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Ice Chips - Letters from Readers From: CGE1 By clicking on this link http://www.syracusebands.net/profile.php?userid=48 you can assist us in moving up in the standings on the Syracuse Bands web-site. The more you click, the closer we are to reaching our goal. While you're there check out our schedule and come out to see us sometime. Thank you for your assistance. Ron M From: Rob Conrad A quick update on the triplets: Theodore has been home since Monday, June 25 (after 87 days in the NICU). He is on oxygen and a breathing/heart rate monitor, but seems to be doing great. He’s eating well and sleeps a good deal of the time. We should know a little better later this week how long he may have to stay on the oxygen and monitor. Theo is up (and probably over) 6 pounds. Olena is adjusting to having Theodore around. She tends to not sleep as much at night, but does great during the day. She is also eating well and is nearly 5 pounds. Gretchen had minor surgery yesterday – a hernia was repaired – and she is recovering quickly. They hope to have her out of the NICU very soon, perhaps even later this week. She has gotten much, much bigger, but is still only 3 pounds, 13 ounces! Rob Conrad Subject: Thanks! FNHLers - Thanks to everyone for the thoughtful card and gift celebrating our triplets. Everyone is doing great and we’re looking forward to having the triplets home soon. Thanks again for all the support! Rob, Alexia, Gretchen, Theodore & Olena Conrad Rob Conrad Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 07:50:37 -0800 (PST) Hey Dan, To add to Nick's idea about the tourney, I think this might help w/ some issues of the 8 team format. This will keep 6 teams, and will try to get guys as much as ice time as possible. See the attachment. Let me know what you think. Thanks Steve Smorol (Editors Note - Thanks for the input Steve. To view Steve's idea in a spreadsheet, click here.) Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 20:29:34 -0800 (PST) By the way.....i think Nick's idea of a mini tourney would be awesome. As long as everyone doesn't mind hanging out there for a while, or take a risk that they only play one half hour game, or the fact that we would need to get 2 more goalies. You see where i am going with this....there are a lot of obstacles to putting this on. A good idea anyway. Later Steve Smorol Subject: ABC Week Idea Just came up with an idea to think about for the extra week - a one-night mini-tournament. Would need to divide the league into 8 teams. That puts 7 or 8 on a side, so we may want to do it with 4-on-4 games. Play 30 minute games (two 15-minute periods?) with the first round from about 8-8:30, 8:30-9, 9-9:30 and 9:30-10 on the NHL rink. Then do the semi-finals from 10-10:30 on each rink and a championship game on the Olympic rink, using however much time is left. I haven't factored in when they would cut the ice, so that would bump the game times up a little bit. I probably missed other logistics problems, but with some tweaking of the plan it would be something different we could try. Subject: ABC Game I would like to see refs and stop time in the upcoming ABC game. Two line pass enforcement could be interesting too, for all of you cherry pickers out there who don't feel the need to backcheck, Jervis. I'd be willing to kick in additional funds to cover my share for this. I would also like to make a general league suggestion. I am wondering if it would be possible to cut the ice halfway through the second period of each game. The ice is generally pretty well used up by the middle of third period. We could either shorten up the warm-up period or shorten the period lengths to make up for the additional time. Thoughts? Len Slack Editor's note - Hey genius the two line pass rule has been eliminated, maybe you didn't get the memo. I am truly shocked and appalled that you would imply that I am a "cherry picker." I'd think you of all people would appreciate someone who manages to get open and score goals. It provides more opportunities for assists for Slackers like you who count such things to make up for the fact that they rarely score themselves.... Subject: ABC Game Dan, I'm all for paying extra for the refs. Cheers, Darren. From: "steven olson" I actually have 12 teams for this one, should be good one. I may need a player or two though. My vote is for the referee's and the stop time. Steve O Subject: ABC Games Dan, I was reading the letters and saw the suggestion about referees. If that ever develops, I’d be glad to help. I can get a couple of guys to work games.if needed. Liam Subject: 6th Game I actually prefer and look forward to the C game when its all C its usually pretty fun and everyone gets equal opportunitys to carry the puck and shoot etc and its generally a good time when teams are balanced. Howver, I can also see a break for a session or two if we want a change. Nick's idea is interesting. We could also put the various play groups into a hat and the have a captain on 6 teams draw for teams. You would have to make sure each team had the same number of A, B and C but that would mix things somewhat. Mark J. Schumacher Subject: @ cents I still feel the best hockey of the 6 week sessions were the ABC games when they were truly ABC…just my 2 cents. From: "Nick Julian" Once again, to try something different for our next sixth session, lets