OT: Adult Leagues at Ice House

I'm putting together a Summer team in Hackensack, and I was wondering if any of you play or have played in their summer adult leagues. Any good? Serious?

Also, do you know how that divisional breakdown works? There are 8 divisions but I'm not sure how they really work...

Hey. I am in my second season at Ice House and it's a real nice place. The locker rooms and benches are pretty tiny but the ice is good(usually).

I have been playing division 8b but will be playing division 6 for the summer. It's not so much about skill level necessarily as it is what days the leagues are played on. Make no mistake, d1 has some nasty people. And D8a/8b are pretty god awful. In fact most of the people can't even pass the puck very well. I'll be playing 8b and 6 in the summer just because I like the guys on my 8b team and I'll take the ice time. You will find some d4-d1 calibur players destroying the lower division leagues occasionally.

But if they rack up the points, the league catches on and moves them. Usually the team will be smart and put them on defense so nobody gets by him the whole game and he sets up nice breakout plays, instead of just playing forward and getting himself tossed up a league. It's sad, but teams do that. I'm not sure how it's fun. I consider myself much better than a d8b player but you need more than 1 or 2 guys who can move the puck to beat any 5 skaters + a goalie unless you're real good.

I've never played the summer league but I would assume it gets tougher. Teams will be picking up ringers (college players) from open hockeys I assure you.

I'm under a single registration for d6 with a friend of mine. So if you want a couple forwards and Thursday nights are good for ya, shoot me a PM.

D8 plays Monday nights with the occasional Sunday. I'm actually playing tonight at 8:30 or so.

From my experience (its been a few years since I've skated there, we have moved our teams..) the D1 & D2 have some serious players... college types, very talented players, no scrubs to speak of.

D3 thru D5 is good mens league hockey. This is where my teams skated. I'm a role player, and we def needed a few higher level players to stay competitive.

I havent skated in D6 or below, but the lower levels look pretty shoddy...

As for the rink itself... the locker rooms are terrible. Rink one (they one they use for the figure skaters) is too warm for hockey and the ice is pretty terrible. The other 3 werent bad... I think the leagues were somewhat expensive when compared to FHA and the Ice Vault also...

From my experience (its been a few years since I've skated there, we have moved our teams..) the D1 & D2 have some serious players... college types, very talented players, no scrubs to speak of.

D3 thru D5 is good mens league hockey. This is where my teams skated. I'm a role player, and we def needed a few higher level players to stay competitive.

I havent skated in D6 or below, but the lower levels look pretty shoddy...

As for the rink itself... the locker rooms are terrible. Rink one (they one they use for the figure skaters) is too warm for hockey and the ice is pretty terrible. The other 3 werent bad... I think the leagues were somewhat expensive when compared to FHA and the Ice Vault also...

That pretty much sums it up. I was forced to play Division 8 my first adult year there (cause i signed up as an individual) and I had 38 points in 8 games.....playing defense...and you certainly would never find me on a D1 college roster. So needless to say, the lowest couple of divisions are for beginners and/or plugs.

I haven't played at the Ice House since two summers ago, since I haven't been local (I'm moving back there in a week), I played Division 2, but I wasn't a top guy, I was more like the Jay Pandolfo-type guy on the team. But, I remember having a lot of fun.

Thanks for the input. I've played there many times as a youth for travel hockey, and I remember the rinks and the lockerrooms vividly. I'm more or less curious about the divisions and the quality of play as I try to gauge where to slot my team division wise.

I played defense for one game in 8b and got more points than I had last season as a forward. Again nobody really moves the puck, so when I was D I could carry it up and have enough speed to beat them all.

The ice sucked horribly in my game tonight. I'm just used to playing on even worse conditions.

Hey. I am in my second season at Ice House and it's a real nice place. The locker rooms and benches are pretty tiny but the ice is good(usually).

I have been playing division 8b but will be playing division 6 for the summer. It's not so much about skill level necessarily as it is what days the leagues are played on. Make no mistake, d1 has some nasty people. And D8a/8b are pretty god awful. In fact most of the people can't even pass the puck very well. I'll be playing 8b and 6 in the summer just because I like the guys on my 8b team and I'll take the ice time. You will find some d4-d1 calibur players destroying the lower division leagues occasionally.

