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