Opening Statement
For the 30th Anniversary Season we went for the “Wow Factor” to celebrate three decades of The Over-30 Hockey League. Five years later and once again we are preparing to make another BIG splash to celebrate another league milestone with our 35th year of competition.
With only one new rookie this season, Ben Tomsyck will mark the 518th rostered player to play in the league with an official stat line.
Instead of 68-championship teams, we only crowned 67-Champions as we lost a year to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Of those 67-Teams that earned their names being etched on a plaque for the trophy, only (1) has had the distinct honor of being the only team to have a perfect season, when we crowned the Roadrunners as the 2023 Spring Season Champions (aka “Team Perfection”)
In the past 58-seasons, only (1) player has scored more than 30-goals and that was Mike Duggan (31-goals) with Marooned during the 2024 Spring Season, when he scored 6-goals in his final game of the season. Prior to that it was Doug Sedille (33-goals) during the 1996 Winter Season with the Bushwhackers.
Both players were just shy of the All-Time record set in 1995 by Joe Shannon (35-goals) and he even did it twice (back-to-back) to prove a point. The only other player to have 30+ goals in a single season was Mike Luise in 1995. So that exclusive 30-goals Club is always looking for new members.
For the 6-goalies in the league, your record attempt is also nearly impossible to break as back in the 2006 Spring Season (20-years ago) Goaltender Jimmy Osgood played 11-games and only let up 14-goals for a 1.27 GAA. The next closest to that was Scotty Rosato in 2023 with his 1.71 GAA, playing 14-games and only 24-goals got by him.
Also, for the record Ray Nickerson has the single season assist record with 39-assists, set back in the Spring 1997 Season… and the closest player to Ray’s 39-assists is Ray himself with 37-assists just the season prior. Which just goes to show you that he was either a really good passer and playmaker, or he used intimidation and cash to bribe league officials for points… and the truth is, it’s probably a combination of both.
We’ll be continuing with another season of giving back to the players with weekly awards, monthly giveaways, raffles and prizes… and it all starts on Saturday September 12th with something we’ve never done before in the leagues history, and players will also get a little commemorative item courtesy of Jim Barber, the league’s Chief Historian, All-Time Statistician, Webmaster, Director of Marketing, and a Board Member who spent his summer months working on a special project for your personal keepsake and enjoyment.
Commitment
Every Spring Season we start the forum by stressing the importance of “Commitment”
The Over-30 League has always been and always will be an “Invitational Only” League. We don’t want or need the best players around, we want the players with good characteristics, good teammates, and yes (good players), but we really stress the importance of “Commitment”.
Commitment to your teammates by showing up each week… Commitment to the league by paying your dues on time… and Commitment to yourself to be the best player you were drafted and projected to be.
Do those three simple things and we’ll all get along just fine… Like Bill Belichick once said, “Do Your Job” and focus on yourself (Scoring, Defending or Saving) and being a good teammate. Let the league handle the league business. It’s been working successfully for the past 34-years (67-Seasons) and we see no reason to change.
