's been a while since the last update so there are a few things to catch up on. First of all, the 6th Annual Golf Tournament went very well. I've posted some pictures and a brief recap on the Golf Tournament page..... The schedule for this week is posted along with tentative rosters. I have a feeling there will be some adjustments made before Friday so please check back later in the week to confirm. I will try to e-mail or call anyone who is switched later but that is not always a perfect system. Please do not e-mail me on Friday for changes because I won't get the message prior to the games... Also, George has asked me to post a few reminders especially due to the fact that we've had an influx of new players recently. Since we play without refs, we depend on each player to follow the rules and keep their temper in check. Under no circumstances is fighting permitted and anyone who does fight should expect to be suspended and/or even kicked out of the league. Things have been good for quite a while but I guess there have been some incidents recently and we want to prevent anything further from occurring. The bottom line for us is to have some fun, hopefully drink some beers either at the bar or elsewhere since the rink has not been opening the bar for us lately and most importantly that no one gets seriously injured. There is no checking allowed and this includes cross checking when a player tries to set a screen in front of the net. It's a penalty in the NHL and it's not permitted here either. That being said, everyone needs to keep in mind that hockey is a fast game and there is no way to completely eliminate all contact. Each player needs to do the best that they can to keep themselves under control and apply a little perspective to the situations that occur. Just because someone bumps into you does not mean you can or should retaliate or drop the gloves. If you can't control your temper on the ice - go home and stay there. Also we have always had a no slapshot rule. That has been relaxed a bit in the last year or so but it's probably time to go back to it. It's one thing to wind up from outside when it's just you and the goalie but we've seen too many instances recently of players taking slapshots into traffic and/or with defensemen between them and the net. There's just too much really important stuff we have to do off the ice to justify someone getting injured because they took a slapshot to the face (or ankle for that matter). And last but not least is the subject of line changes. Everyone pays the same amount to play and no one should not have to sit on the bench for several minutes at a time because the person they are changing with refuses to come off. Whatever the reason is, it is not good enough - skate a shift and get off. If you're not tired after two minutes or so, skate harder next shift. Although we all want to win, your team will be ok without you on the ice for a couple of minutes. If you've been bottled up in your own zone for the whole shift that does not mean you can stay on the ice when the puck finally leaves your zone. Oh, and "I didn't realize how long I was out there" is not an acceptable excuse. Common sense and common courtesy should not be that difficult. If you want to play 9 or 18 then go play golf.........But I digress...... In other news, the money was due last week so if you still owe then you need to find George and pay him before playing this week. The replacement system has been working well but it's far better to have people pay on time rather than having to replace them..... I am still waiting for confirmation on the Friends and Family week but it should happen next session.... Finally, we got some sad news recently that former Black team player Greg Fragola has been having some serious health problems lately. We wish him well and hope that he is able to overcome them and get back on the ice at some point....   

05/23/08 - The Golf Tournament Paypal links are now up on the payments page. As always, a small service charge is added to cover what Paypal charges us.

05/20/08 - Tentative schedules have been posted for the next session for both the regular FNHL and the Sunday group. I expect to confirm the Friends and Family night very soon and will update as soon as things are in place. Money is due for the Golf Tournament and there will be a Paypal link available later this week or you can pay George directly. The cost is $55 per person and it should be another great event. If you still want to play but haven't registered, there may still be room so please see me or George on Friday. Rosters will be updated this weekend to reflect the most recent changes and replacements. If by some chance you still owe, make sure to pay George or call him to avoid losing your spot.

05/13/08 - First of all the start times this week are different from the usual start times so please check it before you head to the rink....We are still in need of a few foursomes to fill up the Golf Tournament. If you have already registered, I got it - the error message is a phantom and can be ignored. Several people have promised to register but have not done so yet. Please take care of that asap. George did say that the cost this year is expected to be $55 per player and which is about what it was last year and includes a steak dinner and lots of door prizes. Also the FNHL money was due last week but quite a few guys still owe. Please find George this week and take care of things so that we can avoid a new round of replacements. I've been quite busy lately so there hasn't been much time to update the website. I am working on the Friends and Family Night and fully expect it to happen in the month of June so watch for updates on that in the coming weeks. For those who don't know, during that week we hire refs and a timekeeper and play stop time (hopefully) with friends and family looking on. Also, George is planning to have refreshments upstairs after the games...... In other news, the FNHL entry in Steve Olson's tournament to benefit the Pediatric Emergency Room at University Hospital managed to do quite well. We won all three preliminary games - first 10-4 over the NY State Police, then goalie Carl Bratt pitched a rare tournament shutout leading the team to an 8-0 win over the Vermont Enforcers. A 6-3 win on Sunday morning clinched a spot in the finals against Syracuse Clean Gear. Unfortunately FNHL defenseman Pete Jervis had to catch a flight that afternoon and I had to drive him to the airport so we weren't able to play in the finals. Jesse Nistico and Adam Blackbird subbed in and that helped out a lot, but the team came up just short losing 4-2. It was a good experience for a good cause and we'd like to thank Steve for the invitation and for all his efforts in putting the event together. It was well run and a lot of fun to be a part of. Our team was very solid with Carl Bratt in goal, Bill Hopkins, Dave Cornell, Pete Klem and Pete Jervis on D and Dave Cavallaro, Chris Baldwin, Chris McKenzie, John Albanese, Chip O'Connor and Dan Jervis on the forward lines. We look forward to future tournament opportunities as they are always a good time.....Finally we'd like to wish a slightly belated happy birthday to FNHL season ticket holder #004 Jenna McKenzie who even managed to get husband Chris to miss a Friday night game to celebrate......Now that's devotion!!!  

