The NHL Sled Classic is my favorite tournament of the year. This is one of two national tournaments held in the US, but this one also includes Canadian teams. As the name implies, this tournament is only open to all teams that are branded by NHL teams, and teams wear their official NHL jerseys. In the past I’ve played against the LA Kings, Edmonton Oilers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Minnesota Wild, Arizona Coyotes, and many others.

Welcome to New Jersey

The location of this tournament changes every year. This year it was hosted by the New Jersey Devils in Wayne, NJ. There were 27 teams playing across five tiers. Our A team played in the top tier (Tier I), and B team played in the bottom tier (Tier V). We have a 17 year old rookie that plays both A and B, and for this tournament it was his turn to play up. I played for our B team, which is normal for me in these tournaments.

I didn’t expect too much from our B team this time. This year we’ve lost a number of our regulars, and another wasn’t able to make the trip. This left me and our center as the “fast guys”, with everyone else significantly slower. We had two players who are new this season, and we even had a coach play because we were short players.

You can see stats and photos on the official site. Here’s a little video sample.

On the Road Again

Thursday, 3:15am. Time to get up and drive to the airport. I’ve enlisted a friend to give me a ride this time, which will make life easier and save me from parking fees. We load up my 50 pound bag and head to O’Hare Airport.

Thursday, 5:15am. I meet up with my team. We have about 16 players plus coaches and our equipment guy traveling with us. This is a lot of equipment and luggage that someone at United Airlines has to check in.

Thursday, 10:10am. We land at scenic Newark Airport. I’ve been asked to drive one of the rental cars, so I head to the rental car area with my coach and a few other people, and leave the rest of the team to retrieve our bags.

Thursday, 11:20am. There is a decided lack of signs pointing to the rental car area. Finally we decipher the code and determine that we have to take a monorail to the car lot. We’ve rented three mini vans, but they were unable to get one with hand controls for me, so I’ve been upgraded to a Suburban, which is incredibly large. I find out very quickly that driving in New Jersey is going to be a challenge. The highways are twisty and make no sense. When I circle back to pick up the rest of the team, I can’t get close to the terminal because people are parked three deep. There are people standing outside their cars smoking. In Chicago, this behavior would get you a severe tongue lashing from a traffic cop within seconds. I end up triple parking and pick up a load of teammates.

Thursday, 12:45pm. We head to the rink and drop off our vans. We find an Italian restaurant near the rink for lunch. On trips like this, sometimes we are too busy to sight see and take in the local experience. But while driving, I’ve been honked at a few times, and in this restaurant everyone speaks New Jerseyish so I feel like I’ve had an authentic experience already.

Thursday, 4:00pm. Our first game, which happens to be the first game of the whole tournament, is against the Buffalo Sabres veterans team. This isn’t a fast team, but they are faster than most of our players. We are outshot 15-8 and end up losing 3-0. Toward the end, I start to take more chances, and decide I need to do more of that this tournament. I’ve skated hard and I’m tired after this one.

Thursday, 7:30pm. After a shower a the hotel, we head to dinner at a local pub. The food is great, but we’re outside in a tent as a cold front moves in. It becomes very cold and very rainy in a hurry.

Thursday, 10:30pm. Back at the hotel and time for bed.

Friday, 9:00am. Back at the rink, we watch our A team lose their first game vs. Boston Bruins 5-1.

Friday, 10:30am. Our second game is against the Columbus Blue Jackets. I’m skating more into the offensive zone this time. We play to a 0-0 tie, and it goes to a shootout. We let one of our new players shoot first to see what their goalie does. I’m up next. I beat the goalie on the glove side, hit the corner of the net, and… the puck pops out. No goal. Our center shoots for us next, beats the goalie, hits the crossbar, and…. the puck drops straight to the ice. No goal. The other team makes one shot and wins the game. With this loss, we’re eliminated from the playoff round.

My finest moment, immortalized

Friday, 5:00pm. After lunch at Panera and a shower, we’re back at the rink to watch the A team play the Colorado Avalanche. The NHL has a bunch of trophies, including the Stanley Cup, available for photos. You can get close enough to touch them. There’s also a trophy for this tournament that resides at the Hockey Hall of Fame, on which are engraved the players’ names of the Tier I championship team. The whole exhibit it overseen by the legendary Phil Pritchard. Our A team is down 3-0 in the first period, but stages a stunning comeback late in the third to win 4-3.

Friday, 7:00pm. Though it’s pretty cold, there is an official reception in a big warm tent outside with BBQ, beer, and a band. Unfortunately I’m driving The Beast so no beers for me. After a few hours we head back to the hotel for bed.

Saturday, 10:30am. We’re back for one last game. We can’t make the playoff round, so this one is for pride. Our opponent is the Edmonton Oilers, a new team of very slow skaters. I take this opportunity to practice skating around our opponents. I get the first goal early in the game, and score two more. Then I let up and practice passing, especially to our newer teammates. One of the new guys gets his first two goals, and I get the assists on both. For the first time in the tournament, I sit for a while and let everyone else get some extra game experience. We end up winning 7-1, and I finish with 3 goals and two assists. After the game, I meet up with two of our friends who live in New Jersey, and I also meet the handsome Ghostpatzer, who has so kindly come out to see me play.

Saturday, 11:30am. The A team plays again, against the New Jersey Devils. They easily win 8-2, and our rookie gets his first A team goal. He and his dad are ecstatic.

Saturday, 2:00pm. With our games over, and the championship for A team tomorrow, we get lunch at a local pub, then spend the rest of the night hanging out at the hotel in someone’s room. We have a fancy hookup for the TV so we can watch the Blackhawks lose miserably to Edmonton.

Sunday, 9:00am. The championship game will run late, so we pack everything up, check out, and head to the rink one last time.

Sunday, 11:30am. A team plays their one-game playoff with a rematch vs. Boston. One of my favorite teammates, Travis Dodson plays a superb two-way game. One of my best friends on the team scores by bouncing a high shot off a defender’s shoulder, our rookie follows with a goal and an assist, and A team wins the championship 3-0. Our rookie will get his name on that trophy in his first year with our team.

And Now…

It’s been a mixed weekend for me. It was nice to see our A team win again, but I’m still kicking myself for not somehow getting a goal in that second game. However, we were much closer to moving on than I thought we would be. With just one additional player I think we’d have moved on to our playoff. But in sled hockey, who’s on the ice is just as important as how you play. We still have nationals coming up in April, and I think we’ve got a good chance of winning that one.

In just a few days I turn 50, so it’s time to head to the airport, finally rid myself of the Beast at the rental car return, and split off from the team. They’ll take my hockey gear back to Chicago, and I’ll head to Orlando to meet up with my family for my birthday extravaganza. Which is a story for another day.