By Lawrence Powell
Spectator
NovaNewsNow.com
They play a unique game in Lawrencetown. A couple of forwards, a pair of defencemen, and a goalie -- that's all they need.
"It's just the size of the rink," said Adam Illsley, the guy who organized the new Lawrencetown and District Men's Hockey League.
When play got under way last Friday night, all four teams were on the ice for the 4-on-4 season kickoff, a style of hockey that stretches back to the late 1970s at the Exhibition Youth Arena where the play is fast and the scores are high. While it's a Lawrencetown tradition, Illsley says it's been a few years since there's been a league. He hopes this year's exercise will renew that unique tradition as the rink itself is in the initial stages of rejuvenation and enthusiasm for upgrading the facility is high.
The Youth Arena continues to host a pair of Lawrencetown Cup 4-on-4 tournaments each year, and Sunday morning pickup hockey is 4-on-4. And the warm room is packed with trophies going back decades. Recently the community group responsible for the building has embarked on an ambitious program to upgrade the 1970s rink and revitalize winter fun in the small village. And in the last few years there seems to be a resurgence in the numbers coming out to play.
Illsley put the new 4-on-4 league together by nailing down a roster of 40 players from Bridgetown to Aylesford and then drawing names to form four teams. He split the season in two with a post-season night after the first part of the season. Rankings are determined after the first six games and the post-season night will have first and second place battling it out and third and fourth playing for third place. Then four new teams will be drawn and the process will be repeated in the second half of the season.
Illsley said ages vary from late teens to players in their 40s, and skill levels range all the way up to guys who played some top-notch hockey in their younger years. A couple of Bridgetown Townies jerseys were spotted on the ice Friday night as the first fast-paced contest got under way.
"It's much more of a passing game than a stick-handling game," Illsley said. "The hockey tends to be quite quick due to the passing game. People enjoy the high-speed, high-scoring style of hockey that comes out of this rink."
The ice at the Youth Arena isn't regulation size by any stretch of the imagination.
"It's shorter and narrower, which makes it quite a different experience playing down here," Illsley said. "The 4-on-4 hockey predates me."
The new league follows the no-contact, no slapshot rules of gentlemen's hockey, including the out-for-fun spirit of the game. Illsley said teams play two 20-minute stop-time periods with a pair of games every Friday starting at 7 p.m.
Illsley said there is enough ice time for the league to expand next year.
"That's our goal -- to grow next season," he said.
Hockey fans wanting to take in some fast action can head to the Youth Arena in Lawrencetown on Friday evenings -- it's free.
