JMS Hockey

I know some of my fellow JMSers have played against these guys. http://www.fox9.com/news/140105528-story

I have zero doubt that the banned team had a bunch of goons. The super rink league is full of people who think that it's the NHL. Many people there stack teams with ringers, play dirty and then whine when anyone calls them out on it. The refs do absolutely nothing to protect the players there. That's the main reason why I only do AHA and JMS leagues these days. They don't even protect the goalies worth a crap at the super rink!!!!

I've been in the league for about 10 months; skating at the middle and highest levels. I do agree that the league is full of many hot heads and former HS skaters who are still trying to make it... in their 40's. I've had to defend myself against late hits and 'activity' after the whistle a few times. Maybe I'm lucky, but my team and I are pretty tight; and know most of the teams in our Division well enough to not cross the line. I'm wondering if it's like that everywhere? JMS is probably run pretty smooth from what I've heard/can tell. Still, many of the leagues around here have lots of fighting, foul play, etc. At least, that's what I've witnessed.

I've subbed in the Wild League for several years in multiple levels as a goalie. That afforded me an opportunity to watch how everyone plays. I have noticed that parity is not enforced. Too many players that should be in a level or 2 above. I have noticed that refs often let things get physical until it's too late to stop. I have seen more fighting in the Wild League than any other. I play in several leagues around the Twin Cities and that one by far has the most issues when it comes to fighting and verbal assaults. I still enjoy playing there, but understand everyone's frustration. I have to say that both AHA and JMS leagues are the most protective of the players. Parity is strongly enforced and the refs don't allow things to get out of hand. Depending on the level the BlackJacks were playing in, I can understand why the league may have banned them from the league. From the sound of it, they were pretty dominant and probably should have moved up a level. At least they offered to let them play if they split up. More importantly, it's nice to see the league taking a stance on bad sportsmanship. I understand emotions can get high in this game, but we are all there to have fun.

The blackjacks from what it sounds like we're kicked out due to repeated infractions i.e. goonery. As for how the leagues compare I agree that the Wild league tends to get out of hand more than AHA. We had an incident where there was a bench clearing brawl and our guy got slew footed and stomped on and he ended up needing surgery. That said it kinda depends what level you play. The highest league at Blaine I've never really had or seen many issues with fighting. That's not to say it doesn't happen (I think the championship game ended in a forfeit because 2 out 6 players on the one team got tossed lol) but it's pretty rare. C level and below can be chippy though and C2 definitely has issues with parity (teams who don't win as often as they like in C sometimes drop down to C2). That said AHA has a lot of issues too and if you're a younger player who's played at a high level it's not really even an option.

I played one season at the Super Rink in the lowest level they offer and it played like AHA C2-C1. I have never been run over more times as a goalie as I had in that league. Guys were throwing full body checks and would just unwind on each other. AHA may have its issues at times but compared to the Super Rink I will take the AHA any day of the week.