MONROE — For most athletes, the high point in their athletic career is a high school team or, for talented athletes, a college team.
There is little opportunity to continue playing at a high level of competition after graduation.
The New York Roller Hockey League provides an opportunity for nearly 300 hockey players to continue playing at college level of competition.
About the league
The New York Roller Hockey League, a competitive roller hockey league that plays at Ice Time Sports Complex in Newburgh, is sanctioned by USA Roller Sports and is one of the Hudson Valley’s top adult leagues. The season runs from May through August, and the Premier League includes an All-Star Game and full playoff experience.
Games are played five-on-five with two halves of twenty minutes.
The league emphasis is on providing high quality competition in a safe environment. There are multiple divisions so players can play with comparably skilled opponents. As a result, the games are fast paced. Body contact is part of the game but fighting is strongly discouraged with a multiple game suspension for the first incident and a season suspension for a second incident.
About the players
Participants come from all walks of life – auto mechanics, salespersons, insurance agents, computer programmers, engineers, security, accountants and construction workers. Almost everyone has played high school ice hockey and many have played at higher levels. Monroe-Woodbury High School graduates Brad Campagna played at UConn, Julian Carney played at Sienna, Nick Belloise played at West Virginia. Josh Goodman, also from Monroe, went from high school to juniors (the farm club program for the NHL) for several years.
Referee Bill Mullooly from Central Valley participated in the NHL referee evaluation program, including refereeing several NHL games, while he attended Springfield University. Other referees are active in refereeing regional college hockey games.
Women play, too. Female players are welcome and every year several participate, usually in the recreation division. Other than using a separate locker room no one makes much distinction between the men and women.
Theresa Avon has been playing in the league for four years, except for a partial season absence due to Army Reserve duties. She played lacrosse and softball in high school and started playing roller hockey in the East Fishkill league.
“Sometimes men get upset if I steal the puck or if I score,” she said. “But my brother, Mark, and my defense partner, Greg Lutz, make sure there aren’t any problems.”
Essential information
The NYRHL draws players from a region bounded by Albany, Long Island, Bergen County, N.J., and Scranton, Pa.
For more information: http://www.nyrhl.com/
This article and photographs were provided by Patrick Brown.