The State of the E

The origins of the EMRHL begin circa 1997 when a phone call from Jay Fraser to Dave Gardner began some Sunday morning roller hockey games at a tennis court in Danvers. With cheap plastic roller blades, taking turns playing goal and chasing the ball down the grassy hill, the foundation was being laid for roller hockey on the north shore.

It started to get organized in 1998 on a tennis court along the coast of the Bass River in Beverly, Massachusetts that was enclosed and had real nets.  What took place back in 98' was the transformation of a Sunday pickup skate amongst newly acquainted friends, into a four-team, organized roller hockey league, known as the Beverly Roller Hockey League.

From there, word began to spread amongst Eastern Massachusetts residences about an alternative, low-cost option to playing the game of hockey. As acquaintances became long lasting friendships, members of the league continued to chip in with help whenever it was necessary.

Due to the high rising costs of maintaining the tennis court at the McPherson Youth Center, cancellations due to weather, and overall playing conditions, demand by league members to play all year round and a growing interest by non-existing members, there was only one option remaining; move the league indoors.

In the fall of 2000, the BRHL, led by commissioner Dave Gardner moved the league to Hockeytown in Saugus as a regional league, known as the Eastern Massachusetts Roller Hockey League.

As the league continued to grow, there was no ignoring the camaraderie that formed as a result of playing with new league members each season. It wasn't league rules or the level of competition that led to players flocking to Hockeytown from all over New England.

From there, members of the league spent off days playing pickup games, attending cookouts at Spencer's, Bruins games, AHL games, tournaments, vacations, labor work, weddings and using league members to seek out employment. While many play for the love of the game every Tuesday and/or Saturday morning, the reason the majority of league members show up is just to get out of the house and shoot the breeze with friends, while mixing in a steady dose of hockey and heckling.

It's the little things that tend to get lost in the shuffle about the league I once used to know. It's unfortunate that an untimely illness had to remind myself and the majority of league members just how good our dysfunctional league really is and at any given moment, your next game might very well be your last. It's unfortunate that Mike Barry most likely skated in his last game but I believe he was someone who didn't take the little things in life for granted.

So how do we get the league back to the way it used to be? It starts at the top, but the league is ONLY functional by other league members working together as a whole as the old saying is true, "You get what you put in." If we work together and learn from our past mistakes, there's no telling how high our ceiling might be.

"Lack of get-togethers, as opposed to before when we had 4 teams of 7 guys at the cage and almost everyone lived in the same area. Now we are up at Hockeytown with more people from more widespread areas. There was more involvement by players back then, for sure," stated EMRHL pioneer, Eric Higgins.

"I think for sure there's more turn around in the league. Back in the day it was always the same guys every season so you played with almost everyone at least once. Even though there is a core group of guys that still hang around, it's not what it used to be," stated 8-year-veteran, Jay Surrette

"I remember that there were stronger personalities in the league a while back and that's missed now. Guys like Barry, Houls, Jay Brown, Spencer, Frosty, Frank, George, Martin, Joe K and Sherwood to name a few. Seems like guys play and then leave versus the old TND days where everyone would hang around and heckle. Guys used to hang out on other nights too. We had a sick trip to Montreal years ago. I don't think I could find 20 guys now that would do that," stated current Tuesday League Captain Adam Karas.

"I think the league might not be perceived as what it once was because there are more teams, and I bet the crossover from Tuesday to Saturday is less than what it was...you have more guys who play in one or the other, as opposed to it being mostly the same guys in both leagues in year's past," stated the EMRHL's longest tenured Captain Dennis McGonagle.

Regardless of what your personal beliefs are as to what's broken and not broken in the EMRHL, it's transparent that it's more than the actual game of hockey being played that's keeps the same members in the league season after season. As we try to correct our past mistakes as a league, it's crucial to also know what's working.

"I liked how the EMRHL did a draft after every season, the weekly writeups, the tournaments and the weekly goat but the constant heckling is my draw," said former Tewksbury enforcer, Jay Frasca.

The EMRHL's most recent addition, goaltender Jared Sarro, had the luxury of walking into the EMRHL during the mid-season frenzy known as Sandbagfest and was blown away by the league's setup, "The website is great and all, but it's great feeling that any game, you could win or get blown out."

The Commish had this to say, "There are times that I really dread going to the rink for one reason or another like everyone else at their jobs, but every week for the past 13 years we've managed to make it work. Most of the time Tuesdays and Saturdays are alot of fun, and the more help I get at the rink, the more fun we can have. Most of the memories I have took place off the rink. Don't get me wrong, we've had some great moments on the court, but some of the trips we took as a group or gatherings, Super Bowl parties, etc, stick out to me the most. Even now when I see players use the pictures I took of them playing here as their Facebook picture still brings a smile to my face. This goes beyond the court alot of the times, and I've seen the personal side of many players, both the ups and the downs in their lives, and try to keep everything in perspective the best I can."

As we head into a new Tuesday season, let's stand up and rally around a fallen teammate and do our own parts to get the most out of OUR league.

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