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Oldtime hockey players prove they still lead way

There’s no question that Marquette is a hockey town. And not only during hockey season.

Travel hockey teams – kids who are either getting started in the sport or who are building on the time they’ve already spent on the ice – don’t start putting rubber to the roads until next month. College and high school teams will also start as Halloween, Thanksgiving and icy, cold, snowy weather gets closer and closer.

Marquette was given just a taste of the upcoming hockey season Saturday as the Marquette Oldtimers Hockey Tournament took to three rinks for the sixth annual tournament.

They might not be the fastest, strongest or most agile players on skates, but they sure are fun to watch, and they provide invaluable lessons to potential up and coming hockey players of the future. Dads, uncles, even grandpas lace up their skates, pile on the pads and show that they’re just like the rest of us.

The tournament – which featured over 700 players on 43 teams – was split up into seven divisions including 30-and-over, 40-and-over, 50-and-over and even 60-and-over. One thing all these players have in common is each was once nothing more than a beginner looking for something fun to do during the winter.

Now, the Oldtimers get to show off their skills – or at least their undying love for the game if the skills have worn off – to the youngsters interested in hockey today. They want to play because their dad played, their brother played, they went to a Northern Michigan University game or follow their favorite NHL team.

These Oldtimers haven’t lost that passion, even though they’ve most likely lost some speed and stamina and need more than just ice following the games – ben gay, some aspirin and a week or two to beat the soreness of old and tired legs is more like it – but they instill that passion into our youth.

And while the kids get to learn about what hockey’s really about, the teamwork and the dedication and the heart, the Oldtimers get something of a role reversal; instead of manning the bleachers cheering for their kids or younger brothers or sisters, they get to be the center of attention.

We’re happy to have such amazing hockey parents to keep an important Upper Peninsula tradition alive.

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