State of MLRH

[wildcard00]

Can anyone explain the state of MLRH? I know that a couple of teams have dropped out or been kicked out of the league, and that there have been teams not showing up for their road games but having a full team for home games. If anyone can explain what is going on with MLRH it would be great.

[vitaminchi]

it's simple. the league is not consistent. nobody wants to travel, but it's also hard to make arrangements to travel when the schedule is realeased a few days before the games. to be honest, it's just not run very smoothly. oh well.

[wolves89]

save the redundant posts, just come play PIHA, up to date stats and schedules, teams travel with more then enough guys for the most part most teams are pretty well matched up! MLRH has the right idea with the offsides and checking i think, the better the talent the cleaner the games are, and this season it was pretty clean from what i've heard and seen here in the Northeast, they just can't seem to get organized. Make it an easy choice, Vote PIHA in 2007!!

i'm not slow, i'm patient

[Mlrhnorthfan]

agreed. the idea of checking and offsides is great but every rink you play at has a different rule despite what the MLRH rulebook (if one exists) says. The checking aspect is what should set the league above the others, but there are so many guys that either dont know how or refuse to hit cleanly. It is a topic that has been over killed here for the last few years. in the end, I gotta agree, its not worth blowing an ACL on a dirty hit in a game you traveled hours to get to playing against 6 guys.

Sure its fun to say you play at that level but does anyone really care beyond the 40 other guys left in the league that check the website that is updated twice a week?

Lets just finish the season and move on to PIHA next year!

[yokes]

Next year??? What about this year? Dont wait!

"Only God saves more than Yokes"

[Db55UD02]

The fact is, the governing bodies who run the two leagues are egotistical and can't check their pride at the door. Bill Raue has done the best he can do with what he has got, as far as teams, players, buildings, etc...Charley Yoder has PIHA going in the right direction, but definitely could use more help. If these two would sit in a room and work out what differences they may or may not have, then we would be talking about a fully sponsored league with great talent ( think RHI). I think PIHA already has checking in its game, as some of the games are similar to Torhs pro anyway. Just eliminate the open ice hitting and keep it relegated to the boards. This should satisfy the blood thirsty crowds and you know what, include fighting if need be. What happens, if you do fight, is that you should be automatically tossed for the next game. This will eliminate the need for cement heads who can't play the game and don't deserve to be on a team. I don't think I have all the answers, but it would be nice if we all got on the same page next year and see Pro Roller hockey move forward, instead of two steps back every other year. My two cents...

[wolves89]

of course charlie could use help, who couldn't... but i don't think it should be Raue who should help him out... Charlie seems to have PIHA going in the right direction, expansion to Canada, St louis, etc... he seems to be doing fine right now, maybe with such a huge league next year some help may be a bonus for him.

As for checking and fighting, some of the problem are some of the rink boards as well, every rink have different boards, making it dangerous for checking... Fighting does not belong in the game at this level... Is it worth losing a tooth or getting a broken nose when you are getting NO money and you have to go to a REAL job in the morning? Fighting in Juniors in ice hockey was cool and fun as h*ll but that's when we were all growing up. We are grown up now and shouldn't need to fight in front of 30-50 people to show how good of a hockey player we are.

i'm not slow, i'm patient

[GROWL]

Again as I have said in the past, we tried to get bill to sit down with us. Thus the creation of XIHL! A direct result of the frustration of the people working with bill. When he refused anything but a simple merger of everything into his 'superior' league, his acting commisioner and the bulk of his teams moved to XIHL which was supposed to work in tandem with piha. I look forward to ONE exciting league next year and hopefully an evolution of our two leagues into what will become PRO inline hockey at its peak.

[Brooklynite10]

i agree, from top to bottom

[yokes]

ill second that!

"Only God saves more than Yokes"

[JAX96]

IN MY OPINION (AND PROBALY MANY OTHERS) PIHA IS WAY SUPERIOR TO THE MLRH. I KNOW PEOPLE WHO COULD PLAY IN THE MLRH AND DON'T REALLY WANT TO. THOSE SAME PEOPLE WOULD LOVE TO PLAY IN THE PIHA. WHY ISN'T THERE MORE EXPANSION TEAMS BEING PUT IN THE PIHA. TAKE GUYS FROM THE MLRH...JUST THE GOOD GUYS, AND LEAVE THE GUYS THAT PLAY JUST TO HURT THE SKILLED GUYS BEHIND.

I LOVE THE IDEA OF MIXING THE TWO. A PIHA W/ MORE TEAMS, CHECKING AND NO FIGHTING WOULD BE PERFECT.

[vapor10]

I'll say the reason why I haven't gone to play in MLRH is just that . . theres goons, MLRH seems like the place where the guys who can't hack it in PIHA go to play. Because they obviously aren't there to be apart of the AMAZING organized league. Katinsky said it . .it ain't worth losing teeth or getting a black eye when alot of us have customers and boss's we need to deal with on monday morning.