04/24/08 - We are happy to announce that the 6th annual FNHL Golf Tournament is set for Saturday, June 7th at 1:00pm. George hasn't gotten the final cost figure yet but it should be similar to last year's cost. Rain or shine this has always been a great event with lots of door prizes. We have quite a few new players this year and I hope everyone will be able to make it. The tournament is strictly a fun event, captain and crew format and open to all, players, friends and family members. There is a link to the event page in the menu on the left and a registration form is included. As soon as the final cost is determined I will add a Paypal option on the payments page. It seems like every year we have a number of people who wait until the last minute to register. Let's change that this year and try to get all the foursomes registered early!!..... In other news, there are some schedule changes in the upcoming weeks for both our regular FNHL sessions and the Sunday group. I've posted what is known at this time and will post additional updates as they become available. Please make sure to check the schedule closely as there are changes to the rink (NHL or Olympic) as well as the start times. One key change is that there will be no "ABC" week this session. The response to our Friends and Family event last year was great so we are going to do that again but we have to wait until a week or two after the conclusion of the current session in order to get the times we want. Starting next session we will be in summer mode and games will start at 8:00 on both the NHL and Olympic sides with one later game at 9:30 and no 10:15 starts. For those who are new to the FNHL, the Friends and Family week games will have actual refs and stop time. Players are encouraged to invite anyone and everyone to the rink that week and last year the stands were actually quite full. George is working with the rink to arrange for pizza's and other refreshments upstairs. There is an additional $5 per player cost for this to cover the refs and timekeepers. We will let you know when that money is due. At this point it looks like we will be holding the Friends and Family games on the first or second Friday of the next session - possibly the day before the Golf Tournament but I will post that information as soon as we can confirm it.... Well another year of the Montreal Tournament is in the books and although the FNHL team was not as successful as last year's team, it was still a great time with many memorable moments. On the ice we faced a much better group of teams this year, all from the Toronto area and managed a win on Friday 8-6. Chip O'Connor provided the highlight reel by scoring not once, but twice right from the faceoff!! Those type of goals happen about as often as a hole in one in golf so to score twice like that in one game is pretty amazing. But after a long night of celebration after that win, the team couldn't get started in the early game on Saturday and dropped a lackluster 3-1 game to a team we probably should have beaten. John Albanese certainly raised some eyebrows that morning by showing up to the rink missing a good portion of his eyebrows..... The last game on Saturday was a close one and we were down 4-2 with just over a minute left when Dan Jervis tapped in a loose puck to make it 4-3. The last minute of that game was probably the strangest minute in any tournament game we've ever played in. The FNHL offense kept up the pressure and with about 15 seconds left, Jesse Nistico took a pass and charged in on a breakaway only to be tackled by the defenseman and pushed into the opposing goalie. As the pile cleared, the goalie actually kicked Jesse ("below the belt") with his skates and was ejected from the game. Our opponents were allowed to place a defenseman in the goal wearing goalie gloves. Unfortunately, time expired as the last FNHL shot was deflected just wide of the goal. Overall it was a good effort and we came within a goal of having the chance to defend our titles. With no game to play on Sunday, we had even more opportunity to enjoy the Montreal nightlife on Saturday and took full advantage. Plans are already in the works for next year and we are even discussing the possibility of looking for a new, warmer destination in 2009. Hawaii, Florida and Las Vegas are on the short list and hopefully a decision will be made soon. As always, if you're interested in being part of a tournament team please let me know asap. I can't promise that we will be able to accommodate everyone but the more people I know are interested, the more options we have..... Congratulations are in order to the younger team from our area who was also at the Montreal event. Time Warner made short work of all their opponents and finally were able to win their division and bring home the cup. FNHL'ers Dave Cavallaro and Craig Martin were on that team as well as former FNHL players Pete Klem and Derek Crowley... Notably absent from Montreal this year were Bob LaBarre and Bill Hopkins and they were sorely missed. My brother Pete did wear Bob's #32 proudly (and baldly) but it just wasn't the same. We were also saddened to see the end of an era at the Peel Pub where Petra was nowhere to be found. On the other hand our waitress at Thursday's - Donna (I think) was a real character and though she's certainly no Petra, she was memorable for her off color and politically incorrect jokes and endless trays of beer...Good times...... Anyway, this week Steve Olson is hosting his tournament to benefit the Pediatric Emergency Room at University Hospital at Cicero and the FNHL will be back "in da house." My brother Pete is flying back tomorrow and we should have a pretty good team this year..... Finally, Lenny Slack asked me to mention that he is planning to place an order this week with Hockey Giant. If anyone wants to get in on that with him the order can be combined so shipping will be free. I know they are running some good sales right now so if you are interested, drop Lenny a line at lenslack@hotmail.com or call him at 569-8120. 

04/10/08 - Rosters have been updated to reflect spots that are paid for. Per George, the rest of the spots will be filled on a first come, first served basis. It's unfortunate that this replacement policy is necessary but hopefully the message will get through to those who need to hear it. If you have any questions or problems call George at 436-6882. Do not e-mail me because I will be in Montreal and by the time I can contact George the spot may have already been filled.... Also I was able to confirm that this Sunday the start time will be 8:30am.

04/09/08 - The new schedule is posted. Rosters will be updated as soon as George has a chance to get me the replacement list. If you are in the Sunday group, please check with George about the correct start time for this week as I am not sure whether it should be 8:30 or 7:00. It should be a very light week this Friday and Sunday since it's Montreal week and a large number of regulars will be out of town.... Once again last Friday was "ABC" week and despite a different shuffling of the teams, the no show, no call list was large. This is really frustrating for everyone and we would like to get some feedback on what's going on. In the next week or so please take a few minutes to send me an e-mail with your feedback and/or suggestions as to what changes we can make to bring up the excitement level and reduce the no show rate. This session I am planning to see if we can arrange a second annual Friends and Family night where the regular FNHL teams play against one another but with refs and stop time. Last year we had a great time with this one and actually managed to get quite a few people in the stands. We do have to charge an extra $5 per player to cover the extra expenses but it seems to be worth it. I will post more details as I am able to confirm them..... In other news, Steve Olson is planning to rent some ice time on April 21st @ 7:30pm for a scrimmage in advance of his University Hospital Pediatric Emergency benefit tournament. He's looking for players who might want to skate that night. The cost will be about $10. If you're interested, see Steve or drop me a line and I will forward it to him. He may have one other date in mind for another scrimmage and I will let you all know if that comes together.

04/02/08 - The rosters are now posted. Thanks to all who responded. I tried to make sure that all responses were accounted for. As always, please let me know asap if you have been omitted or will not be there. As the headline suggests, this weeks team scrambles are courtesy of Joe Gracz. It was time to get away from the ABC format for at least one session. If anyone else has an idea and wants to try it out in a future session, please let me know. I have gotten some requests for a reprise of last years Friends and Family Night games complete with refs and (maybe) fans. Let me know what you think.

03/31/08 - The rosters for this week are ready to go. Thanks to a suggestion from Joe Gracz we are going to move away from the ABC format and try a different mixing of the teams. He put a lot of thought into it and it should be fun.....However I really don't know who is in and who can't make it this week. Please drop me a line asap and let me know if you can't make it. If you're not on a regular roster and want to play, let me know that as well and I will fit in as many as I can. Last session the no-show, no-advance notice rate was way too high and everybody suffered. Along those lines, I know that a few people have mentioned to me verbally that they are in or out this week but have not sent me an e-mail reminder. Unfortunately my memory is getting more and more like Bob LaBarre's each week so I most likely will not remember without an e-mail.... Thanks in advance for a quick response on this. Finally George just wanted me to remind everyone that money was due last week and since there were quite a few guys not there, quite a few people still owe for this session. Please find George and pay him on Friday or call him this week at 436-6882 to make arrangements. Rosters will be updated with any necessary replacements by the middle of next week.

