Giving up sleep for slapshots
WARRENDALE — Adults interested in playing ice hockey need not be night owls, but it helps.
Skaters whose hockey careers ended in high school or even in college, as well as adult fans who have always wanted to take a crack at the puck, have several venues to burn off their hockey fever.
BladeRunners in Warrendale, just south of Butler County on Route 19, offers adults aged 18 and older three levels of competition, said player John Mesko of Cranberry Township. But prime evening ice time is reserved for youth hockey.
"In the summer, games can start as early as 8 p.m.," said Mesko, who played for three years for Bishop McCort High School in Johnstown, "but now, games have a 10 to 11:15 start time."
Mesko said BladeRunners divides players in B, C or D levels according to skill. He said each rink has its own league, and teams in each level play one another until one wins the championship.
Mesko, a member of B- and D-level teams, said his penchant for, or some would say his obsession with, ice hockey is a result of the times."I grew up with the Lake Placid Miracle on Ice, then Mario came (to Pittsburgh), and it was all downhill from there," said the 35-year-old.Mesko said adult leagues, which are seeing more women sign up, convene an eclectic group of athletes. He said high school and former college players skate with beginners in midlife and the odd semi-pro in his 40s or 50s.Mesko said each BladeRunners team has 10 to 15 players, and four women play in the three divisions.He said some teams struggle to get and keep goalies at the adult level.Ice Connection of Pittsburgh on Route 8 in Middlesex Township offers its adult hockey league year-round.Rink manager Brad Posey said as far as he knows, adults have been playing hockey at Ice Connection for the entire 30 years of the venue's existence.Posey said the earliest adult games begin at 8 p.m. and the latest at 11:30 p.m., which means workers don't shut off the lights and park the Zamboni until 1:30 a.m.Posey said the Ice Connection offers one division in which skaters of all skills play with and against one another on eight teams with 10 to 15 players each. He said one session is 11 games long, including playoffs.
He said one adult team is composed of Mars High School alumni and another team boasts two female players."It's a good time," said Posey, who seems unperturbed by the late hours required in adult hockey. "The players come out to have fun."Unlike youth hockey, adult hockey has a no-checking policy. Mesko said the games are the only ice time athletes have because there are no practices in adult league."We're all too old and out of shape, for the most part," said Mesko.He admitted it is becoming harder to skate against the young, hot shot players who graduated from high school or college only a few months before signing up for adult league."Over the years, since hockey has hit the scholastic level, the quality of younger players is better each year," said Mesko, who graduated from McCort in 1990. "They're smarter, better trained, and more prepared due to the improved quality of coaching."Mesko, whose trim physique belies his self-deprecating description of his hockey skills, admits these factors have left him sore and exhausted on occasion."It's definitely getting harder to play these kids," he said with a laugh.Regarding fans, Mesko said there is a "small but dedicated group" who attend the late-night games."If they're dating, they manage to bring their girlfriends," said Mesko, whose wife, Shannon, is usually asleep when he leaves for a game.Mesko said he is keeping an open mind regarding how long he will be able to play in the punishing sport of ice hockey."I'll try to keep going as long as I can," said Mesko. "As long as I can keep getting up and going to work in the morning. I mean, I don't want to be Gordie Howe or anything."For information on adult hockey at BladeRunners in Warrendale and Harmarville, log onto www.bladerunnersice.com.
