Over 30 Hockey League

Summer Projects

This season’s draft was built around a theme of “Firsts & New Beginnings” and trying to put veteran players, who have never played together with other veteran players. 

We have some “New” (First-time) Captains and Assistant Captains… and a “New Beginning” with the “first” official season without “The Great One” Matty Iannello with his retirement from the league.

Along with Matty, we lost some key veteran players… but we also gained back a couple of former veterans who will greatly contribute to the league and their teammates.

Over the summer the leagues front office and support staff have been busy working on:

• Updating and tweaking some rules
• Hiring Billy Beane as a league consultant to teach Billy Abcunas how to use analytics to try out various combinations on the draft board
• Experimenting with Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Months of pressuring the Webmaster and his construction team to finally finish and unveil the “Over-30 Hockey Hall of Fame” for opening day

Summer Board Meetings

The Over-30 Board of Directors wrapped up their summer meetings discussing general league business, day-to-day operations and game day responsibilities.

Coming out of the summer meetings are (2) new rule modifications that will be added to our specific Over-30 Rules & Policies pages.  Read about those changes below.

Our newest Board Member Tony Medeiros gave some insight into the upcoming fundraising season (and future prospecting) along with a summary of our continuous fundraising efforts.

The very popular “Jokers Wild” or as Lee Nogler likes to call it “My Monthly ATM” will continue into next season… along with some other proposed exciting events (TBD).

Webmaster and Career Historian Jim Barber once again committed to getting the website cleaned up for the upcoming 2025 Winter Season and finally unveiling the Hall of Fame for opening day.

12^th HoF Inductee

On the 12th day of April, the Over-30 Hall of Fame Committee thought it would be appropriate to do a “super-secret induction” for the 12^th Inductee to recognize Paul Correia who’s playing days were cut short, and ironically also wore the #12.

The timing was perfect for the 12^th inductee, who wears #12, and is being inducted on April 12^th at his own charity event… So, on behalf of the Over-30 League, we welcome Paul Correia as the 12^th inductee into the Over-30 Hall of Fame.

Thanks for your continuous support and contributions to the Paul Correia Fund.

It was an emotional presentation by Tony Medeiros who has pioneered the efforts since the beginning and helped raise another $10K for Paul’s continuing care. 

Thank you to all those that donated… collectively your generosity is very appreciated.

Pending HoF Inductee

Look for a new inductee into the Hall of Fame in November.  The Hall of Fame Committee decided to waive the 5-year requirement for retirees and fast track Matty “The Great One” Iannello’s induction into the hall.

In all likelihood #77 will be sent to the rafters to join #7, #44, #2 and someday #5, #8 & #10 when they retire, and #16 when Doug Sedille retires from unretirement after retiring in 2011.

We are fast-tracking his induction and number retirement so we can avoid another Doug Sedille situation where we must take the shirt down from the rafters, wash it and then reuse it to unretired a player.

We know for certain that Ed Nigro (#7), Joe Shannon (#44), Billy Mack (#2) and soon to be Matty Iannello (#77) will not be walking through that door folks… and if they do, they will be gray and old… but probably still better than a 1/3 of the league if they do.

Rule Changes

Icing: As part of our continuous effort to keep the games moving along, we are revising the “Icing” rule to mimic the NHL.  Teams that “ice” the ball will not be allowed to change their players on the rink.  Unlike the NHL who have several officials watching the games from every angle… we are going to encourage those defensive players that are on the rink during the icing call to “self-enforce” the rule by staying on the rink.  The Referees and off the rink officials will also be watching for those trying to sneak off… so please don’t try being sneaky… it just slows down the game.

Penalties: The other rule update is focused on more “Power Play” goals… and an effort to increase the value of the powerplay, by increasing the amount of time a player must sit for their infractions.

All minor penalties will be increased to 1-minute & 30-seconds, and all double-minor penalties (although rare) will be increased to 3-minutes.

There was talk of accessing a minor penalty to Mike “Mr Freeze” Surette if he ices the ball more than 3-times per game, but once again our DEI Lawyers shot down the proposal because “Messin’ with Sasquatch” could be considered a hate crime.

Naming Committee (Behind the Scenes)

For transparency reasons we should prequel the story with some inside information…

During the summer board meeting even the long-standing 25+ year members do not have access to (or know of) the results of the draft.

