Hockey fun and games

One of the crazy plays we worked out for hockey games we called the door play. It required that we be shorthanded killing a penalty. Our defensive end must also be in the same end of the rink where our bench was. When play started we set up defensively in a box four. If the play involved a scramble for the puck in the corner opposite of our bench, we would slip the left wing onto our bench and slip another player out the door towards center ice. If we came out of the scramble with the puck it would be shot to center ice. Where hopefully our man would retrieve it with a break away. If he missed it, no harm, we were shorthanded and so no icing would be called.

We didn’t use it very often, but the times we did it was effective.

When we were in the competition to go to the Nationals, our final game was against MacFetridge. They were a team playing out of Chicago proper. They had home ice advantage, so the game would be played in their rink. When we took the ice for the game, we discovered that the bench door towards center ice was nailed shut. Our complaint to the officials fell on deaf ears. So, we played shuttling players in and out of the single door.

The game turned out to be a barnburner. Late in the third period, the score tied, we received a minor penalty. and were penalty killing. We decided to give it a shot anyway and slid our left wing off the ice. His replacement flew over the boards and took the pass in full stride. He scored the winning goal.

We travelled to St. Louis and played in the Checker Dome, and eventually lost to Oyster Bay NY who became Junior B National champions.