Another Season Comes to an End

We just finished our latest season of Friday Night Hockey. We started mid-October last year and played for half a year - 25 weeks.

Things didn't start off very smoothly. We ran into goalie trouble right out of the gate having to rent twice in the first few weeks. And, one of those times, the rental goalie didn't even show up. We didn't hear from him or the company, Goalies Unlimited, either. Not good.

Shortly after came news that one of our regular goalies, Godfrey, was having knee problems. He would be unable to continue playing. We encountered a problem like that a couple of years earlier when another goalie, Dave, backed out as our season started also because of knee problems. Thankfully, this time, Godfrey's nephew (and Peter's son), Harrison, was able to fill in.

Age is catching up to our group. Another member, Jim, signed up and paid, but was unable to make it to any of the games. Originally he was hoping to join us around Christmastime. But December turned into January, turned into February, turned into March. Thankfully I was able to collect enough money from weekly subs to be able to refund him what he paid.

Other than that, things went pretty smoothly. We picked teams and played a number of Best-of-5 series. That gave most people a bit more motivation to go out and skate harder.

The rink attendant was new this year. We got the ice a little earlier than our 10:30 start time most weeks. But we would always be kicked off at the stroke of midnight and not a second later. Highly unusual to say the least.

On our last day we continued a tradition we started last year. Before the game most of us met for dinner at the nearby Congee Queen. It gave us some time to talk and bond a little more than when you're just sitting on the bench between shifts or changing in the dressing room.

Until next season!

Tom Chan, 1965-2016

Tom and Florianne, 2011

I received terrible, terrible news late Wednesday night. An e-mail from one of the guys from our Friday Night Hockey group, Larry Hum, told us another friend, Tom Chan, had suddenly passed away.

Tom had just returned from a week long trip to Jamaica at the end of January. He was supposed to return to hockey on Friday, February 12th, but e-mailed me Thursday evening saying he was too sick to play this week. What I didn't know at the time was that he had been admitted to Mt. Sinai Hospital that same day.

Less than a week later (on Wednesday, February 17th) we were informed of his passing. I believe it was very sudden and very unexpected. Because earlier that same day Tom asked Florianne to e-mail me saying he's out for hockey this week. Just over six hours later we were told of his death.

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I met Tom through ice hockey. I'm not exactly sure when, but it was quite a few years ago. I don't even know exactly who in the group he knew. So many guys have come and gone over the two and a half decades we've played. All I know was that he was a really good guy.

Over the years he's invited me to his home where he and Florianne would host many lovely dinner parties. There would be ones for Christmas or Chinese New Years or one of many other special occasions. Tom was a great chef. He'd always prepare a number of wonderful dishes.

He was also a world traveler. Before his trip to Jamaica he was in Iceland late last year. And in prior years he traveled to Mexico, Asia and Europe with all Florianne and other friends. I'd always enjoy looking through his photos on Facebook.

For work he renovated old homes. I didn't know too much about this side of him. Though he had me photograph one project he completed, a semi on Baldwin, just east of Spadina. It was really amazing. Such a beautiful place. He really was a multi-faceted, multi-talented guy.

Taken far too young, he will be missed. Good-bye, my friend.

Friday Night Hockey - Over for Another Year

We finished our Friday Night Hockey last week at Goulding Arena. We played 25 games in the past 6 months missing only the Boxing Day week.

As usual there was some drama involved. Right before the season started we lost one of our goalies, Dave, who had knee problems. It's been an ongoing issue for him over the past two or three seasons. I only found out he couldn't play a week or two before we were due to start, so I was in sort of a bind.

One of our goalies, Rob, had committed to playing every week. But, our other goalie, Godfrey, could only play every other week. So, right off the bat, I was scrambling to find a replacement every other Friday. Luckily we had a number of back ups in Donald, Caitlin and Benson who were willing to fill in when they were available.

The goalie problem was solved when Rob found Lance (another goalie he played with on occasion). Lance didn't live too far away and loved playing net. He was a dependable backup opposite Godfrey. That was until the very end of the season when his car gave up the ghost. Then he needed a ride (which I happily provided) to get to the game.

Another big change was when, part way through the season, I let Gord and Jan pick the teams. After that initial game Gord picked the teams from that point on. But, not only did he pick the teams, they suggested a best 2-out-of-3 tournament. So, instead of changing teams from week we played a short series.

We even bought a small scoreboard and kept stats (on who scored). Gord set up a simple website and posted all the info there along with everyone's photos (which I took one week). We even had a few videos that one of the subs, Eddie, made whenever he came out to play.

It upped the competitive spirit between teams. I think it made everyone try harder. At least initially it did. Forwards skated back a little more often trying to help their defence. It was great.

We also saw a few people returning from a year or two away. It was good to see old familiar faces again. And some of the guys started bringing out their kids to fill in from time to time. They were fast. All us old timers had a tough time chasing them down.

So the game is evolving which is good. Hopefully things will go relatively smoothly next year.

Friday Night Hockey group

Our Friday Night Hockey came to an end for the season recently. We've been playing for many, many years. Currently we're at Goulding Arena in the Yonge and Steeles area. We've been there for over 10 years if I'm not mistaken.

I've been organizing it for the past three or four years. The contract with the City of Toronto isn't too much trouble. I just have to fill out some forms and fax in the roster to them and set up payment.

The most work is organizing the goalies. It seems like we ran into all sorts of problems this year. One of our new goalies, Rob, left after playing with us for one season so I had to look for another one to fill in. I searched the internet and found, Petr, who was looking for a group to play with. He rounded out our roster along with Godfrey and Dave.

With around 6-8 weeks left in the season, Petr, ended up breaking four ribs and sustaining a concussion in a car accident while coming back from skiing at Blue Mountain. So, needless to say, he was done for the rest of the time.

Then Dave had his knee problems. He's had them for a number of years. So he wasn't able to make it out near the end of the season either. Thankfully Frankie's brother, Donald, and Andrew's trainer's daughter, Caitlin, were able to fill in for them in emergency situations.

A few players went AWOL through the year too. We lost Doug Lem before the season even started. He died mysteriously at home one day. It was very sad and tragic. Paul lasted only half a year. His knees were giving him problems. Jim broke a rib while playing during one of the games. So he missed a number of weeks as well. One other new fellow John disappeared part way through too.

All in all I know everyone enjoyed playing. I know I did. It's a great way to end the week by blowing off some steam and getting exercise at the same time.