get refs and score keepers while keeping the teams the same. Three 15 min. stop time periods will still get us off the ice in plenty of time. This will help our tourniment bound players who have not played with a ref for a while. Real faceoffs. Real iceings. Real peneltys. If everybody kicks in $5.00, that should cover any additional costs. Theres my two cents. N... From: "goals" Hi Dan Thanks for the quick reply. Get back to me ASAP on a date as they are filling fast. Derek -----Original Message----- From: D J We are definitely planning to be back. There is a good chance we will have two teams this year - 1 team of either all 35+ or 40+ players and 1 team of various ages. I will get the guys moving on this asap. regards, Dan Jervis Click Here to see their brochure From: "goals" Hi Dan How are things? Are you interested in bringing the team back to Montreal this year? The March 30th weekend is currently sold out but we do have spots in all of our other dates. I have attached some information. Please get back to us ASAP. Sincerely, Derek Chambers From: "Germain Lapointe" Hi Dan How is everything? I see Team Chavel pulled it off!!!!!!!!! I guess they took it easy on Team Experience. Sorry I didn't get in touch sooner. Things have been very hectic since I moved. Hockey is a little more expensive down here and the rinks are alot further, thus at this point I'm only playing once a week. It's better than nothing. I do miss playing four times a week. I wanted to get up to CNY to play in the ABC game but my mother was hospitalized for a collapse lung within the past two weeks and depending on her recovery, I'm not sure what's in stake for the next session, but I'll keep in touch. If there happens to be a game 7, WHICH WILL BE A MIRACLE, I will definitely have to take a road trip. I know it's early, but any talk of Montreal? I know a few players down here that may want to play as well. Take care and tell everybody I said hello!!!! Germain From: "Stephane & Joy" The Happening What better way to celebrate Christmas than to enjoy a living nativity. Come to Abbott Farms on Friday December 8th and Saturday December 9th for the presentation of “The Happening” a living nativity retelling the birth of Jesus Christ. Performances are at 6:30 pm, 7:30 pm, and 8:30 pm for both nights. Admission is free of charge. I personally invite all of the FNHL members and their families to come and see this production. See you there. Go to www.abbottfarms.com for directions. Thanks Stephane Boutin Subject: Greetings Dan: I hope all is well with you and the rest of the FNHL gang. Please pass along the following: Greetings to all my friends in the FNHL. Life in Albany is going well, but I sorely miss the Friday night skates. I have some leads on some local hockey action around here, and plan to get active soon. I recently spent 4 days in Lake Placid at an adult hockey school that was superb. It was run by a bunch of Canadians, eh, and was tailored towards beginner-level players that want to improve. I had 5 hours a day of on-ice training (and off-ice partying) with NHL great Gilles Gilbert. He is an awesome guy and lots of fun. Initially, he was not very impressed by my goaltending style of flopping around the ice like an electrocuted monkey (although these antics did get noticed, and they awarded me the first star of the game for an initial scrimmage when I made a couple of two-pad stack scissor-kick arm behind my head glove saves). Gilles showed me that my over-animation was from poor positioning. He worked me through lots of drills, and continually yelled at me to "use my f***ing stick". I learned a lot. Towards the end of the program I asked one of the NHL players (Steve Laramer) that was teaching the forwards to throw some heavy at me. He cranked some slappers from the blueline. I saved some of his shots and have some wonderful bruises that I am very proud of. It was a most excellent weekend, and I plan on doing it again next year. Hope to see you all soon… Dave R. P.S. - Rich, I hope your better soon. Our prayers From: "Rich Fleischmann" To our friends at the FNHL: Thank you so much for your continued well wishes, prayers, and the very kind delivery groceries! We sincerely appreciate you guys – and don’t know how to thank you enough. Things are going well. We actually got out to watch most of Bryce’s football game yesterday afternoon, which is amazing considering that just a week ago, turning over in bed was a challenge. Every day seems to get better. Hopefully, surgery will not be needed and I’ll be able to go back to work in a couple of weeks. We are just taking things one day at a time. I have a brace from my neck to my waist, which although it is a real pain in the …, makes me look like a big Ninja Turtle. The kids think it’s hilarious. But I can walk around and do a lot of stuff I thought would just not be possible. Anyway – THANK YOU. Hopefully I’ll be back on the ice soon! Rich Fleischmann From: "Melissa Fleischmann" Hi, Dan & Guys at Hockey: Rich wanted me to pass along a note to first, thank you all for your kind thoughts and prayers and second, to tell you that things are coming along as best as they can right now. As George mentioned, he has a fractured L2 vertebrae (clean across the middle, he now has an “A - top” and a “B-bottom”), some smaller fractures throughout his spine, and 6 staples in the back of his head. For taking a 15 foot