South Shore Ball Hockey League

Alright boys, quick league-wide reminder because the physical play has been starting to creep up a little too much lately.
The SSBHL is a NON-CHECKING league.
That does NOT mean it is a no-contact league. Ball hockey is competitive, guys are moving fast, battling for possession, fighting for position, and sometimes bodies are going to come together. That's part of the game.
What we allow is generally referred to as COMPETITIVE CONTACT.
There is, however, a pretty big difference between competitive contact and body checking, so let's make this as simple as possible:
COMPETITIVE CONTACT = PLAYING THE BALL
You can:
• Lean into somebody while battling for a loose ball
• Use your body to protect the ball
• Battle shoulder-to-shoulder for position
• Angle somebody toward the boards or away from an area
• Make reasonable body contact while both players are actively competing for possession
• Hold your ground when somebody is trying to go through you
• Have incidental contact when two players arrive at the ball at the same time
Basically, you're making a play on the ball and contact happens as part of that play.
BODY CHECKING = PLAYING THE PERSON
You CANNOT:
• Line somebody up and hit them
• Throw your shoulder or hip into somebody to knock them down
• Finish a check after they move the ball
• Hit somebody simply because they're in your way
• Use excessive force to separate somebody from the ball
• Drive somebody hard into the boards
• Take a run at somebody
• Hit somebody to intimidate, punish, or "send a message"
Basically, if your primary objective is hitting the player instead of making a play on the ball, you've crossed the line.
An easy way to think about it:
Battling through someone to get the ball = Fine
Hitting someone to get them out of the way = Not Fine
And while we're on this subject, there's another phrase we've been hearing a little too often lately:
"I THOUGHT WE WERE PLAYING HOCKEY!?"
Yes. We are playing hockey...
But let's be very clear about what kind of hockey we're playing.
This is ball hockey in a non-checking recreational league. This is NOT full-contact ice hockey.
Most of us are running around out there in T-shirts and shorts with no helmet, no shoulder pads, no chest protection, and basically nothing protecting us from getting drilled into the boards or pavement.
There's a reason full-contact ice hockey players wear helmets, shoulder pads, elbow pads, padded pants, gloves, and a whole bunch of other protective equipment.
We don't.
So saying "I thought we were playing hockey" isn't a free pass to blow somebody up, finish a check, shove somebody into the boards, or play unnecessarily physical.
Nobody is asking anyone to play soft.
Compete. Battle for the ball. Fight for position. Play hard.
But there's a difference between playing hard and hitting somebody or being overly physical
This league was created so guys could come out on a Sunday morning, get some exercise, compete, have some fun, talk some shit, and enjoy playing hockey.
We are not playing for the Stanley Cup. There are no scouts in the parking lot. Nobody is getting called up on Monday morning. 😂
We're all adults. We have jobs, families, responsibilities, and shit to do after we leave the rink. Nobody should have to worry about going to work Monday with a concussion, separated shoulder, broken wrist, or whatever else because somebody decided "it's hockey" was justification for lighting someone up who wasn't expecting to be hit.
We're not trying to eliminate physical play. We WANT guys competing hard. We want battles. We want intensity. We want games to mean something.
Competitive does not have to mean dangerous.
Refs are going to be keeping a closer eye on this going forward, and if something clearly crosses from competitive contact into a body check, expect it to be called.
And if you're on the receiving end of something you don't like, let the refs handle it. Don't retaliate and turn one questionable play into two, then four, then a game where everybody is pissed off at each other.
This isn't directed at one team or one player. It's a reminder for everybody, because we'd rather address it now before somebody actually gets hurt or things escalate further.
SSBHL has always been competitive, and we absolutely want to keep it that way.
Just don't fucking hit people...
That's really not that complicated.
Let's have some fun out there, boys, Cheers.
Dan H See less

Hello and good afternoon, SSBHL Community!

First off, I just wanted to give everyone a big WELCOME BACK for another great season of SSBHL hockey — Fall Edition!

I hope everyone enjoyed their summer with friends and family and, most importantly, stayed safe and healthy. We had some great things happen over the summer in case you missed out! We held a tournament in honor of our dearly departed Ronnie Prince, with Steve Wilde and Matt Hocking doing a lot of the heavy lifting to put the event together, so a huge thank you to both of them!