But if they rack up the points, the league catches on and moves them. Usually the team will be smart and put them on defense so nobody gets by him the whole game and he sets up nice breakout plays, instead of just playing forward and getting himself tossed up a league. It's sad, but teams do that. I'm not sure how it's fun. I consider myself much better than a d8b player but you need more than 1 or 2 guys who can move the puck to beat any 5 skaters + a goalie unless you're real good.

I've never played the summer league but I would assume it gets tougher. Teams will be picking up ringers (college players) from open hockeys I assure you.

I'm under a single registration for d6 with a friend of mine. So if you want a couple forwards and Thursday nights are good for ya, shoot me a PM.

D8 plays Monday nights with the occasional Sunday. I'm actually playing tonight at 8:30 or so.





DMH? :sarcasm:

As for the rink itself... the locker rooms are terrible. Rink one (they one they use for the figure skaters) is too warm for hockey and the ice is pretty terrible. The other 3 werent bad... I think the leagues were somewhat expensive when compared to FHA and the Ice Vault also...



FHA is $3800 for 10 games and and most are 11pm or later. The league is shoddly run by a kid who makes up arbitrary rules as they go along and last winter wouldn't cancel a game due to snow until 10pm.


Ice vault s $3450 for 10 games and has the best ice and if you can put a competitive team there its the best league in the area. A much faster game than the other two rinks. Locker rooms are great.


Hackensack was $3500 for 10 games. Times are good like the vault but less gaps. the ice is slow and the lower leagues 8-7-6 have teams that could play any of the thre divisons excluding the 8b league. Most teams have ringers. They check attendence but unless you are tearing it up don't say anything. Locker rooms are small and the benches too high.


Reffing sucks at allthe rinks. :D




What is you and your teams experience level?

FHA is $3800 for 10 games and and most are 11pm or later. The league is shoddly run by a kid who makes up arbitrary rules as they go along and last winter wouldn't cancel a game due to snow until 10pm.


Ice vault s $3450 for 10 games and has the best ice and if you can put a competitive team there its the best league in the area. A much faster game than the other two rinks. Locker rooms are great.


Hackensack was $3500 for 10 games. Times are good like the vault but less gaps. the ice is slow and the lower leagues 8-7-6 have teams that could play any of the thre divisons excluding the 8b league. Most teams have ringers. They check attendence but unless you are tearing it up don't say anything. Locker rooms are small and the benches too high.


Reffing sucks at allthe rinks. :D




What is you and your teams experience level?

I hadn't checked the prices in a while. Ice Vault is actually only $3150 per season if you get your money in on time (before the first game). With that you also get a free ice slot. They also gave teams that played in the winter an additional $300 off this season... so it was $2850 for the spring season out there.

I'm kinda surprised that FHA is the most expensive. When they first opened it was much better, but that place has gone down hill bigtime. I only skate there as a fill in for a team that I used to skate with... when they need players I go. It seems that for the mens league games they only turn on half the lights to save on money... very annoying.

Agrree 100% on everything you said on Hackensack. I havent skated there in years.... there is better hockey for cheaper at the ice vault. Hackensack does have the earlier times, but to my teams we'd actually rather games that are a bit later. We have a real tough time getting our players to games before 8PM.

I hadn't checked the prices in a while. Ice Vault is actually only $3150 per season if you get your money in on time (before the first game). With that you also get a free ice slot. They also gave teams that played in the winter an additional $300 off this season... so it was $2850 for the spring season out there.


yah we got that discount. but no free ice this season. You play there?


I'm kinda surprised that FHA is the most expensive. When they first opened it was much better, but that place has gone down hill bigtime. I only skate there as a fill in for a team that I used to skate with... when they need players I go. It seems that for the mens league games they only turn on half the lights to save on money... very annoying.

Yup all true. We did the over 30 league and left after the abysmall times (11pm to 12:30 start times)


Agrree 100% on everything you said on Hackensack. I havent skated there in years.... there is better hockey for cheaper at the ice vault. Hackensack does have the earlier times, but to my teams we'd actually rather games that are a bit later. We have a real tough time getting our players to games before 8PM.