03/27/08 - Just a quick reminder that the money is due this week. Things went quite well last session due at least in part to the "pay or be replaced" policy. Hopefully the need for that will be a thing of the past very quickly. Also the Sunday group will start at 8:30am instead of 7am for at least the next few weeks.

02/27/08 - The schedule is posted for the next session and the rosters have been updated based on the latest info from George. If your name does not appear on a roster but you think it should that probably means you have been replaced for non-payment. If you think there is a mistake please call George right away at 436-6882 to get things straightened out. As I have mentioned several times recently, George is done chasing guys down for payment and there are a number of players who have expressed interest in playing but we don't have a spot for. If you don't find George and pay when the money is due it is likely that you will lose your spot. Have I beat that subject to death yet??? Ok, moving on to my next rant....... Last week we had 20 guys scheduled for the middle game and as far as I can tell we had a total of 5 or 6 of those scheduled show up. Each ABC week I ask who is in and who's out so that we can plan and schedule that week. When 60-70% of the scheduled teams don't bother to show up and also don't bother to let us know in advance then the whole week goes down the tubes for everyone. In the future, please send me an e-mail in advance if you can't make the ABC week. If you don't like the teams and want to give it a shot I will be happy to step back and let you take over coordinating those weeks. In every game I try to match up players evenly and that sometimes means players who don't think they belong in a particular game get put there anyway. No offense intended and if you really have a problem with it then please let me know (as several have done) rather than just skipping it altogether..........

02/20/08 - The tentative schedule and rosters are posted for Friday. As always, if you're not going to make it please let me know asap. Also if you have been omitted, please contact me so I can make the adjustments. E-mails are ok on Thursday but on Friday's I don't always have a chance to get to the web so please call me at 246-2940. Thanks to all who pointed out that the website was down temporarily this week. It was a glitch and should be ok moving forward. Although I rarely get the time anymore for commentary but it is worth a mention that longtime Red Team member Mike Tully has now joined former Black Team leader Bob LaBarre on Yellow. It's not uncommon for newer players to switch teams but a veteran signing like this is certainly an exception. Yellow now has two players who wear blue helmets, skate the puck in wide circles, and (occasionally) score a goal or two (no, not you Bob)....how will we tell them apart....???

02/18/08 - First of all, thanks to the majority who found George and paid on time. It was the first week in a long time that I've seen George in a good mood on collection day. For the few who still owe, make sure you find George this week to avoid replacement. Also, I will be posting the ABC rosters and schedule asap. Please send me an e-mail if you can't make it. Also if you want to play but are not listed on a regular roster let me know.

02/14/08 - Just a quick reminder to remember your money this week. George was very serious about replacing rather than chasing guys who don't pay. Hopefully this will not be necessary.......

02/07/08 - Unfortunately some sad news to pass along. I Just found out recently that former long time Red team player John Griffith's father passed away in late January. Our sincere condolences go out to John and his family at this difficult time.

02/05/08 - We are back to our regular Friday night sessions as of this week. Please remind your teammates and make a note of when the money is due.

01/29/08 - Surprisingly slow response rate so far and we're getting down to the wire. If you do want to play at 10:15pm this week but haven't sent an e-mail please do so right away.

01/26/08 - Based on the number of inquiries last week there is enough interest for us to rent ice next Friday (02/01/08) at 10:15pm. Depending on the response we will rent one or two sheets. Keep in mind that this is not part of our regular FNHL session so the cost will be $10 per player. I am putting together a list starting now. The sooner you send me an e-mail the better your chances of getting a spot. Once it's filled I will make a reserve list in case someone backs out. I will e-mail the rosters as soon as the spots are filled.

01/24/08 - Just a reminder that we are off this Friday and next. Also remember that the Sunday group will have an 8:30am start this week instead of 7. Rosters have been updated and are current as far as I know. The Sunday roster has also been updated. Please keep in mind that we do have sub opportunities on some Sundays but it is not a drop in session. If you're looking to sub on a Sunday please call George to confirm rather than just showing up. Also in the housekeeping details department, George asked me to post a reminder that all drinking should be confined to the bar upstairs and not the locker rooms or parking lot. We're pretty sure there this is not an FNHL issue but I guess the rink thought (mistakenly) that there may have been. Anyway I just wanted to post the reminder since we have had an influx of new players recently. Also on the subject of new players, we have gotten quite a bit of interest lately and that has been good for the league as a whole. George has decided that he will no longer chase down players who fail to pay on time so if you are not paid within one week of the due date and have not made arrangements with George, your spot will be replaced. We're sorry that it has come to this but George just can't keep running things otherwise. Bottom line is simple - pay on time or you track George down and make suitable arrangements. It's not the majority of the league that causes the problem but it's been enough each session to be a real source of concern. In other news, we recently got word that long time FNHLer Jamie Sassenbury slipped on an icy sidewalk and severely injured his back and ribs. Unfortunately Jamie will be out for some time as he recovers and we wish him all the best at this difficult time....

01/17/08 - I just got word from George that we are off next Friday 01/25/08 and again the following Friday 02/01/08 due to scheduling conflicts at the rink. We do have regular hockey this week 01/18/08. Also the Sunday group will have a late start at 8:30am one week from this Sunday 01/27/08. Please make a note of these changes and pass the info along to others who may not have web access. I don't know yet if George is planning to rent one sheet on either of the weeks we have been bumped.

01/01/08 - Happy New Year to all on behalf of George and the entire FNHL. Remember that we are off this week. I got an e-mail recently from Ron Maydole. He says, "The Infinite Jesture is playing at The Fireside Inn in Baldwinsville on Jan 4th starting at 9:30pm. Stop out if you are looking for something to. I know the guys would appreciate having more people in the crowd. And I wouldn't mind playing in front or some familiar faces. Hope to see you then." So if you're looking for something to do on Friday since we're off the ice you could stop by an see Ron and his band.

12/29/07 - George was just informed that we will not have hockey this week (01/04/08) due to a tournament. The schedule has been revised accordingly. Please pass this message on to other members of your team who may not have web access. Also, congratulations are in order for Orange team member Steve Olson and his wife who recently celebrated the birth of their 4th son Nicholas. Best wishes to all on behalf of the entire FNHL. Steve did mention that he will be holding another benefit tournament for the Pediatric Emergency Department on April 26th and 27th. If there is enough interest I will coordinate an FNHL entry into the event. The cost is generally quite reasonable and it's a good opportunity to get some tournament experience locally and help a good cause. Please e-mail me asap if you are interested.

12/24/07 - The schedule for the next session is posted. Please make sure that George is paid immediately if you still owe. On behalf of George and the entire FNHL family I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and happy and safe holiday celebration.