tumble onto pavement, we’ve been told that’s pretty good especially considering his size. He was casted and fitted for a body brace which runs basically from his chest to his waistline. Yesterday, they got him up and he took about 5 steps with support, but the Dr. is very hopeful that very soon he’ll be back up and walking on his own. He looks like one of those gigantic turtles when he has the brace on! The hope is that if the brace can compress everything and hold it straight and still, he can spend 3-6 months in that instead of facing surgery. According to the orthopedic surgeon, so far, so good. As for his concrete head – hard to believe, even with a 4” gash in his head and 6 staples, he luckily has no head or neck injuries, and didn’t even suffer a concussion. Just the cut. So, feel free to call him block head when you see him! He is going to be in Upstate probably until later this week, as we have to get physical therapy and occupational therapy going so he can get up and out of bed mostly on his own. Other than that, everything else is working well and he is in excellent spirits all things considered. He is happy to have visitors, so if you would like to stop by, he is on floor 5B, room 5116 Window. The phone # in the room is 464-9469, which you can feel free to give him a call, too. It seems to help break up the monotony of his day if he has some friendly faces, since there’s an awful lot of “hurry up and wait” in this situation. The kiddos are doing well, they all seem to think they are on some kind of vacation at Rich’s sister’s house, and Rich has been able to talk with them on the phone every day. Bryce has been a great help trying to keep things “normal” too. So, everyone is doing as well as can be expected. A lot of people have asked for our contact info at home, so feel free to share it as needed – 4347 Church Street, Mexico , NY 13114 and home phone # is 963-1130. Thought you all would like the update, and again, thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers. Rich misses hockey already and said he plans to be back soon – and hey, since you all are always short on goalies, George said that darn brace might come in handy for something yet! Take Care, Mel From: "Bradley Beran" Dan, George and everyone in FNHL and Sunday hockey; I have been in Charlotte (and missing hockey twice a week) for about 6 weeks now. I have scoped out a few ice rinks. The local AA team, the Checkers, are in a new rink that opened about 2 weeks ago. It's on my list of places to check out. I've been following the FNHL web site postings, it is obvious that my speed, agility, playmaking skills and scoring punch are badly missed in the C++ and regular games. I'm still looking for a team and league that can best utilize my talents. The senior center team was full, but I'm expecting a broken hip to open a slot for me at anytime now. I turned down the Checkers, they were looking for a good wing, but I just couldn't do all the travel and keep my day job. So much for the signing bonus. This is clearly the home of NASCAR. I live about a mile from the Lowe's Motor Speedway. I can hear the cars going around the track when the Richard Petty Driving School is in session. Within 5 miles of the track are the headquarters of Hendrick, Everingham, Earnhardt, and Gnassi Racing, Simposn Racing Equipment, 3 high performance machine shops and car builders, and the Charlotte Dirt Track. Of course, everyone on the road thinks that going to work in the morning is really the practice session for the Coca Cola 600. 70 to 80 MPH on the way to work every morning, or you'll get "bump passed". Track position is everything. I had to bump pass a volkswagen the other day to get the high goove on the way to work. That lady will never be in my lane again. I'd like to thank everyone in the league for some fun times and great hockey games. I hope I can find as good a league and group of guys down here. One consolation-Syracuse had a day in the 40's last week. We were 74 and sunny. Also, my office has a great view of the Carolina Panthers stadium 5 blocks away. Keep your stick on the ice and pass the puck. Brad Beran Subject: Dan - Please port my Greetings to the FNHL I want to thank the FNHL for allowing me to stop in and play between the pipes last week. It was great fun to be back. Albany is going well, although I have been traveling too much to enjoy. I have yet to find a group to skate with, but there is a lot of hockey out here and I'm sure I'll find something. My son has try-outs for the Capital Area Mites team this week, so at least one Rigg will be on the ice. I had been playing in the FNHL since its inception, and I really miss having Friday night hockey on the schedule. Like many, my week revolved around Friday night in Cicero. I owe a ton of thanks to George, Dan, and everyone else for the great memories. I can't wait to get back to visit again soon. PS - The next time I get to play in the FNHL be careful around the crease. My dog recently caught a squirrel in the front yard and broke the squirrel's leg. I grabbed the closest item (my goalie stick) to dispatch the rodent. I smashed its head with a Ron Hextall two-hander and got squirrel brain on the paddle. Maybe that's why the neighbors look at me funny…? Subject: Fw: USA Hockey Adult Program Information Dan, Something FNHL players may be interested in. USA Hockey will be holding their Inaugural