I watched a dandy game this evening at the Twin Rin… er, Capital Mitsubishi Centre between the Eastern Ice Breakers and Mount Pearl Blades. The ‘Breakers edged the Blades by 1 and showcased excellent puck movement throughout (EIB have been very competitive in the boys U15A division this year).
But the game had stoppages. A lot of unnecessary stoppages.
I don’t know the official count, but I’d say the net came off its moorings at least… (carry and two)… 1,890 times in this match-up. On multiple occasions, the play would stop and the goalies would be looking at the officials like.. my nets been off for an hour!
At the end of the day, it is not the officials fault or the goalies fault. There is absolutely nothing either entity can do; goalies use the post as a springboard of sorts in 2025, pushing off while on their knees from post-to-post and sealing the post with techniques that require them to have a properly-anchored net. Officials – in an effort to keep the play going – are often yelling at goalies to put their nets back on when there is no imminent threat around them. If officials in rinks around the Avalon blew the play dead every time the net came slightly off, watching paint dry would be more enjoyable because there would be stoppages all night long.
The solution is pretty simple – buy Anchor Pegs (link here). Get rid of the archaic metal pegs that every rink has, because the ends that contact the ice are rounded off and essentially useless at this point. These anchor pegs are a goalies dream; the net actually stays in place (but not to the point where if someone slid into it, it wouldn’t come off and there would be a safety issue) and a players dream (how many minor hockey goals get called back on back door post-to-post goals where the goalie pushes off the post, net comes off, puck goes in and the ref waves it off).
I ain’t working for Anchor Pegs, but their speed of delivery was unreal. They’re based out of Nova Scotia so just across the Gulf from the Rock, but I had ours within days of ordering (like.. order on a Monday had them by Friday, pre Canada Post strike).
Even if rinks use the high-quality pegs for higher level games only (high school etc) and keep them under lock and key for the remainder of the time, so be it. Jimmy Walsh and Ray Martin don’t need ’em at 2 pm on Monday’s (shout out to two rec/ball hockey legends), but the game I watched tonight definitely needed them.
Until Next Time
AP