[Db55UD02]

See, now Ill argue that point every time. If you have played contact hockey before, you can play MLRH. In Ice, you can get hit and not get out of the way. When it comes to roller, if you have great body control and your head is not at your feet, you won't get hit. It is all mental, and if you are truly scared to play MLRH, then maybe PIHA isnt for you as well. I have gotten hit just as much in PIHA as I have in MLRH. In fact, i have gotten in more fights from PIHA than in MLRH, granted it may have been the minors division, but i can count the number of fights from mlrh in one hand. If you are also that concerned with missing teeth, and black eye, etc, then put on a cage. It doesnt make me less of a man to put it on, and have been wearing one since I got my lip split open in a crappy house league game. Also, there is something called a mouth gard that some, not all, hockey players do wear to protect their teeth and guard against concussions. As for the comment that those who can't hack piha go to MLRH, I beg to differ. Lets face it, unless you know someone or are extremely skilled and gifted, you won't be playing piha pro. It is still very much a political pro league and still is run by the players, or a players parent. That is just being honest for you havs...

[vapor10]

Dave . .sorry my post was probably kinda bleak . . i meant that for myself and some others . .i think we choose not to play not because we're afraid of getting hit . .but because we don't trust some of the goons in the league... In PIHA, I dont think theres a single "GOON" out there, because goons would be completely inept in PIHA . . but in MLRH . .youve got guys that can't skate, pass or shoot . . .so they just wanna hurt. And not too mention the fact that I value my PIHA season and if I had to tell our coaches that i got hurt playing in an mlrh pick up game . . they'd be friggen pissed and I'd be pissed as well at myself. Other than that . .I played high school and juniors . .hittings fun.

[Brooklynite10]

Hitting is fun and I miss it, but I love the fact that I actually can focus on my game when I play in PIHA and don't have to worry about getting blind sided or sucker punched. I played in the MLRH for 4 yrs. and can through the body with the best of them, but it seemed like anytime I through a clean hard body check, I had to worry about dropping the gloves or had to duck under an elbow or a stick. It just took the fun out of the game for me. I sell real estate, and it is tough to sell houses with a face full of cuts and bruises. Not counting the goons, I do think the talent level is pretty comparable between leagues. When the top teams from MLRH like the Storm & Thunder do join the PIHA next year, It is going to be pretty amazing.

[wheels15]

I agree with basically everything being said. Many of you know me, I played MLRH for the ottakringer and PIHA for the growl. To me, PIHA is run so much better, and the competition is better as well. In MLRH you have teams winning games by 15-20 goals. That is not hockey, I play in Mens leagues that don't have scores like that. I loved playing for in MLRH, don't get me wrong there. I played junior ice hockey in Canada and in the US and love the physical play and emotion that is involved in full contact hockey, but many of guys in MLRH have not played ice hockey, and therefore, have no idea how to throw a legal hit or even take a legal hit. I broke my collar bone because I was ran from behind in a game, and as most of you know, many of us do not even wear shoulder pads, lol. But back to PIHA, I love playing in this league, granted I play for a high class organization, and Flynn will do anything to get us to have a great team and a chance to win the championship, just as we did last season. I would love to see teams like Hartford and Boston from MLRH to come to PIHA. We would lose Pinheiro probably, but the league will be better. I had some great rivalries with the Thunder and two great playoff games against the likes of Pinheiro and Guisto etc... So if any of you guys from Boston of Hartford, or any other competitive team read any of this, take a chance and join PIHA, the league is not just some Mens League, it is run very well, sponsored by "ace jerseys" amongst others, and the league looks ready to explode. I'll see you Flynn and B. Katinsky in Pittsburgh.

R. Beauchamp#17
"You can't score if you don't shoot"

[minutemen]

Beauchamp, I agree with everything you said. You make a great point not alot of people played ice hockey. I played 22 years of ice hockey in MA, and I think checking is something that you have to learn. I remember first starting Pee Wees and before the season we had to take a clinic on how to hit. Hitting is great but if people do not know how to do than what is the point.

PIHA is a great league that seems to be expanding. I think alot of guys in the league have a lot of respect for one another and that is another reason why it is great. My team knows that we are going to play the Growl and it is going to be a good, fast, physical game. But we do not have to worry about our heads getting taken off. Pretty much it is like that with all the teams in the league. We go out and play the game we all love and then after go out for a few beers.

Good luck in the rest of the season and we will see your team in a few weeks.


Morristown Minutemen Pro Minor Hockey Organization.

[Maskman]

In addition to many roller hockey players not knowing how to throw a hit, many roller hockey refs do not know how to ref a hitting game. Too many times I heard MLRH refs justify a dirty hit by say that "It's a hitting league." Even in ice hockey certain things like checking from behind and elbows need to be called to keep the game under control.

Although PIHA is a non-check league there is enough contact to keep the actually skilled players who know how to use their body satisfied.

[GROWL]

Yeah like that moron on the Rangers last night. What a dirty hit hope he's suspended for a while!