Once the draft is finalized, a plum of white smoke billows from Hockeytown and a secret team is summoned for a meeting at an undisclosed location.  There, a conclave of trusted individuals gathers to talk about team names based on the team colors, players and/or a team theme (or subliminal messaging).

This year the league authorized the usage of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to generate the (6) team logos while using the primary and secondary Pantone colors.

As we’ve done in the past… let’s take you behind the scenes and into the breakfast discussions. 

After a complimentary breakfast courtesy of the League Director’s wallet, the trusted members must take an oath and swear on an iPhone Bible that divulging any draft details before the official captains meeting will result in future sanctions, suspensions or being relieved of their league duties.

Once the “Oath of Silence” ritual is completed… The naming committee goes to work, and this is the logic behind the 2025-2026 team names.

Cam-A-Lot (Captain Tony Medeiros) – This is Tony’s “first” crack at captaincy and what better way then to build a team around another “first” year player…  who (ironically) is also the “first round” #1 pick of the draft, with centerman Cam Long. 

The meaning behind Cam-A-Lot is not one of King Arthur and British folklore… it’s a very simple strategy… you wanna win hockey games and a championship… get the ball to “Cam-A-Lot”

Tommy Guns (Captain Tommy Gallagher) – Although a returning seasoned veteran (and from the good ole days) Tommy has never won a championship while wearing a “C” for the league.  This season he’s coming in with guns blazing and his two high-powered weapons Mike Duggan (91) and Patrick Spencer (92) to help win his first championship as a captain.

The question is will the “Tommy Guns” be hitting their targets like the top corners, short-sides and the 5-holes… or will the young guns be shooting blanks?

First Responders (Captain Dominic DeFrancisco) – Based the theme of putting veteran players, who have never played with other veteran players on the same team (before they retire).

None of these players are actually “First Responders”, but they are “First-Time” teammates, and the League’s “Director of Player Personnel” is very curious to see how those players will “Respond” under the tutelage of a 5x Leading Scorer and reigning Mylec Player of the Year… and their fearless leader Dominic at the helm.

This also marks the “first” time all (3) veterans of the #8 are on the same team… Who will get to wear #8 this season?

League Pioneer Ray Nickerson… or the best faceoff centerman ever to play in the league Mark Stickney…, or the captain himself Dominic DeFrancisco. 

This is probably why Cam Long who also wears #8 wasn’t drafted to create another stacked team for Dom to cruise into 1^st place with.  Cam’s signing bonus included the ability to wear his first-choice number (8) and play with Mike Naczas… the league chose to meet only one of his rookie demands.

Capo-Zero (Captain Angelo De Luca) – There is nothing more frustrating than that feeling of being in charge and having nothing to show for it.  After several attempts at a championship together, his former underboss (Rick Cassano) and consigliere (Gino Tammaro) have moved on to other more successful crime families.

Ricky joined the Dominions Family and Gino was recruited by an Azores underling… and both players won championships last season with their new “Famiglia’s”  leaving their former Captain (Capo) Angelo with “Zero”… Nadda… Zilch!

Once a very successful street soldier with 6-championships out of 7-attemtps, “Don” Angelo has something to prove this season to himself and his teammates… or run the risk of having himself (and his #1 fan – his son) both having to enter the witness protection program.

The Revolution (Captain Jim Barber) – Inspired by the colonial colors, “The Minutemen” was proposed and quickly shot down as the league’s DEI Lawyer who wouldn’t allow Colleen O’Connell to be lumped in with “Men” and “Minute-persons” just didn’t have the same charm.

With a battle plan of “Don’t shoot until you see the whites of their eyes”… or better yet “the white of the back of the net”…  Can Captain Jim Barber lead his soldiers into weekly battles and win another championship… or is his legacy just part of Over-30 American History.

“The Revolution will not be televised”… but it will be played out live on Saturday nights.

Poo Bears (Captain Dave Costa) is the current “Championship Captain” title holder, and also the lone conductor from his defending champions Azores Express run, as all of his defending championship passengers got off at other league stops. 

Dave’s new mission is to “Make Rob Sheridan Great Again” and to do that, he must wear the “first ever” brown colored Over-30 Jersey.