Ruzzo was also the Grill Master and provided all the goods while handling the majority of the cooking. Excellent chef as always and exactly what we expected out of him, so a big thanks to him as well!

Overall, it was a great event honoring an absolutely incredible human being who gave so much to us and our community over the years. Even Ronnie's family stopped by, which was incredible and meant a lot to everyone there.

And, of course, what kind of SSBHL season would it be without a tense, last-minute chance of rain hanging over our heads all Sunday morning? Lol. Classic SSBHL! Thankfully, we lucked out this time and the rain held off just enough for all three games to be played!

We also have a brand-new league website for stats, schedules, standings, and everything else! A huge thanks to Matt Leary, who helped build the website with the help of his brother-in-law. It's extremely clean, easy to use, and looks great!

Without further delay, though, it was great seeing everyone again, and let's dive into some of the high-performance players from Week 1!

All-Star Point Production
#1 Offensive Player of the Week — Bronson Zawaduk (Stick Figures)

5 Goals / 2 Assists / 7 Points

What can I say? This guy was an absolute unit of scoring production last Sunday against the Mothmen.

Turning the defense into Swiss cheese, Bronson cut through them like a hot knife through butter. Racking up an outrageous 5 goals and 2 assists for 7 total points, Bronson personally contributed to more than half of his team's offensive production!

Just an outstanding first game back for the star forward. Coming off back-to-back Prince Cup championships, Bronson is showing very quickly exactly why he was drafted in the top bracket this season.

His very first goal of the game — and the season — came on a completely unassisted breakaway. Bronson came in forehand, pulled the ball to his backhand just enough to get the goalie moving his pads, and tucked it perfectly through the five-hole.

His second goal wasn't a joke either. Bronson ripped a shot that rang off the post, but instead of giving up on the play, he stayed with it, collected his own rebound, and buried it low past the pad.

Things weren't always going smoothly for the Sticks, though. After jumping out to an early lead, the Stick Figures suddenly started to struggle and surrendered five unanswered goals, allowing the Mothmen to temporarily take a 5-4 lead.

That's when Bronson went right back to work.

He fed his captain, Jeff Beattie, a perfect pass into the slot for an easy tap-in goal, helping settle things down and get the Stick Figures rolling again. Shortly after that, Bronson struck again, scoring on yet another breakaway chance to help solidify a 7-5 lead before the end of the second period.

And apparently that still wasn't enough for him.

Bronson would go on to rack up another two goals and another assist before the final whistle, rounding out an absolutely ridiculous opening-week performance.

Overall, you really can't ask for much more out of your star forward. Bronson's future is already looking pretty damn bright as a Stick Figure.

Awesome work, man!

#2 Offensive Player of the Week — Brendan MacKenzie (Gators)

5 Goals / 0 Assists / 5 Points

Brendan MacKenzie, better known as B-Mack, was an absolute offensive powerhouse Sunday in his debut matchup with the newly reformed Gators against the Princes Guards.

Having racked up an incredible 5 goals out of the 6 goals his team scored, it really doesn't get much more dominant than that!

B-Mack was seemingly all over the rink from the opening faceoff until the final whistle.

You have the ball down in the attacking zone? You're getting backchecked by B-Mack.

You're stuck in your own zone and finally about to dump the ball out to kill some attacking-zone pressure? NOPE! B-Mack is already there hunting you down, stealing your lunch money, taking the ball, and probably scoring a goal at the same time.

No matter what the situation was, B-Mack seemed to be involved in the play from start to finish. There really wasn't a safe spot on the rink with this guy out there Sunday.

Ending the day with 5 goals and 5 total points is something to behold from the longtime power forward and assistant captain.

Hell of a way to start the season!

#3 Offensive Player of the Week — Ryan Doherty (Smokey Joes)

3 Goals / 2 Assists / 5 Points

The Joes' longtime trusty forward, Ryan Doherty, was unstoppable in the attacking zone during Week 1 and was absolutely pivotal in their opening matchup against the defending Prince Cup Champion Mustangs.

Ryan started off by assisting the offensive efforts of the Joes early in the first period. He slipped a sneaky backhand pass over to his defensive linemate, Swan, who came flying into the attacking zone and buried the opportunity to get the Joes on the board early with a 1-0 lead.

Ryan would help create another similar play shortly afterward. While on the attack, he fired a ball intentionally wide that found its way over to Swan again, who quickly wristed it home for another goal.