LaBatt Blue USA Hockey Adult Skills Clinic in Rochester, NY at the ESL Sports Center. It will take place July 14th - 16th. The clinic is designed for players with beginner to intermediate skill level, looking to improve their on-ice ability and knowledge of the game. This event will feature an excellent base for skill improvement, with small area games, station work, basic systems, game strategies and controlled scrimmage situations. Participants will learn from some of the top names in American Hockey; full list of instructors will be released shortly. The entry fee for the event is $300; all participants must be at least 21 yrs old. With your fee you will receive: -8 hrs of on-ice instruction -Off-ice chalk talks -USA Hockey membership -LaBatt Blue USA Hockey jersey and baseball hat. -Friday night welcome party and Saturday night banquet, both sponsored by LaBatt Blue. -Materials to take with you to continue your skill development. To register, please complete and submit the attached form; space is limited and will be open for first-come. For further details please contact the Adult Hockey Department at (800) 566-3288 or visit www.usahockey.com/adult. Subject: Would you please post this letter Ok, so now here I am stuck between the goal crease (yeah, I know were it is) and the blue line. Jesse's bearing down on a loose puck that's still outta my reach with George, Dwayne, Joe and Steve over on the bench playing "look-out" defense ... or at least that's how it feels. Ahhh, I'm drifting again, so to the point, my old trusty goalie pads are getting so limp that even a handful of little blue pills wouldn't perk them back up and those new, oversexed Reebok's - that are now for sale by the way - just seem to get in my way (insert another Dwayne reference here). So, I have decided to try and re-stuff the old reliables and I need all the help I can get. Popcorn Styrofoam doesn't hold up and Sears catalogs are way to heavy, if you can even still find 'em. Plan "B" - wine corks. They're light, resilient and fun to collect. Whenever you are about to toss one of those little puppies out, would you instead, please save them for a great cause. And before you ask, until my stick glove suffers the same performance dysfunction, I don't need any beer bottle caps just yet. Thanks, from an aimless and agitated, elderly caged custodian Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2006 18:58:09 -0800 (PST) Dan, Hello, I am married to John Corrigan, he plays hockey on Sunday mornings with you. After last Sunday's game, I joined some of the guys for breakfast and mentioned to George that my Lions Club is hosting an Italian Buffet and I wondered if any of you might like to attend. He said that I should send you the flyer and you could post it on the website. A little bit of information about the luncheon. We are donating the proceeds of our luncheon to Lions Camp Hickory, it is a summer day camp for children with diabetes. To learn more about the camp please check our website, click on the events tab, www.geocities.com/syracusehostlionsclub We would love to have you guys join us in supporting this very important cause. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me. E-mail to cscorrigan_realestate@yahoo.com Thanks alot, Please click here to see the flyer. Christi L.S. Corrigan From: "Jamie Sasenbury" FNHL, I have the Las Vegas travel and hotel pricing nailed down for Oct 11th - Oct 14. The cost for airfare and hotel plus tax is $515.00 per person The hotel is the New York New York, which is located on the strip. Check it out at www.nynyhotelcasino.com nice place ! I expect from the early responses that this trip will fill up fast. Remember everyone is welcome, even if you are not going to play hockey. We will fly out on Wednesday the 11th and will be back in Syracuse on Sunday morning. Registration forms are coming soon.........I am working on ice times with a rink that is about 7 miles from the strip. I should have the ice schedule worked out in the next week or two. More details to be released soon ................Viva Las Vegas ! Click here to download the details! Jamie Sasenbury From: "Jamie Sasenbury" Dan, I am hosting a tournament in Las Vegas. I am looking for anyone interested in playing HOCKEY or just going to play LAS VEGAS. This invitation is open to everyone. The cost of this trip is going to be hard to turn down ! The details will be released soon. Please post the attached flyer. (click here to download) Jamie Sasenbury Date: Thu, 09 Feb 2006 08:28:35 -0500 Dan: A friend of mine sent me the attached flyer for an upcoming tournament in Bethlehem PA. I though some guys want to put together an FNHL team. Click here to download the info. Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2006 09:41:57 -0500 Non-NHL teams could vie for Stanley Cup in another strike-lockout season Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2006 17:52:20 -0500 Dan, I'm trying to organize an adult hockey tournament to benefit the Pediatirc ED at University hospital. I am the contact person and there are fliers up at Cicero in the bar and around the building. The tournament will be the weekend of March 25th and 26th. All the $$ goes to benefit the PEDS ED and the fee is $400/team. I tentatively have a team from Rural Metro, Syracuse FD and PD but would like MORE teams. SO, could you help me spread the word. If you know anyone that can help me get the word out let me know. I may have a radio station there and some other things going on. I'm also going to have T-shirts made. It would be great to have a team or two from FNHL as the intent is play some hockey and raise some $$$ for a good cause. Steve Olson, R.N. Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2006 12:58:24 -0500 Dan: I thought you and the FNHL could relate... Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman and Wayne Gretzky are standing before God at the throne of Heaven. God looks at them and says: "Before granting any of you a place at my side, I must first ask you what you believe in." Addressing Lemieux first He asks, "What do you believe? " Mario looks into God's eyes and states passionately, "I believe hockey to be the food of life. Nothing else brings such unbridled joy to so many people, from Moscow to the bright lights of New York. I have devoted my life to bringing such joy to people who watch us play." God looks up and offers Mario the seat to his left. He then turns to Yzerman, "And you Stevie Y. What do you believe?" Yzerman stands proud and firm, " I believe courage, honour and passion are the fundamentals to life and I've spent my whole playing career that provides a living embodiment of these traits." God, moved by the passion of the speech offers Yzerman the seat to his right. He finally turns to the Great One, " And you Wayne. What do you believe?" Wayne says smugly, " I believe you are in my seat." From: "Steven Olson" I'm still looking for 2 players for the pond hockey tournament in Placid. If you, or anyone you know would be interested please let me know. I really need to fill my roster. Let me know. I'm getting desperate. We need six I have four. Steve Olson From: "Dave" Hey Dan and fellow members of the FNHL, I just wanted to say thank you to everybody in the league for all of there help and support through my rough injury. All of the phone calls and cards have been great!! I really appreciate everything. Sitting at home is not an easy task and I am starting to get restless, but it made me realize how much I miss the boys every Friday night and that I took for granted playing hockey. Well they say you don't miss something until its gone and im missing hockey for sure. Not to worry though im getting restless so you will definitley see me out there soon. Thats right LaBarre I'm gunning for you. Again thanks for everything!!! Cavy From: "Nick Julian" Okay, here is my idea for the sixth Friday. Everybody bring a $5.00 bill. That's $110.00 per game. With that we get a ref, a linesman and a time keeper. Leave the teams the same. It's probably been a while since a lot of us have skated with a ref, and some may never have. Structured Friday nite all star hockey? Why not?!?. Besides, it will give us a chance to bitch at someone besides the opposing team! Three 15min. stop time periods just like the pro's (or the kids!) Real penalties, real icings, and yes, real faceoffs. Think about it. This could be fun! Nick...00 From: Joegracz@ A possible alternative would be to match two of the teams as usual, like Blue vs Red, but switch 5 of the players from each team to the opposite team. It could be an entire forward line and a defensive pairing, or just 5 from each regardless. But they would be an even switch if possible, so you would switch an A for an A, a C for a C, and so on, so the talent level would remain even between the teams. You could call it the AC/DC game, since half the guys switch to the other side. Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2005 10:48:49 -0400 At the Sabres game last night, they said that the NHL will be auctioning off over 700 game-worn jerseys to benefit hurricane victims. The auction will be held during the first week of November at: http://auctions.nhl.com/ There are several jerseys and hockey memorabilia being auctioned there right now, some seem kinda pricey while others went for a steal (like autographed jerseys for about what you would pay for a replica). I'm guessing that this is a full-time auction website and that the benefit auction is a special event. With that many jerseys going up for sale, it may be worth checking out to try to snag a deal. From: "STEVEN OLSON" I'm going to try and get a team to play in the Pond Hockey tournament in Placid. Anyone interested let me know. STEVEN OLSON Subject: FYI For those of you at a loss for what to do on a Friday, hockey-less night, the Penguins (Mario, Sidney, & Co.) play an exhibition game against the Sens (now w/ Danny Heatley) this Friday at Broome County Arena in Binghamton. As of now, both Mario & Sidney are expected to play. I just picked up my tickets and there are still some left at $30 & $32. They can be reached at 1-607-722-7367 Date: Sat, 10 Sep 2005 00:07:08 -0400 Dan, I received an email from Can/Am Hockey regarding a pond hockey tournament in Lake Placid that some of the FNHLers might be interested in. It's 4 on 4 hockey (sorry, no goalies allowed... well at least not in net) on Mirror Lake. The 2nd Annual Lake Placid Adult Pond Hockey Tournament is January 19, 20-22, 2006. The cost ($175 per person) seems a bit steep considering your playing on a lake, but I'll leave that for others to decide. For additional information check out their website: https://store.canamhockey/at_pond_registration.php Steve K
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