Could the naming committee have gone with something cool with a Bruins theme… (Nope!) they went for the low-lying fruit and the 3^rd grade level jokes with “Poo Bears”.

Sorry Dave, but you’re going to have to endure two seasons worth of “Crappy” puns and “Shitty” jokes… if you’re going to make Rob, and the color brown great again.

New Beginnings

For the start of the 34^th Season, the league is refocusing on its core values to reduce the stress associated with trying to run a hugely successful hockey league or any other organized event.

To minimize the stress, the league is clamping down on the drama… if you have any bitches or complaints, you can either bring them home to your family or write them down on a piece of paper… then crumple it up and toss it in the barrel.  This will help save a few steps in the Over-30 complaint process.

We’ve stressed this in the past… the league draft is based (and balanced) on the various skill levels, age, sometimes requests but always the least common denominator in the draft is “Commitment”.  How will the team play and produce when all 12-players are present and living up to their draft expectations.

Commitments

For the past couple of seasons League Director (Bill Abcunas) has put the word out that he wants players to show their commitment(s) to the league. 

As an “invitational only” league, (we) encompass all skill levels from the brownbaggers to the tournament players (and everyone in between).  For this league to continue being “fun to run” with a passion for being around a solid group of core players, from Rookies to 30+ year veterans… we ask for (3) simple commitments

Commit yourself weekly to playing for your team, as the draft is built around the various skill levels, combinations and potential chemistry

Commit to playing the best you can for your team and play up to your draft potential… while buying into your team’s concept and identity.

Commit financially to the league when dues are due.  We play (2) Seasons; Winter 2025 & Spring 2026 and each season is $350 (split into two payments).  $180 due on opening day, and the balance of $170 due later in the season before the playoffs.

Communication

Another tool the league likes to use is the “Team Text Groups” that all the captains utilize for their weekly roll call.

This data is very important to the league, as we ask the captains by Thursday(s) to notify the League Director of any looming absentees for the upcoming games on Saturday.

So, if you are not going to be able to make it… please let your captains know ASAP so that the league can make accommodations to bring “fill-in” players from the waiting list as we want to continue to monitor them for future drafts.

8-man Minimum

With Matty “The Retired One” Iannello calling it quits… we are also ending his infamous policy of “Play with what you have”

We want to keep the games competitive and to do so, teams need subs and runners… so the new “Mandatory Minimum” for the first two thirds (10-weeks) of the season is 8-players on the bench (3-subs).

For those teams with 7-players (or less) teams will be given an extra player(s) from either the “waiting list” or a player from the previous game with comparable skill levels - based on the directors’ decision only.

The Over-30 League has a brothel of players willing to double up and fill-in when asked… so don’t be surprised if you see players sticking around after a game saying, “Hey baby you need a player… I can play all night”

There are only (2) exceptions to when a team will play with 7-players…

The first is when a Captain informs the League Director (during warm-ups) that someone bailed last minute and thus he must scramble for a fill-in… The Director may not be able to fulfil those last-minute requests.

The second is after the first two thirds (Week #11) when we close the rosters and do not allow “fill-in” players for the final matchups of the season as we race to the playoff seeding. 

Teams with 7-players (Week #11) until the end of the season will play with what they have (unless) a team is drastically understaffed with just 5 or 6 players (only then) will the league step in and get a team some “comparable” help… and with Cam Long now on a rostered team, we shouldn’t have any complaints.  But also note that “Yes!” (Cam) like any other player in the league may be asked to fill-in… based on a team’s needs.

Coming For Records?

After Mike O’Neill’s bold proclamation about “Coming for records” and his failed attempt…

We wanted to have a place where players could see what those records actually are and who holds them.

So, if Mike, Cam Long, Mike Duggan or anyone else that wants to take a swing at Over-30 mortality… We encourage you to check out the new “Hall of Records” under the new “Hall of Exhibits.”

Just remember one thing… before you “come for records”…. You need to focus on “coming to the games” first.

Let’s Go Crazy!!!

With the start of the Over-30 Season and the Patriots Season both on the same weekend… it’s only fitting that we kick off this season in the same fashion that the Patriots kick off their games… and now a tribute to the passing of another childhood icon… “All Aboard…..”