Heckle in Eckville II

January 26th, 2002

Game Time: 9:00 AM

Eckville, Alberta

On March 3rd, history was made as fans from Calgarypuck.com and OilFans.com went into battle for the first time on the ice. From 12:15 to 2:15, on the ice in Eckville, Alberta bragging rights were settled in the fans version of the Battle of Alberta. Calgarypuck.com took the inaugural game by a score of 11-6.

Heckle II Rules

For those interested to participate in the memorable affair, the maintainers of both sites have collaborated on a few rules and guidelines for the big day in Eckville.

Jerseys -- the member of each team will be expected to wear the jersey of their respective team -- whether home, road, 3rd jersey or practice jersey. If the jersey is crested, numbers will be fine, but the name on the back of the jersey should be the nickname used on the resepctive messageboards. MJ and D'Arcy will provide white hockey tape for the purpose in Eckville for their respective teams if you did not already put your nickname on the back.

Equipment -- all players will be expected to wear at a minimum a helmet on the ice at all times. Any other equipment one wishes to wear for their own safety is up to them. Shin pads, hockey pants will surely be worn by all. Perhaps shoulder/elbow pads will not necessarily be worn by everyone on each squad. And of course a cup should be automatic!

Game play -- after each goal, a faceoff will happen at center by a member of either squad. Offsides will result in simply immediate possession to the opposing team. Offsides and two-line passes will not be allowed, but it will be expected through fair play that any blatant offenses of the standard line rules be dealt with only with sportsmanship. Don't spoil everyone's fun by arguing about the simplest of things. The primary focus is to have fun. If the goaltender holds the puck, the attacking team will be expected to back off and allow a player reasonable control of the puck as most of us have ever done on a shinny rink.

Hitting will not be tolerated -- we're there to have fun and not injure each other. Small amounts of body contact is probable, but there will be no lining up guys for a big open ice hit. The skill level of the players will vary and there's no need for a higher skilled player to make himself known by throwing his weight around against the lower skilled.

Slap shots -- will be allowed as all will be expected to have the appropriate equipment to avoid injury. Shin pads are hence quite recommended.

The winners -- since the ice-time is so cheap and both squads will be heading out to Red Deer for some refreshments and food after the matchup, the two websites have put their money where their mouth is. The losing team will be buying the winning team their first round.

Our ice time is from 9:00 am untill 12:00 pm. The game should commence at 9.15 am after a brief 15 minutes on the ice by each squad to get their legs going. The cost of the ice is not expected to exceed $5 per person.