No Shortage of Hockey In Groton

Groton resident Chris Turner's sporting obsession was baseball as a youth, in high school and college. He developed another unhealthy obsession after school - smoking cigarettes.

Today, Turner has left his two obsessions behind. The 28-year old software development consultant has quit baseball and smoking in favor of a year-long commitment to playing various forms of Groton Park and Rec hockey.

"My girlfriend tells me hockey runs my life," Turner said. "It's totally changed my life for the better. I gave up smoking because I wanted to improve my endurance for inline hockey."

Like so many who play in these Groton Park and Rec programs, Turner fell in love with a modified version of ice hockey. Though this winter was harsh, our typical winter climate is not cold enough to freeze ponds for natural outdoor hockey. There is also a paucity of local rink availability and ice time, further limiting traditional hockey opportunities.

A collection of hockey buffs' interest spurred the Groton Park and Rec Department to offer deck hockey about 10 years ago and then roller hockey after the old Connecticut College rink was salvaged, rebuilt and placed behind the Groton Library. Previously, a rink surface was placed at the Esker Point Beach parking lot for games, but with the boards only rising a little more than a foot, those games pale in comparison to the present complex behind the library.

Groton Park and Rec has offered floor hockey for many years, but the presence of a regulation-size rink with boards and glass expanded opportunities for roller hockey.

The outdoor roller hockey league operated for a few years until disbanding. Rob Cacchiola, a U.S. Navy submariner, played roller hockey in 2004 before a deployment. When he returned to Groton, the roller hockey league had disbanded for lack of direction. He helped revive the league last spring under the name of Groton Inline Hockey League.

"I had a hockey background in New Jersey before I was assigned to the Groton base," Cacchiola said. "When I came back from deployment, there was no league. I knew a few people who wanted to get it back going, so we went forward. The longer a league is dormant, the harder it is to get it back, because regulars leave the area."

When he was assigned to submarine duty in August, Turner and Joe Siragusa stepped in to run the GIHL fall league."I didn't want the league to go under," Turner said. "I had just gotten into playing hockey again last year after a 10 year absence. I absolutely love it."

Turner wrapped up three months of Groton Park and Rec floor hockey, appearing in that league's championship 6:30 Sunday evening at Fitch Middle School. He a a handful of other rec hockey die-hards will seemlessly trade sneakers for inline skates for the GIHL spring session starting April 1o to late May at the outdoor rink, which has undergone refurbishing. The summer session continues May to July.

Turner hopes to have enough players to field six teams in the GIHL, which plays Sunday mornings and stages evening pickup sessions Monday and Wednesday. GIHL players look like ice hockey players, wearing helmets, shin pads and gloves. The only difference is playing surface and footwear. Players wear roller blades, or inline skates, which have have two, three, four or five wheels arranged in a single line.

"It's a great time and a great workout," Turner said. "Running in a gym with sneakers during floor hockey is exhausting, but playing outdoors on inline skates for two hours is the best workout I've ever had. I sleep very well after our Monday and Wednesday pickup games."

League players range from former scholastic and college hockey players to beginners. Talent is evenly dispersed to prevent mismatches. A number of older players, such as 52-year-old Dan Klarmann, man the goalkeeper position.Teams utilize four skaters and a goalkeeper, who does not need to pay league fees. Anyone age 15 or older is eligible.

"There are a wide range of skills," Turner said. "Players just starting out have had a great time. We have a corps of 10 players who constantly show up to pick up games. The camaraderie within the league is great."

Groton Park & Rec also offers a deck hockey league Tuesdays and Thursdays at the library rink. Players run with sneakers as opposed to skating.

"We have some inline skaters who play winter floor hockey, but once the inline spring season begins, the skaters stick to that," said Ben Morse of Groton Park and Rec. "I think they'd play both if they could but wives and girlfriends probably don't want them playing hockey every night of the week."

Registration fees for the Inline league is $40 for Groton residents and $15 for pickups games, with non-residents required to pay slightly more. Registration is available online at www.grotonrec.com. Contact Groton Park and Rec for more information at 860-536-5680.