We have the same issues.

I think I'm doing the summer league @ the ice house too, need something to keep me in shape.

yah we got that discount. but no free ice this season. You play there?

Yah, I have two teams there. I'm sure you hate me and that I've slashed you at some point if you been playing there for any period of time... LOL

same here, if you need a player, let me know, i hate signing up as an individual because no matter what i always get stuck in a lower league.

Thanks for the input. I've played there many times as a youth for travel hockey, and I remember the rinks and the lockerrooms vividly. I'm more or less curious about the divisions and the quality of play as I try to gauge where to slot my team division wise.

your from hudson valley right, so do you ever play at ice time?

Yah, I have two teams there. I'm sure you hate me and that I've slashed you at some point if you been playing there for any period of time... LOL



What divisions? I bet you I gots the most hated player in the rink. :sarcasm:


Me I hate no one. my attention span is too short.

Anybody play at Bridgewater Sports Arena or Aspen Ice in Flemington? Those are my two main spots. Aspen is great for open hockey.

Also, do you know how that divisional breakdown works? There are 8 divisions but I'm not sure how they really work...

I've had this conversation with most of the people here who have already responded to you. I moved to north Jersey about a year and a half ago and joined the Ice House league as an individual for the first time last summer. I've been playing for about 12-13 years and topped out at ACHA DII hockey if you want to try to reference skill level.

They stuck me in D8 to start off. As others have said, the league is awful. The range between the best player and the worst player on each team is astounding (i.e. every team seemed to have a ringer or two controlling the game and they were surrounded by a bunch of guys who could barely skate).

I moved up to D6 for the winter session and it was basically the same as far as skill gap, but just fewer guys who could barely stand up and a few more guys who could skate pretty well. Puck movement is still rare in that league, mostly individual efforts. I've seen a few D5 games, they look pretty much the same. D4 is when improvement becomes noticeable.

I was lucky enough to get recruited by a D2/3 team for the Spring session (they merged the divisions because of lack of teams I guess) and it's great hockey. Pretty much everyone on my team played at least HS Varsity and the games are usually low-scoring and competitive. Very few end to end rushes, plays need to be set-up, goalies are good, etc.

D1 is peppered with a ton of former NCAA D1/D2 guys. Serious hockey being played at that level.

About the league itself:

- very well run
- games always start on time
- pretty good stats keeping
- most of the refs suck horribly

Hope this helps!

What divisions? I bet you I gots the most hated player in the rink. :sarcasm:


Me I hate no one. my attention span is too short.

We have a team in B and one in C.

We actually had a guy bite one of our players last night, then he spit on me AND the ref.... :shakehead

We have a team in B and one in C.

We actually had a guy bite one of our players last night, then he spit on me AND the ref.... :shakehead


Ouch what is up there latley, last week some guy I think from the Atoms in D broke his wooden stick across some guys ankle in three places....


So you're the ice dogs, eh? :D

Ouch what is up there latley, last week some guy I think from the Atoms in D broke his wooden stick across some guys ankle in three places....


So you're the ice dogs, eh? :D


Nah, we are the Blues in C and the Avs in B.

What team do you skate on??

Nah, we are the Blues in C and the Avs in B.

What team do you skate on??


We know each other. lol. WaWaTuSi... They threw us in D this season,.

We know each other. lol. WaWaTuSi... They threw us in D this season,.

Really? Thats odd... I thought you guys had a decent squad no? Lose some players??

We used to skate against you guys at FHA too. I also played for Spartak over there with all the Russian guys, before that team went under. They are the Lancers now.

Really? Thats odd... I thought you guys had a decent squad no? Lose some players??


We lost half the team, some to injuries and others to a split with an idiot who took another 4 players and went to a lower d league at fha..

We picked up a couple guys from the defunct chiefs and lost our goalie. So we were in rebuilding mode.

Getting back though got some good players now that are beginning to gel.


We also have a team at hackensack.



We used to skate against you guys at FHA too. I also played for Spartak over there with all the Russian guys, before that team went under. They are the Lancers now.