And Ryan wasn't done.

He was involved yet again on the third goal, this time taking matters into his own hands and absolutely smoking one past the goaltender from close range, giving himself his third point of the FIRST PERIOD alone.

Ryan continued rolling in the second period as well.

After the Mustangs battled their way back into the game, Swan fed Ryan a pass across the crease, and Ryan buried the go-ahead goal to make it 5-4 Joes.

Then, during the later stages of the second period, Ryan struck again, scoring what would eventually become the game-winning goal to increase the Smokey Joes' lead to 7-6, where it would ultimately stand.

Ryan finished the game with 3 goals, 2 assists, and 5 total points in a huge opening-week victory against the defending champs.

Great game!

Draining Defenders
#1 Defensive Player of the Week — Matt Swan (Smokey Joes Captain)

3 Goals / 3 Assists / 6 Points

Matt Swan, the tenured and longtime captain of the infamous Smokey Joes, was back to his usual self in the Week 1 debut matchup and put on an absolute clinic of offense while playing from the blue line.

Swan has always been an incredibly difficult opposing player to deal with. Between his blazing speed, precise shot, and ability to create plays on the fly, he's going to be an issue no matter what team he's playing against.

There really isn't an easy answer for dealing with this guy.

Swan started the scoring early after receiving a feed from Ryan Doherty, coming all the way up from his defensive zone and blasting home a wicked wrist shot to get the Joes going.

Then he basically decided to do it again.

On the second goal, Swan found a wide-shot rebound off another Ryan Doherty attempt and quickly wristed home a nasty sharp-angle shot from the faceoff circle.

Swan wasn't just scoring, either. He continued driving the offense throughout the game and went on to assist on three additional goals.

By the time the dust settled, Swan had racked up an outrageous 6 total points with 3 goals and 3 assists while playing defense.

Just an overall wildly offensive performance from the Joes' newest blue-line menace.

Great work!

#2 Defensive Player of the Week — Jeff Beattie (Stick Figures Captain)

3 Goals / 1 Assist / 4 Points

Jeffery, captain of the Stick Figures, was an absolute nightmare for the Mothmen in his debut matchup.

With a solid offensive showing of 4 total points with 3 goals and 1 assist, it seems Jeff's new strategy this season is pretty simple:

Shoot the damn ball more often.

And apparently, it works!

In the first period, Jeff managed to dish a perfect assist over to his linemate Shane McNamara to start things off. Jeff drew multiple defenders toward himself before quickly moving the ball over to Shane in the slot, who wristed it past the Mothmen goalie.

Things got a little sketchy for the Stick Figures during the second period, though, as they managed to blow what had been a pretty decisive early lead and suddenly found themselves trailing.

Jeff decided enough was enough.

Using his speed and agility, he bombed into the attacking zone, stole the ball, broke in alone, and deked past the goalie on a brilliant breakaway goal to tie the game back up and calm his team down in the process.

Jeff would then help reclaim the lead as well.

Breaking into the attacking zone alongside Bronson, Jeff found himself open in the slot. Bronson fed him a perfect pass, and Jeff tipped it home to put the Sticks back in control.

And Jeff's contributions weren't limited to the offensive end.

He was also imperative defensively, aggressively forechecking, breaking up plays, stopping scoring chances, and doing everything he could to keep the ball away from his own zone.

Overall, just a great start to the season for the young captain.

#3 Defensive Player of the Week — Josh Charmatz (Gators Captain)

0 Goals / 2 Assists / 2 Points

Joshua Charmatz, another captain and leader of the newly reformed Gators, was a fortress of defensive prowess in his opening matchup.

Josh was a steady, calm, and precise machine in his own defensive zone from start to finish.

Always in position to break up a play, block a shot, or feed a clean pass up to his forwards, Josh played about as close to a perfect defensive game as you could ask for.

Josh was also responsible for 2 assists, giving him 2 points in what was otherwise a pretty tight matchup.

He broke up numerous high-danger opportunities throughout the game, ranging from odd-man rushes to blocked shots and disrupted passes. Josh simply got it done defensively and helped keep the ball out of his zone for the majority of the game while limiting the Princes Guards' dangerous scoring opportunities.

His leadership on the rink was also noticeable during some crucial moments of the matchup.

