It’s been four decades since the Woolwich Township Arena opened in St. Jacobs, and similarly 40 years since a group of local guys decided to start playing hockey together on a weekly basis.
Those Thursday night games, which continue to this day, inspired Leroy Shantz to put pen to paper to record the group’s stories.
The book, titled Thursday Night Hockey, took about a year for Shantz to put together, collecting stories and photos. He’s one of only three men who’ve been playing with the group since its beginning. The other two are Harold Martin and Gerry Snyder.
“Over 40 years a lot of crazy things happened, a lot of interesting things happened and it’s a group of guys that really like to be together and play hockey together. I had in mind that there are just too many stories that need to be written down. And in the end I thought, you know what, I think there are enough stories to make a little book out of it,” Shantz said.
The appeal for Shantz to start playing was a love of hockey, combined with the fact there are no slap shots or body checking, which means you can enjoy the game without risking an injury. He recalls one time when he left the rules on the wayside.
“But one time I was obviously in the heat of the moment upset by what one of the players did to me, so a few seconds later I gave them a really great hip check along the boards. And I always remember that incident because it was so out of character in terms of my style of playing and obviously against the rules. The incident was done, it was over, and we never talked about it since, but it’s in the book,” Shantz said with a laugh.
He says the success of the group has to do with the players understanding it’s just for fun. There are no set teams, so they’re always with different players and they don’t build up animosity for someone because they’re on the opposing team.
“Nobody gets overly competitive, that’s one of the key things. It’s a group that can laugh at their mistakes and there are very few incidents of people not behaving. The sportsmanship of the group is just very high level,” Shantz said.
Shantz included tributes in the book to five players who were part of the group, but have since died. He said those who have read the book appreciate it because those are important memories to have. He printed 130 copies of the book at St. Jacob’s Printery and has about half left.
“It is a local story from the standpoint we’ve been playing in the St. Jacobs arena for 40 years, and the fact that the local printer here did a great job in supporting me with the project,” Shantz said.
He recently did a book launch and said he’s happy with the interest shown in it. Those who’ve read it say Shantz captured the essence of the group, which he finds encouraging.
“The narrative and the stories really are my perspective on the 40-year craziness and silliness and camaraderie of Thursday night hockey. And that was my motivation. I felt it needed to happen,” Shantz said.
The group is full for the season, but any interested players can email Shantz to be put on a wait list in case someone drops out. You can buy a copy of the book from Shantz for $20. He can be reached at lcshantz@sentex.ca.