12/16/07 - It's very evident that we will have a lot of people unavailable for this week's ABC games. If you are planning to play or would like to play (if you're not on a regular roster) please take a minute to send me an e-mail. If you know of the status of other guys who may not have access to e-mail then please let me know that as well. I will post the rosters as soon as I hear from everyone. Thanks in advance for the help. Also if you still owe George, please be sure to pay him immediately.

11/14/07 - First of all some sad news in the FNHL. Red Team goalie and our good friend Chuck Austin's father - Charles R. Austin passed away late last week after an illness. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Chuck and his entire family at this difficult time. Although it seems rather inconsequential at this moment, we still have a league to run and unfortunately things are not going well. As of this afternoon George still has 14 unpaid spots and he is seriously considering the need to reduce the number of FNHL teams. This is not a new issue and it simply is not getting any better. It's my understanding that George is planning an open FNHL meeting soon to discuss our options. I know a lot of us really care what happens to the FNHL but it seems like not quite enough to avoid some big changes. I will keep everyone posted as soon as I hear what's on the agenda. Also we would like to congratulate Yellow teamer Adam Rufa and his wife on the recent birth of their twins. Finally, I got an e-mail this week from Ron Maydole about his band. Ron writes

We will be playing Sparky's Cove in Berwerton on Sat 11-17 starting at 9:00pm. This is our first time there are trying to recruit as many of our family and friend's to some out. We haven't had too many opportunities to play locally so we hope you can make it out. We have been traveling to Utica, Owsego, Marietta, etc recently and would like to see some familiar faces for a change. Hope to see you then. Ron Maydole  

11/07/07 - The schedule and rosters for the ABC week are posted. As always, if you see any guys who won't be there and/or any omissions please let me know asap.

10/19/07 - I have finally had a chance to update the rosters so please take a look and let me know if anything does not seem correct. As we have mentioned in the past, there have been some changes to address both competitive and reliability concerns. Overall I think we have some pretty good balance on paper, but that also depends on who shows up each week. In other news, Del Hoyt asked me to post a notice that he is again looking into getting FNHL jerseys and/or socks. If you are interested in ordering please see Del at the rink or you can send me an e-mail and I will pass it on.... There was some initial response to Montreal but it has already died down. If you think you might be interested please remember to let me know.

10/03/07 - After the fiasco of last session we had hoped that the payment situation would improve but it honestly (and sadly) has not. In fact it's actually gotten worse. After last week, which was one week after the money was due, George still had 22 spots unpaid. That is not a misprint - 22 unpaid spots. Bottom line this week is very simple. If you owe, don't go on the ice without paying first. I don't know what else to say..... In other news, George and I will be updating the rosters soon and hopefully we will be adding some new players who want to play and will pay on time and quite possibly cutting some guys who are consistently late payers. Several new players have joined the league recently and with a few personnel moves we should see a better competitive balance overall and a little quicker pace. Finally, I am already starting to think about next year's Montreal Tournament. We finally broke through and won the tournament for the first time last year and are looking forward to defending that title. As always, I would gladly consider bringing 2 (or even 3) teams if we can get enough interest and commitment now. There's no way I am willing to wait until the last minute this time around. That trip has been great every year win or lose and I'd encourage you to read back through the News Archives from late April to early May of each year to see what I mean. Jesse did make a good point last week in mentioning that new passport requirements will be in effect so anyone who plans to go in 2008 should probably begin the application or renewal process now. If you have an interest in going, please send me an e-mail and I will start a mailing list.

9/26/07 - At the moment we are very short this week due to numerous cancellations. The schedule and rosters - such as they are - have been posted but are absolutely a work in progress. I will get in touch with George and see who else he has available to fill out the games on the NHL side. If you are not going to be there or have been omitted from the rosters and are available to play,  please call me at 246-2940 asap or send me an e-mail so I can make corrections. Also if you want to play two, let me know that as well and I will try to work it in. In general I apologize for the recent slowdown here on the website. As most of you are aware, I'm now working in Albany full time and it's getting tough to keep everything in balance.....

8/31/07 - The Sunday Group is back to the regular 7am start effective immediately. If you're in the group, please make a note of it and also pass it on to those who may not have web access.

8/24/07 - George was advised that we are back to our regular schedule effective immediately. What that means is tonight's game on the Olympic Ice - Red vs Yellow will not start at 8:00pm as planned but be moved back until about 9:30. All future games on the Olympic side will be at 10:15pm as they were prior to this summer. I have updated the schedule to reflect this and apologize for the short notice however we just got the word on this ourselves.

08/21/07 - I spoke to George and he is understandably upset. At this point there are still 16 spots left unpaid and we are supposed to begin a new session on Friday. This is the worst it has ever been and the small reserve usually provided by the sub money is basically gone as well. I will post the new schedule tomorrow but if you still owe don't even bother to show up if you don't have the money with you. I don't mean to sound unduly harsh but the situation has truly reached crisis level and simply cannot continue. The problem is a combination of guys who just have not paid, those who were on the last session and decided not to show up, pay or tell anyone, and a couple of truly open spots that we need reliable players to fill. We are planning a captains meeting soon to hopefully come up with a permanent solution. In other news, I have accepted a promotion at work but unfortunately the job is based in Albany. I'm not sure how that will affect me as far as hockey goes but I'm taking it day by day. Check back tomorrow for the new schedule......

08/15/07 - Thanks to all who responded to my request for info, unfortunately a large number of those responses were negative. This distinct lack of players has caused me to be very creative this week and I have had to schedule several players in both the early and late games. If you are on the list to play two but can't do it, please let me know. Also if you are not on the list but want to play a second game, either send me an e-mail or just hang around after the early games and see if there's room. This week we will not be playing an "ABC" format due to the lack of manpower. I just tried to shuffle the group and divide the players to create (on paper anyway) three good games. Also the rosters for both the regular FNHL and the Sunday Group have been updated. As you will see, we are short a couple of players for the next session and there are also a couple of question marks noted for guys we're not sure of. I know George would like to fill those spots with guys who are willing to show up and pay (it would also be nice if they can skate).... Along those lines we are still experiencing problems with spots going unpaid and also it seems that the collection of sub money has not been as consistent as it should. Some teams have been excellent but others.... not so much. We would like to get a captain's meeting scheduled sometime around the end of the month to address the issue so captains please let me know what dates are best for you. In the meantime, all we can do is try to see to it that we pay on time and collect from all subs. It's nice to have an extra body or two on the ice but it's also not possible to have guys come and skate for free (or on George's tab in reality). Finally I would like take a moment and congratulate the FNHL's newest (great-great) grandfather Bob LaBarre on the birth of his (great! great!) grandson Mason Edward Stott. Mason was born on Sunday August 5th and weighed in at 9lbs 4oz (or just slightly smaller than Bob's bald head). We are told that both mother (Bob's daughter Kristy) and baby are doing fine. Congratulations and best wishes to all on behalf of the FNHL and special thanks to "Grandma" Patty for the update and picture which is posted in the Fun Photo Gallery and is officially the first un-retouched photo of Bob in the gallery (my apologies for that in advance).