[wolves89]

Easy Flynn, he didn't do it on purpose!! i know him personally from Narch, he used to play with SureGrip back in the day, hes just a hardnose kid who plays like he's 6'3", btw he's nasty in roller hockey and the goalies on the rangers said in an interview that he has some of the best hands on the team in practice, and he attributes that to roller hockey!

i'm not slow, i'm patient

[wolves89]

I don't think that i have ever seen a drop the gloves "fight" in PIHA in the 3 seasons that i have been playing. Someone on here said it the best, the refs in MLRH do not know how to call a checking league. As for not wanting to get a black eye or lose my teeth, i shouldn't have to wear a cage because there are goons in a non-paying league.

i also disagree that it's a political league, i mean that i am speaking from my own experiences though. I've played with 2 different teams over the past 3 seasons and i've never had a problem with either of them, but like i said, that's just my experience.

i'm not slow, i'm patient

[yokes]

As far as the whole cage thing id like to say that in any league anything can happen. So happens that 2 weeks ago a certain person that i know thats a goalie was in a incident where he was cross checked in the head as he went into butterfly to make a save. Now the cross checker then in turn recieved a "small" 36 stitch head butt for his cheap shot in return. I, this guy, used my head not my helmet to inflict this damage. This is just one example of anything can happen and this was just a house league. Not that i made a point but the fact is anyone, cage, visor, or just plain helmet can have things happen to them. As a goalie i wear more than enough equipment but i still woke up the next day with a sore face and a cut ear. My thought is with these leagues is respect, not wear more equipment or be faster. Problem is you have a ass jockey like Holbrook last night against the Flyers that shows everyone else down the line that you can do that type s%^t without real repercusion.

"Only God saves more than Yokes"

[GROWL]

Even Jimmy said he thinks it was worth a suspension and he bleeds broadway blue.

[NJwerewolves12]

Hey flynn it was a cheap shot and hope holeeetwig gets a suspension.

Doing the Cobra

[GROWL]

Billy must of been one of the ranger fans booing Umberger.

[wolves89]

easy hollwig is my boy, i can tell you is was not intentional, he just plays a really hard... i mean from playing ice hockey like my whole life, i can tell you that he was anticipating him to turn a certain way and it didn't happen... he didn't mean to do that, the suspension was good i think, but i don't think that the intent was there, but that's just me, im kinda biased being a devils fan haha, i know we suck this year haha and just to keep this relavent to the message board, he's awesome at roller hockey haha

i'm not slow, i'm patient

[wolves89]

im not disagreeing with you on the suspension he got what he deserved, i'm just saying that i do not feel that the intent was there...

i'm not slow, i'm patient

[wolves89]

easy flynn!! i hate the flyers almost most as much as i hate the Rangers!!!! i like devils, it's fun winning stanley cups!!! hahahaha not this year but we'll be back at the top soon enough...

i'm not slow, i'm patient

[Superstar9]

I'll argue the fact about making PIHA Pro being political, i had never met anyone in charge of richmond nor had they seen my play personally yet I skated all 4 games for them in my 1st weekend with the club? I'm definitely not an insider there and I made it on?



-Street-
http://www.outlawzhockey.com

[Maskman]

Even the isles have won more recently then the flyers. How pathetic is that?

[CoachChrisG]

This post is exactly what I have been saying for YEARS. Get Raue out of the equation and the game can finally see some direction at the elite level that thrive. Until then the trainwreck that is MLRH is going to be the cause of the problem, not the solution.

[SpiderRat]

Maybe we should start by getting rid of the teams and players who don't understand commitment.

Blah Blah Blah, Shoot the puck already

[CoachChrisG]

This is how this league has done business since day one, only the names have changed on the uniforms. It all starts at the top and all you have to do is see the incompetance at the top of MLRH and the professionalism at the top of PIHA and see which one is legit and why.

Why MLRH is considered "elite" by ANYONE is a mystery to me...

[GROWL]

MLRH def had some good years. I think confidence in the league and its management is at an all time low, but the league def had some great years, lets not knock what the league had accomplished in the past. If you want to point fingers at what their current problems are, you have that right, but to say its always been that way is just not true.

[CoachChrisG]

Not really, sometimes they had good people involved but none lasted long because Raue drove them out. Jamie, Steve Seeger, Ben Loyall, John in Jersey, etc. Some did a better job than others in the short term but why are none of the above around anymore? Because they realized Raue was never going to change and allow the league to actually grow enough to become anything more than a house league. They came close in 2003-04 to resembling a real league but guess what? Raue and the weak links drove the strong ones out.

It is time to finally put an end to this trainwreck that has been a black eye on the sport for nearly a decade.

[BkHdTpShlf]

Nobody on here really cares about your opinion. I think everybody heard enough from you a few months ago. Do you really have to beat this horse again? Zip it kid...we get the point.

Darrell Interbartolo

[CoachChrisG]

I was right about MLRH, you were wrong.

Scoreboard.

[BkHdTpShlf]

Congratulations!!!!!!!! You were right, send me the complete spelling of your name and I'll get that trophy made up for ya...that'll be what your first? Jacka$$

Darrell Interbartolo