Barry Wright
The Men's Summer Ball Hockey League in Point Edward will have a new look when the sophomore season gets underway next month.
The 16-team league has been separated into two tiers to better reflect the talent level on some clubs.
“Tier one will be a lot faster, with players with more skills,” said Convener Todd Hoover, noting more competitive teams have players who played junior, college and “AAA” hockey. “The second tier is more for players that want to come out and play with their buddies,” he added.
Hoover says the players range from late teens to 50 plus.
The season begins May 11 with games Monday and Wednesday every week up to the best-of-three finals in each division by mid-August.
Games are played in 50-minute blocks in the regular season, which include two periods of 22 and 23 minutes each.
The format will change for the playoffs, however. Following a recent league meeting it was decided the post season, including the two championship series, would feature three, 18-minute periods instead.
All games are played at the Point Edward Memorial Arena.
“I use Point Edward because it's a bit smaller ice surface and that's better for the less competitive players,” said Hoover.
Hoover is happy the league expanded from 12 to 16 teams this year, and he hopes to add more teams in future as players realize the skill of the game.
“The biggest thing with ball hockey is that if you have guys who can pass the ball real well you don't have to do as much running,” he said.
“Teams are not dumping and chasing. If you have a team that can move the ball well, you'll do just fine.”
For more, visit www.pmhlhockey.com