The clock isn’t running in the international arena at North Delta’s Great Pacific Forum, but the 20 men playing hockey don’t seem to notice.
They are skating around the ice, passing the puck from player to player and intercepting when they can. If the puck gets away, there isn’t a mad scramble for possession — the kind that sees players smashed into the walls and sticks clashing against each other. Instead, two men will go after it; usually, the closest gets it.
After a few plays, one man in a purple jersey skates back to the bench to switch off with a tall fellow in a blue jersey. His name is Ralph Haugland, and he’s 79.
|
|
| Ralph Haugland, coming off the ice.
Grace Kennedy photo |
“I’ve been playing hockey my whole life,” Haugland said. “I really love it, and whenever I can’t play it’s always a downer.”
Haugland may be older than most hockey players, but he’s actually one of the youngest in his league. He plays for and organizes the 80-and-older division of the Greater Vancouver Old-Timers Hockey Association, a group of senior hockey enthusiasts who meet to play Canada’s national sport once a week.
Haugland has been a member of the Old-Timers Association for years — he knew it back when it was the Surrey Old-Timers League and joined its 50-and-over program.
Things have changed a bit since then: the name is different for one, and the association keeps on getting bigger.
SEE ALSO: Women’s hockey introduced for first time in 2018 B.C. 55+ Games
This year, the league already has more than 600 players signed up for the season, playing in 46 teams over six divisions for seniors ages 50 and up. These players come from all over the Lower Mainland — last year, Haugland’s team had players from Vancouver, Chilliwack, Coquitlam and even Bellingham.
This year is also the group’s first time hosting an 80-and-over division, which already has 20 players.
|
|
| The 80 and older ice hockey league playing at the Pacific Forum in Delta on Monday, Sept. 17.
Grace Kennedy photo |
“We can play with 20, and we can play with 18 for that matter,” Haugland explained.
But many of the players are vacationers, which means teams can fall short on substitutes. “We’re hoping we can pick up some more guys.”
The goal for all teams in the old-timers association is to be competitive, Haugland explained. They aren’t there to play pick-up hockey. They want to win.
“The difference between our league and some of the recreational hockey that’s being played around the Lower Mainland is we have a referee and we still play to win,” Haugland said. “Even though we don’t keep track of the score or the stats of who scores what over the year, we want to win the game.”
That competitiveness is what drives the enjoyment of the game for seniors like Haugland, and is why each team in the association is selected through a draft process.
“The guy who’s never been drafted before, he always wants to go on a team with his buddy,” he said. “But as [the teams in each division] all play at the same time basically, he can still have lunch with his buddy afterwards.
“Then he finds out he’s having a lot of fun because his team is competitive — they just don’t walk over the other teams — and it works out quite well.”
Of course, competitive hockey for these men looks a little different than it does for younger players.
“We play a gentleman’s kind of hockey,” Haugland explained. “We’re out there for fun, but we don’t want to hurt each other.
“We still will be physical, because we still want to win,” he added, but players stop to make sure the other isn’t hurt.
SEE ALSO: The death of Alan Thicke — is hockey OK for seniors?
|
|
| A player passes the puck down the ice.
Grace Kennedy photo |
There are other challenges as well — Haugland had to miss the first game of the season because of gall bladder issues, and another player had to quit because of heart problems — but the camaraderie and love of the sport makes it worth it.
“You build a bond with people that you wouldn’t probably normally associate with,” Haugland said. “But you’re after the same goal and you want to win the game.”
“It keeps us old farts active,” he added. “It takes your mind off the worries of the day … It’s a mental wash as well as a physical wash.”
Senior hockey players interested in joining the Greater Vancouver Old-Timers Hockey Association can visit carhahockey.ca/gvoha and register online.
grace.kennedy@northdeltareporter.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
