Statistically speaking, the Yk Oldtimers League doesn’t have a lot to show for its existence. It feels like hockey – three 20-minute periods, a referee dropping pucks or penalties, lots of ice – but what is missing from the game we know and love is a scoresheet.
Sadly this means all of the granular detail – the lifeblood of a future hockey historian’s passion – can’t be found in a written record. Rather, it can only be recounted in the great oral tradition between friends on the street, or among a gathering of players in a dressing room.
That leaves the objective truth as a somewhat unwilling victim to the memories of its participants. And as a participant, I fully intend to abuse the power of the press to state for the record a rather fascinating event that occurred before my very eyes on Feb. 10, 2018 when the Kasteel Konstruction Kasteelers, a team whose name is never abbreviated by its initials, played the Tait Communications Hawks. Kasteel was sporting a patchwork lineup that saw me as not quite a full patch member, but in uniform nonetheless.
The team had a plan for victory, of sorts, from the outset. It was determined that oldtimer rookie Phil Hebert, wearing number 99, would be the centerpiece of the offence. Having managed to score zero goals to date in league play, a hat trick seemed like a worthy and logical goal: “whaddaya say, Phil?”
Early in the first period, I sent a pass towards no. 99, who reminded me less of Wayne Gretzky and more of Phil Esposito, the star of the 1970s. He was a large target getting ready to take up residence in the slot with a defender draped all over him. My pass, flawless aside for finding his skates rather than the tape of his stick, quickly found its way from skate to stick to the far side of the net for goal number one.
Despite Herbert going bananas, Tait proved to be a dominant force. As the third period ticked down, the numbers on the scoreboard told us we were only the second-best team on the ice, despite our heroic efforts.
But the final story was yet to be told. Late in the final frame, Phil the Thrill brought both teams to their feet cheering when he corralled a stray puck deep in the attacking zone and sent a one-timer into the net for his second goal.
There was time and hope yet for a third from Phil’s magical stick. I watched from the bench as it became a true team effort to send him on his way for a final shot on net. I suspect that it wasn’t just the Kasteel team, as a rather sympathetic pass from the opposition found no. 99 driving toward the net on the left wing, in many ways reminiscent of his first goal. Tait goaltender Randy Caines moved to cover the short side and dropped down low. The shot went high. And then – the sound of a puck hitting the glass. The collective, disappointed “oh” from all present. The final buzzer. The hat trick was not to be.
But the season isn’t over yet and it is perhaps fitting that we can leave the rink satisfied we got a chance to play the game and are motivated to return.
Lest anybody question my journalistic credentials or want to skew the historical record: I have the video.