See you Friday!

08/08/07 - My apologies for the typo - the ABC week is indeed NEXT friday and that is the date I am asking for responses on. Thanks...

08/07/07 - I'm working on the rosters for this week's ABC games and am faced with the usual problem of trying to figure out who is planning to be there next week. If you can e-mail me and let me know one way or the other it would be appreciated. One of these days George and I will get the rosters updated but we've both been busy so for now I'm flying blind. Also I got a note from Steve Olson this week. He's running another tournament at Lysander August 18th and 19th and needs one more team. If there's enough interest I will help get the group together but I need a very quick response. Don't wait until Friday because I am probably going to miss at least a week due to injury. Also I got an e-mail from Ron Maydole asking us to help his band out with an internet ranking. The letter is posted in the Letters section so please take a look.

07/10/07 - The new session schedule is posted. George mentioned that there are still people who owe money. You must get that paid prior to stepping on the ice Friday. I did get a note from Mark Schumacher who unfortunately will have to take another session off due to a back injury he suffered on the ice several weeks ago. We wish him the best in his recovery. Also Bill Hopkins sent along an e-mail from Rob Conrad with an update on the triplets. I've posted it in the Letters section if you'd like to check it out. It sounds like things are going reasonably well and hopefully Rob will be able to stop by on a Friday to say hello. Finally I've been asked to say a few words about a problem that's been happening more and more lately. When you jump on the ice take a second to glance at the clock. There seems to be a few guys who don't understand that you're not supposed to "skate until you're tired." If you are not tired after about two minutes (max) then you might as well get off the ice anyway because you're not helping your team by skating in slow circles. I've seen a lot of five, six and even seven+ minute shifts and the bottom line is that it's rude and incredibly frustrating for the guy who has to change with you. Everyone can have a lapse every now and then but there are several guys who consistently refuse to change and it's simply got to stop. Get on the ice, skate hard and get off - it's not a difficult concept and there's no good reason to do otherwise. If you want to play nine or eighteen, take up golf.....

See you Friday!

07/05/07 - Just a quick update. The C game at 8:00pm still has about four openings but as far as I know the other 2 games are covered. If you or someone you know would fit into that game please send me an e-mail and I will adjust the rosters. There have already been a few minor changes made so it would be appreciated if someone could print out the final lineups just before leaving for the rink.

07/04/07 - Thanks to all of you who took the time to send me a response about this week. I've done the best I can to schedule a normal "ABC" week. As you will see, there are some holes to fill, especially in the "C" game at 8:00. If anyone has people who would fit in that game and want to play, please let me know immediately. There are also some open spots at 9:30 but hopefully we can round that out with guys from the earlier game(s). If you've been omitted from the rosters or are scheduled but won't be there, please drop me a line.

See you Friday!

07/02/07 - This week is the "ABC" week but it's very difficult to put anything together because I know that many of us will be out of town or otherwise celebrating a long holiday weekend and therefore not on the ice. I will figure something out and get the schedule and rosters posted as soon as possible but it would really help me out if I had some idea of who was planning to be there. Please take a minute and send me an e-mail to let me know if you are planning to play this week or not. Also if you are not on a regular roster but would like to play, let me know that as well. Thanks in advance for helping me out with this, and if you know the status of someone who does not have internet access you could pass that along also.

On a sad note we learned that tragedy struck very close to home this past week. Last Friday, Jeffrey Ianuzzo of Liverpool was killed in a tractor-trailer accident on Rt. 81 in PA. Jeff was the brother-in-law of our good friend and FNHL player John Albanese. In addition to his wife, John's sister Jennifer, he also leaves behind two young children. This is truly a sad time for everyone and on behalf of the entire FNHL I extend our sincere condolences to the entire Ianuzzo and Albanese families. According to the local news website A fund has been setup for donations to the Ianuzzo family if you'd like to contribute you can send donations to:

Vincenzo and Dante Iannuzzo Education Fund
C/O AmeriCue Credit Union
7474 Oswego Road
Liverpool, NY 13090

06/04/07 - The 5th Annual FNHL Golf Tournament is in the books and as expected, it was another great event. Good weather, good food, good friends, cold beer and bad golf just seem to go together. For the third (?) year in a row the team led by Jesse Nistico and Brian Banks took home the title but the real showstopper this year was Rick Cummings 8 year old son Eric who not only looked like a golfer, he can actually play the game (probably better than most of us out there). Eric chipped in for birdie from several feet off the green on hole #7 and has the natural swing that bodes well for early retirement for his father. If not for the sun bouncing off Bob LaBarre's head in all directions like some psychotic lighthouse in the foursome ahead of us I'm sure the kid would have had a hole in one. As always, George did a great job putting the event together. There were tons of door prizes and no one left empty handed (or hungry). Patty Ryan also helped out both on the course running the bootleg beer car and in the clubhouse coordinating the teams and raffles. I don't know all the people who donated door prizes but I know that John Corrigan and Phil Valeriano were two of them. Thanks to everyone who helped put the tournament together and/or played this year. We're already looking forward to the 6th annual in 2008.... In other news, there is one very important announcement. George was just advised by the rink that this week's game on the Olympic ice - originally scheduled for 8:00pm will not start until 9:45pm. I don't know the reason for the change but it's my understanding that this will be only for this Friday, June 8th. If you are on team 2 or team 3, please make a note of it and pass on the change to your teammates.....

Have a good week..!!  

05/30/07 - Well the schedule for the new session has been posted but things in general are not so good. Unfortunately the payment situation has seriously deteriorated lately and George is (understandably) upset about it. Money was due not last week but the week before and as of the last time we spoke, there were several spots unpaid. It's getting to the point where if things don't turn around immediately the whole league could be in jeopardy. We all know the schedule and know when money is due. On those nights George makes it a point to be at the rink and available to accept payments. He doesn't hide and he shouldn't have to chase people down. If he happens to be on the ice you can give the check to me, or your team captain or walk over to the bench on your way out. Also the internet Paypal option is available 24hrs a day for a small fee. One way or another it's up to all of us to find George and pay him on time - this is true for subs as well. Lately sub money has been sporadic at best. Please pass the message on to those without internet access and let's see to it that the problem ends now. The problem certainly is not with everyone and we appreciate those of you who do make it a point to pay on time, but it's enough of an issue that George has seriously considered giving it up. I really want to avoid that at all costs because I doubt that there's anyone else willing to devote the time and effort to keep things going that he does...... On a better note, the golf tournament looked dicey for a few weeks but we now have the teams we need and are looking forward to Saturday. Thanks to everyone for their assistance in registering and recruiting teams on relatively short notice. Rain or shine we always have a good time with plenty of door prizes, food and of course beer and this year will be no exception. Remember that the start time is 1:00pm so please be there a few minutes early to sign in and get organized....