Whenever things looked like they could start getting out of hand, Josh was there to calm everything down, keep his team organized, and get the situation back under control.

He was basically the definition of safety in this matchup, and I'm sure both his teammates and goaltender appreciated the hell out of it.

A great defensive performance that helped lead the Gators to a 6-2 victory to start the season.

Grand Goaltending
#1 Goalie of the Week — Brendan O'Brien (Gators)

GAA: 2.00 / Save %: .952 / 42 Shots Faced / 40 Saves

In a pretty unpredictable turn of events, the Gators' actual goaltender was unavailable for Week 1, so the team decided to turn to their rostered forward, Brendan O'Brien, and throw him between the pipes.

And somehow, this move turned out to be GOLDEN.

Brendan was an absolute wall in net!

He made multiple dangerous saves throughout the matchup and continuously killed any momentum the Princes Guards tried to build.

Facing a very high 42 shots on goal, Brendan allowed only 2 goals, stopping the remaining 40 shots and locking himself into a sexy .952 save percentage along with a terrific 2.00 GAA, the best numbers of any goalie in the league during Week 1.

Brendan looked sharp, composed, and solid all game long, handling just about everything fired in his direction.

For a guy who isn't even normally the goalie, that's a pretty damn impressive way to introduce yourself to the position.

An excellent game from an unexpected hero who locked things down when his team needed him most and helped the Gators start their season on a high note.

Nice work!

#2 Goalie of the Week — Dan Harding (Smokey Joes)

GAA: 6.00 / Save %: .864 / 44 Shots Faced / 38 Saves

Veteran goaltender Dan Harding had a decent opening game but definitely showed some visible rust in his first matchup of the season — ironically against the same team that had its way with him in the Prince Cup Finals last season.

Dan went up against the high-powered offense of the defending champion Mustangs and managed to play a respectable game despite being under fire for a good portion of it.

He faced a total of 44 shots, stopping 38 of them, finishing with a .864 save percentage and 6.00 GAA.

There were certainly a couple he probably wanted back, but when the Mustangs started building momentum and trying to complete their comeback, Dan made enough saves to keep the Joes in front and give the offense a chance to finish the job.

Overall?

Not a bad game. Not a great game.

But it was good enough, and sometimes that's all you need out of your goalie.

Dan gave the Joes just enough of an edge to get it done and lock in the Week 1 victory against the defending champs.

#3 Goalie of the Week — Igor Burdetskiy (Flex for Princes Guards)

GAA: 6.00 / Save %: .846 / 39 Shots Faced / 33 Saves

Igor, better known around the league as Iggy, was solid while filling in between the pipes for the Princes Guards.

Iggy faced a pretty heavy workload himself, seeing 39 shots on goal and stopping 33 of them, finishing the game with a .846 save percentage and 6.00 GAA.

More importantly, he gave his squad a chance to win, and that's really all you can ask out of a goalie, especially someone stepping in as a flex.

He stopped multiple high-danger scoring opportunities and held his ground whenever the Guards needed him.

Iggy was left without much help multiple times throughout the matchup, with Gators players finding themselves in dangerous scoring positions and getting quality opportunities on net.

But time and time again, Iggy held his ground and made enough key saves to keep the game within striking distance.

The final score doesn't necessarily tell the whole story here. There were plenty of opportunities where things could have gotten away from the Guards much earlier, but Iggy battled and continued giving his team a chance.

Solid work filling in!

Standings So Far…

1st Place — STICK FIGURES
1-0-0 / 2 Points / GF 13 / GA 6 / GD +7

2nd Place — GATORS
1-0-0 / 2 Points / GF 6 / GA 2 / GD +4

3rd Place — SMOKEY JOES
1-0-0 / 2 Points / GF 7 / GA 6 / GD +1

4th Place — MUSTANGS
0-1-0 / 0 Points / GF 6 / GA 7 / GD -1

5th Place — PRINCES GUARDS
0-1-0 / 0 Points / GF 2 / GA 6 / GD -4

6th Place — MOTHMEN
0-1-0 / 0 Points / GF 6 / GA 13 / GD -7

Upcoming Games…

8/30/26 — 9:00 AM
Gators at Mothmen

8/30/26 — 10:30 AM
Princes Guards at Mustangs

8/30/26 — 12:00 PM
Stick Figures at Smokey Joes

Thank you all!

Dan H