The Philadelphia Inquirer ran an article on Dan McDevitt, available here.  

As many of you know, Dan plays for the PA Center-Pedes and is a tough competitor in our league. Keep up the good work Dan!

During Hockey Weekend Across America, January 29-31, 2010, a group of disabled athletes will make history by visiting all 54 New Jersey ice rinks in just 54 hours on a mission to raise awareness, change perceptions, and influence local ice rinks to allocate just one hour of ice time per week, in season, to disabled hockey. The group includes disabled hockey players of all kinds and is led by a pair of brothers from New Jersey, Jon and Andrew Schwartz, who each coach disabled teams in the area.

This incredible, 1,370-mile, record-setting journey is entitled EveryBODY Skates New Jersey (ESNJ), and will take place during Hockey Weekend Across America.  Track their progress and sign their petition in support of their mission at www.everybodyskates.com.  You can also follow ESNJ on Facebook and Twitter @54in54.

Here they are again, Vic Calise and Tony Fitzgerald, 14 years ago in this 1996 photo of the US Sled Hockey Team that went to Sweden.  You’ll also notice in Ed Clark, Assistant Coach for the NEP Wildcats, in the back row.  Ed played Defense and had a Shot that made many a Goalie skate out of the crease rather than risk being hit by the puck.  Notice the skate blades under Vic’s sled.  Most of the players used a Sled made by Altimate Medical.  The sleds were made of heavy tubular metal with a canvas seat & hockey blades that looked like they were taken off the bottom of a hockey boot.  I think Fitzy is still using the same sled.  Check it out at the next NESHL Game Day.

Several years prior to the formation of a Paralympic Sled Hockey Team, John Schatzlein was organizing players from around the country to compete in tournaments over seas as the US Sled Hockey Team.  As I recall John started Sled Hockey in the US back in 1989 in MinneapolisMN.   He formed the American Sled Hockey Association (ASHA) and started helping programs get started all around the US.    The uniforms the players are wearing he got USA Hockey to donate to the team, I believe they were previously worn by the US Olympic Team.  The try-outs & training camps were held in either MinneapolisMN or LacrosseWI , and the guidelines for making the team were much different than they are today.  As I recall, if you showed up for the try-outs and you could pay your way for the trip over seas, you made the team.

There were not a lot of teams around the country back in 1996 and it would be another 9 years before the Northeast Sled Hockey League formed, and if you wanted to play in a tournament you had to go to Canada.  The closest team to New York was the Boston Blades, so if they wanted to play a competitive game they had to do some traveling.  I remember many a Wednesday night that Vic, Fitz and several other NY players would drive up to Dorchester to scrimmage the Boston Blades at the Devine Arena from 9pm until 11pm.  Sometimes they would head back to New York after the game, arriving home at 4 or 5am, and sometimes they would spend the night at Kip St Germaine’s or one of the other player’s house.  Of course they were much younger then and I don’t think Vic was married.

Dale Wise---NESHL Commissioner

Having come off an impressive showing in their Danbury debut a couple weeks ago, the Vermont SledCats fell short in a comeback attempt against the Rangers. With just six players dressed, the Rangers were able to net six goals including three in the third period to pull away from Vermont. The game started with two quick goals by Ranger forwards Chris Meigel and Dan Santos but the SledCats were able to slow play down, leaving the score 2-0 New York after the first.  Another goal by Santos gave the Rangers a comfortable three goal but Vermont valiantly fought back in the second and third periods. A breakaway goal by Vermont forward Bryan Bathalon put the SledCats on the board with his first NESHL tally. Vermont kept attacking as Bathalon pounded in a Jill Duda and Chelsea Scheefer rebound for his second goal of the game. Leading by just one at that point, the Rangers responded with three unanswered goals by Josh Pauls, Vic Calise and Santos to finish out the hat trick. Ranger defenseman Nick Teodoro led the team with 4 points while Meigel accounted for 3. Vermont netminder Patrick Standen turned away a career-high 18 shots as he continues to prove a force between the pipes.

Story by Eric Gissendanner