See you Friday!! 

05/23/07 - Schedules and rosters for Friday are posted. Please make note that the game on the Olympic ice will be at 8:00PM and not 10:15. The rink has decided not to hold teen nights anymore (at least for the summer) so we will no longer have a 10:15pm game. Until further notice, the games will be 8:00pm NHL, 8:00pm Olympic and 9:30pm NHL.

05/22/07 - I have the rosters and schedule for this week just about finished but I really need to know who can't make it. This is especially true if you are either listed on a roster but haven't played in a while and/or usually miss the "ABC" week. Also if you are not listed on a roster but want to play, I need an e-mail so I can see if I can pencil you in. Please respond immediately and if you know the status of other guys who may not read the web, let me know that as well. I am planning to post everything tomorrow (Wednesday) around dinner time so the sooner the better. Also the money for the Golf Tournament is due by Friday. It looks like we will have (just) enough teams to hold the event but there is still room to sign up if you haven't done so yet. A couple more teams would be ideal. Payment can be made to George on Friday at the rink or you can pay here on the web via Paypal - just go to the Payments page. Please do not forget to bring the checkbook to the rink if you plan to pay George because he has to pay the course asap. The price is $52 per person or $208 per foursome. If you pay via Paypal there's a small fee of $3 per player to cover the fees we are charged. Thanks in advance for everyone's cooperation.

See you Friday!!!

05/16/07 - We got a few more registrations this week but are still in need of more if we are going to be able to hold the event. It's really down to the wire at this point. Someone sent in a blank registration on Monday. If that was you, please resubmit. I know that several people who said they were planning to participate have yet to register. In other news, the Sunday group will start at 8:00am until further notice. I've heard rumors that there may be changes on Friday as well but I'll wait until they are confirmed before posting. So in conclusion, have I mentioned that the Golf Tournament is coming up on June 2nd and we still need foursomes??? Register..!!

See you Friday..!!

05/11/07 - The 5th Annual FNHL Golf Tournament is scheduled for Saturday June 2nd at the Greenview Golf Club. The info and registration form have been posted for about 10 days now and so far we are really light on registrations. Since the time frame is tight we've got to get moving on this right away. The tourny has always been a great social event and a rare chance for us to get together outside of the rink. George is never short of door prizes, the food is good, and the beer is cold. Also the event is open to everyone, not just FNHL players. Spouses, friends, co-workers, children - all are welcome so if you want to fill out your foursome, feel free to get creative. The bottom line, and I can't stress this enough, is that we need to get the foursomes signed up and paid right away. Please do not wait until next week or later because if we don't have enough groups to fill the course we won't be able to hold the event. Let's pull together and get things in place. Thanks in advance for your cooperation.... 

05/02/07 - We've been going to Montreal for 5 years now and we've always had a good time and even had some success by making the finals but could never quite find that last victory. All that changed this weekend and for the first time, Team FNHL returns from Montreal with the trophy as tournament champions!! Our first game was against a team from Wells, ME and thanks in large part to the goaltending efforts of Chuck Austin we were able to pull away in the third period and take home a 4-0 win. Chuck played great throughout and earned our first ever shutout. Goals were scored by Dan Jervis (2), Ron Morgan and Jesse Nistico. In the second game vs. a team from NJ a similar pattern emerged as we blew open a 1-1 game in the third period and came out with a 5-2 win. John Albanese scored twice in this one and Tim Hart, Ron Schlicht and Dan Jervis added solo tallies. Chuck was solid once again and allowed us to be in it long enough to win it. Our final round robin game was against a team from Long Island and this time we didn't wait until the third period to get going - a quick flurry early in the 2nd was enough to take the fight out of our opponents and Team FNHL coasted to an 8-1 victory. Jesse Nistico was on fire and led the team with 4 goals. Dan and Pete Jervis added 2 each. With the round robin complete it was on to a second night of drinking the town dry and then a final game on Sunday which turned out to be a rematch with the team from Maine. The game started slow as the Jervis brothers made a fashionably late entrance but Rob Niemeier, making his first trip to Montreal, finally put the FNHL on the board. Quick goals by Ron Morgan and Jesse late in the 1st period put us up to stay. Maine tried to rally in the 2nd period but Austin was up to the challenge and 2 quick goals by Niemeier and Dan Jervis late in period two sealed the 6-3 championship victory. Throughout the tournament our defense was solid and our opponents found little room to work with (at various times) Bill Hopkins, Bob LaBarre, Pete Jervis, Jesse Nistico, Ron Morgan and Tim Hart challenging every play. Overall it was a great experience both on and off the ice and winning the event was just the icing on the cake. Thanks to everyone who attended and special thanks to Rob Niemeier's wife Robin who went along and supported us at every game, even managing to recruit an entire cheering section for one of the games! I have posted the final stats on the Tournaments page and will post a team picture soon. If Jesse and Ron send me their collection of cell phone pictures I will post them as well including the obligatory John Albanese asleep the the barstool shot..... We were not the only FNHL players at the tournament last weekend. Dave Cavallaro, Pete Klem and Derek Crowley were part of a younger CNY team that also attended the event but played in a younger (and faster) division. The boys did very well also and managed to make the finals before losing a tough one on Sunday. Congratulations to that group as well - I know they also made the best of the trip and have some memories from the weekend that will last a lifetime (if they can manage to remember them after all the partying they did).... In other news, Rob Conrad checked in with us and sent a letter that is posted in the Letters section. I've also posted the pictures of his new triplets in the Fun Photo Gallery and we continue to wish them the best..... Former FNHL'er Mark Lasinski checked in with us here recently and asked me to forward his new e-mail address which is nlasinski@comcast.net . Mark moved last year shortly after being injured in a tournament so it's good to hear that he's recovered and things are going well for him and his family..... Remember that this week's games will start late again the the NHL side. This is the last schedule change that I know of for this session. I will post an updated Sunday schedule as soon as I get the info from George.... Finally, my brother Pete had a great time this weekend and is still interested in looking for a job in the area. He's a college grad and his specialty is workforce education and development but he's willing to look at any good opportunity. If anyone knows of any possibilities, please let me know.

See you Friday!! 

4/25/07 - Just a reminder that the games on the NHL side will start at 9:00pm this week and next. Quite a few of us will be away at the Montreal tournament this Friday so I'm sure subs will be needed. Check with George if you're interested since I won't be in town to check the e-mail. Also the Sunday group will start this week only at 6:30am instead of the usual 7:00am.

Have a good week!

4/19/07 - I got a lot of positive feedback about last week's tournament style games and Friends and Family Night. It was a good time and certainly strange to actually have fans in the stands (even if they were mostly rooting against my team). Thanks to everyone who helped make the night a success. Special thanks to Liam Curry for arranging the ref's and also for working two of the games himself. The scorekeepers also did a nice job and I would thank them by name but of course I can't remember that detail right now. I was only able to stay for my game which was a good one. Congrats to the Orange team on their hard fought comeback victory. If anyone has info on how the other two games went or any other feedback, feel free to drop me an e-mail. Since I'm on vacation right now it may be a few days before I check the mail again but I will be back on Sunday night. The new schedule is posted and it should be noted that there will be a late start (9:00) on the NHL side for the weeks of April 27th and May 4th. No changes for this week though as far as I know. The Montreal trip begins next Friday the 27th also so there will probably be quite a few open spots that week....

Aloha...!!!

4/1307 - Tonight's the night..... hopefully everything will be alright as we move into uncharted waters by actually playing games with refs, stop time, penalties and maybe even a few fans. All the pieces are in place so all that's left is for people to show up. Remember that this week we have to start the games on time in order to get them in so please make it a point to be at the rink and ready to go by game time. Also, if you still owe George, you must pay him before stepping on the ice. I know last week several people promised to pay online but only one person actually did so far this week.... Finally, belated congratulations are due to Rob Conrad and his wife on the birth of  triplets Gretchen Estelle, Theodore Nicholas and Olena Cecilia Conrad. They were born March 30th and as far as I know, mother and babies are doing well. Best wishes to Rob and his (now much larger) family and we hope to see them all at the rink sometime for a visit. I will post pictures in the Fun Photo Gallery as soon as I can.

See you tonight!

4/04/07 - First of all a reminder - MONEY IS DUE THIS WEEK. Please do not forget your checkbook, allow your dog to eat your wallet or spend all your money on internet "services"... The payment problem had been getting better for awhile but lately things have been slipping so George asked me to slip a subtle note into the update.... enough said. Also next week (4/13) marks the debut of our tournament style games with refs, stop time and (hopefully) some fans as we also host our first ever Friends and Family Night. Since we are playing regulation games with stop time and penalties, etc we will need to start on time. The plan is to put 5:00 on the clock for warm-ups at the scheduled start time and then immediately begin the game. Those of us who tend to arrive a few minutes late should probably make it a point to get to the rink earlier for those games or risk missing some time.... Finally, Del Hoyt asked me to remind all the jersey and sock order people that he will be collecting money for that this Friday.

Have a good week!

3/29/07 - Not too much to report this week. George will be out of town this weekend so please don't call him with any last minute cancellations. I can be reached at 246-2940 if something major (such as a goalie crisis) comes up. Unfortunately George told me that his dog had to be put to sleep this week and I'm sure we all can appreciate how difficult that can be.... On a better note, I am happy to report that Rich Fleischmann was able to come out and skate with us this past Sunday. He made a good accounting of himself and even scored a goal on yours truly. It's been a very tough road for him in his recovery from the fall and we wish him continued success...In other news, I was advised that Rob Conrad has been replaced as goalie for the White Team by Carl Bratt due to the impending birth of his triplets (yes I said triplets). We will miss Rob and thank him for being a part of the FNHL family over the years. He's a nice guy who always gave a good effort in the nets and we wish him and his wife well as their family expands exponentially. Along those lines I am also pleased to welcome Carl "Phil" Bratt as an official card carrying member of the FNHL. Carl has been skating with us for a while now and I'm sure he'll fit in very well as a regular. I am personally looking forward to beating him like a rented goalie the next time our teams meet..... Remember that April 13th is fast approaching and that will be the week we play our first ever "tournament style" games with refs and stop time. That is also the date for Friends and Family Night so try to invite some people so we can enjoy the full "real game" experience...(hey it's free and there's a bar...) I know that some people from my office are planning to attend and help scrape Lenny off the ice afterwards.... For the Sunday group, we do have ice on Easter (April 8th) with an 8:30am start time...

See you Friday!

03/13/07 - I am going to submit the names of people who are interested in jersey orders this week. If you've been thinking about it but have not sent me an e-mail yet, please send one now. George gave me the list of people who have still not paid, but I am on the road and don't have access to it right now. If you still owe George money for this session do not step on the ice until it is paid. I've asked him to resend the list and I will post names this week if I get them. Also, Steve Olson is looking for skaters and at least one goalie for a 9:00pm skate on Thursday at the Onondaga Nation rink in Nedrow. He says that anyone is invited so if you want to get some extra ice time this would be a good opportunity. I don't know about the cost. His email address is ignots21@hotmail.com . Don't forget that April 13th is the week we will be playing tournament style games and also our Friends and Family night. Let's see what it would be like to actually play in a rink that does not echo... Invite a few people and let's have some fun with it..!!

See you Friday!

03/07/07 - That's the good news.... unfortunately George has advised me that there are still a number of unpaid spots for the new session. He's planning to send me the list tomorrow and I will post it here. Anyone who has not paid prior to the start of the games on Friday should not be on the ice. In other news, Steve Olson sent me an e-mail this week saying that he does still need one team for his tournament in Cicero at the end of the month. If you are interested in being part of an FNHL entry for this event please e-mail me asap or see me on Friday. It's not overly expensive, for a good cause, and we've always had a good time participating.... Also, I have gotten a couple of responses on the FNHL jersey order but we could probably still use some more. Drop me a note if interested. Finally, as mentioned before, the ABC format for the sixth week will be replaced with "tournament style" games using refs and 15 minute stop time periods. I'm not going to scramble the teams but simply use the regular rosters. The schedule for those games is already posted as well and I'd like to suggest that we declare that week "Friends and Family Night" and invite some people we know to visit the rink and catch some of the action. Since we're going to have refs and scorekeepers I figure we may as well have some fans to go along with it. There's already been an e-mail invitation sent to everyone in my office and I know at least a few people are planning to show up...just a thought.

See you Friday!

03/01/07 - As of this writing the rosters posted for this week's ABC games are accurate. There are a couple of empty spots that George is working on filling. It would probably be a good idea for someone to print out the rosters to avoid confusion at game time. Hopefully things will go well. I tried to keep things as even as possible but if key guys fail to show up it could get ugly.... Phil Valeriano asked me to mention the Crunch Classic game which is scheduled for Saturday, March 10th. I guess they are still in need of players and due to the late date, are willing to reduce the number of Crunch tickets you need to sell in order to play for free. Phil will be at the rink tomorrow so if you're interested please talk to him.... There has been some interest expressed recently in ordering FNHL jerseys for those who don't have them. I think it's a good idea and will continue to keep track of who is interested. I'm not sure about the final cost but I know they are good jerseys and well worth the investment. Please send me an e-mail if you might be interested. No obligation of course to inquire.... Rob Conrad posted some goalie equipment in our Classifieds section so please feel free to take a look and also send the link to other people you know who might need some goalie stuff. I'd like to see a little more activity in that section so if you've got some equipment to sell feel free to email me an ad along with any pictures for posting.... I hope to be back on the ice next week and am already working to set up the tournament style ABC games for next session which will be on 4/13/07.

See you in a week or so!

02/26/07 - Schedule and rosters for this session's ABC games are posted. It should be a very colorful week. The theme for these games is simply to mix things up. I've tried to keep things as even as possible but of course this depends on who shows up. If you've been omitted or can't make it this week please let me know immediately so subs can be found. Unfortunately I will not be there myself this week so someone will have to let me know how it turns out. Remember that next session we will be trying Nick Julian's idea and playing the games with refs, stop time, etc ("tournament style") which will require an extra $5 from each player. In other news, we finally have some action in the Classifieds section and surprisingly it was not Brian Banks who broke the ice but rather White goalie Rob Conrad. We also got a letter from Nick Smith with some thoughts on the ABC weeks. As always, thanks to everyone who takes the time to contribute to the website..!! Speaking of which, I finally added the News Archives sections so if you want to take a trip down memory lane, all the updates are there right from the beginning in 2003. The schedules for the next session should be posted soon. Finally, Del Hoyt mentioned that he wants to get FNHL jerseys made and if there are other people who also need a set (Lenny comes to mind) then see him and a group order can be made. Obviously, the bigger the order, the better the price.

Have a good week! 

02/22/07 - George asked me to remind everyone that the money is due tomorrow. He will be at the rink to collect so please don't forget. Next week will be the "ABC" week and I've decided that for this session I will move away from the "ABC" format and simply shuffle the teams so that guys who don't usually get the chance to skate together will have the opportunity to do so. As always if you cannot make the game or are not on a regular roster but would like to play please e-mail me asap. Next session I am going to give Nick Julian's idea a try and schedule games "tournament style" with ref's and stop time since there seems to be a lot of support for the idea. That does mean that the next session will cost an extra $5 per player so you can pay that to George tomorrow or get it to us in the next couple of weeks. A couple of new letters have been posted including a moderately amusing one by Lenny which will certainly cost him in the long run.... For those on the Montreal roster, please remember that the money for that is due as well this week if possible. I'm very close to finalizing the roster so hopefully we will soon be all set with that....

See you tomorrow!

02/15/07 - With all of the snow we've had lately things have been pretty quiet on the FNHL website. I did get a few more letters regarding the ABC week which I've posted in the Letters section of the website but that's about it. Thanks again to those who did take the time to write in. At this point there is growing support for Nick Julian's idea to play the ABC week as a "real" game with ref's and stop time, etc but I don't think we can put that in place quickly enough for this session. Also since there would be a small additional cost involved I'd like to get a bit more positive feedback before making a commitment to it. Steve Olson also sent a brief note on his tournament and it sounds like he has all the teams he needs but might need some individual players. I'm still trying to finalize the Montreal group but hopefully that will happen soon.

See you tomorrow..!

02/07/07 - Sorry for the lack of contact lately, I've been out of town and unable to access the site for updates. On the bright side, it is presently 64 degrees here in Fort Lauderdale and I just had dinner outside. For those of you who know my brother Pete, he says hello and hopefully will be able to make the trip up north soon to skate with us again. He's actually considering moving back to the Syracuse area so if anyone knows of good job opportunities please let me know. He's got a bachelors degree in workforce education and several years of experience with Coach and Michael's. I can get his full resume if need be. In other news, Phil Valeriano sent me some info on a tournament in Elmira next month - March 9th and 10th. He's hoping to field a team in the 40+ division. He also included some documents from the tournament and they are posted in the tournaments section along with a brief Montreal update. Speaking of tournaments, I also am pretty sure that Steve Olson will be hosting another tournament in Cicero at the end of March. I will post that info if and when I get it. The only other thing I can think of right now to report is on the subject of the next ABC session. Nick Julian and Brett Boismenu responded to my request for suggestions and I've posted both of their letters for the group to consider. Thanks to both for their ideas. We do need to make a decision on that soon so if anyone else has an idea, please email me asap. If all goes well on Friday my flight will arrive in Syracuse in time for me to make the early game. If not I guess I'll stay warm a little bit longer....

See you Friday!

01/24/07 - All good things must end and even some that were not so good. In this case I'm talking about the Team Experience vs Team Cheval series. Game 6 looked good on paper but the translation was somewhat lost on the ice as the young guns scored early and often then held on for an 11-7 series clinching win. With the conclusion of the series comes an opportunity to change things up for the next session. If anyone would like to submit an idea on how we can shuffle the deck it would be appreciated. It seems that even the C++ and A/B mix games have gotten a bit stale so let's try something different in March. 

01/16/07 - The rosters for this week's ABC games are posted on the schedule page. As far as I know, everyone who should be included has been. If you are scheduled for a game but can't make it, please let me know immediately. Also if you've been omitted, please let me know that as well so I can correct it. Due to the combination of players leaving the area and those who cannot make it this week, the C++ game is scheduled very thin at the moment. I have left it that way for now rather than plug in guys from other games who might cause an imbalance. If we lose more than one C player this week, it could get ugly..... Also, the goalies will be posted as soon as I talk to George and get a handle on who is in and who is out.

1/11/07 - Plans are in the works for the next round of ABC games which could include the last game of the Cheval vs Experience series IF Cheval can manage to win one more - I agree, not very likely, but you never know.... As always, if you can't make the games that week please let me know sooner rather than later so subs can be arranged. Now that the new website is up and running I'd like to begin collecting the info for the player profiles pages. Over the next couple of weeks, please send me some ideas on what information you'd like to see on them and I will design a form that can be completed and submitted online... If you're planning or considering Montreal this year, please take a look at the latest update on the Tournaments page. Finally, slightly belated congratulations go out to Rich and Melissa Fleischmann on the birth of their daughter Raechel Elizabeth Fleischmann who was born on 12/21/06 and weighed in at 8lbs 2oz!! Both mother and baby are doing well which is always great news. Raechel brings the number of Fleischmann children to an even four and the pool has already started to determine when number 5 will arrive.... Once again, congratulations and best of luck to Rich, Mel and family!!!

See you Friday.

1/4/07 - Welcome to the new and (I hope) improved FNHL website. I'm in the process of bringing all the pages up to speed and adding a few new items including a classified's section where people can post equipment, etc that they have for sale, player profiles - as soon as I get the info from each of you, and a tournaments page specifically for news and info regarding upcoming events we may want to participate in.