Spartak was always fun to play against. I remember those guys yelling at a non russian guy once and the guy responded "I don't f-ing understand you"... They always seemed angry.


We played the lancers in the 30 over league but that league is a joke. Earliest games were 11pm and 3800 bucks for 10 games. Plus the kid who ran it made up rules as he went along.

Although it was a blast watching bruce driver lose his cool after one of my lower guys scored on him. :D

I've had this conversation with most of the people here who have already responded to you. I moved to north Jersey about a year and a half ago and joined the Ice House league as an individual for the first time last summer. I've been playing for about 12-13 years and topped out at ACHA DII hockey if you want to try to reference skill level.

Pretty much everyone on my team played at least HS Varsity and the games are usually low-scoring and competitive.

I've been playing for 16+ years, as have all of my "teammates". All of us have played for top HS varsity clubs, but I kind of thought that that should go without saying. Recently, I topped out at ACHA DI, and being that I just graduated and am now working in Red Bank, I'd like to play in a league.

As for the bolded, again... I kind of figured everyone that plays at like D6 or better has played varsity HS hockey, no? Awesome post, though, thank you very much

your from hudson valley right, so do you ever play at ice time?

Not often, most of my playing in that area is done at Sportorama

I would definitely be down for some mens league games, but I think I'm officially done with it. When I was 19, I played at Red Bank and I was a pretty damn good player. It was after my knee injury so I was wetting my feet in the over 40 league with my father and a few of his old teammates (who I knew, of course). It was a fun time, but man alive are some of the guys in mens league just ****ing dirty. I've never in my life (in any level of hockey) had so many people trying to take my knees out.

I mean, I liked the over 40 competition because there were some REALLY fantastic players out there and some really bad players. I'd say I was in the upper 1/3 of the league players, likely, even after my injury.

But I said "**** it", since I was just so banged up after half a season that I refused to risk injury to myself even further. Oh well.

I am thinking about getting into reffing or coaching one of these days, though.

I am thinking about getting into reffing or coaching one of these days, though.

I'm looking forward to getting my coaching career underway as well. It's something I've always wanted to do

I would definitely be down for some mens league games, but I think I'm officially done with it. When I was 19, I played at Red Bank and I was a pretty damn good player. It was after my knee injury so I was wetting my feet in the over 40 league with my father and a few of his old teammates (who I knew, of course). It was a fun time, but man alive are some of the guys in mens league just ****ing dirty. I've never in my life (in any level of hockey) had so many people trying to take my knees out.

I mean, I liked the over 40 competition because there were some REALLY fantastic players out there and some really bad players. I'd say I was in the upper 1/3 of the league players, likely, even after my injury.

But I said "**** it", since I was just so banged up after half a season that I refused to risk injury to myself even further. Oh well.

I am thinking about getting into reffing or coaching one of these days, though.





Oh man up...... :naughty:



seriously though its not that bad around here.

Spartak was always fun to play against. I remember those guys yelling at a non russian guy once and the guy responded "I don't f-ing understand you"... They always seemed angry.


We played the lancers in the 30 over league but that league is a joke. Earliest games were 11pm and 3800 bucks for 10 games. Plus the kid who ran it made up rules as he went along.

Although it was a blast watching bruce driver lose his cool after one of my lower guys scored on him. :D

Yah, those guys on Spartak are good dudes. They are screaming at each other in Russian constantly... its a pisser. They are all pretty much related to one another in some way... so they arguments go deeper than hockey I think!

Driver loses his cool CONSTANTLY in those games. He spends half his time out at the scorers table arguing with the refs. He tries to bully him since hes the famous NHL guy... blah. The goals I've scored on him may not have been my prettiest, but they are among my favorite for no other reason then that they might have shut him up for a few minutes!

Good luck with getting your team back together... We'll see you back up in the higher leagues soon I'm sure. I wear #11, say hey next time we play you guys (so I know who to hit) LOL

Yah, those guys on Spartak are good dudes. They are screaming at each other in Russian constantly... its a pisser. They are all pretty much related to one another in some way... so they arguments go deeper than hockey I think!

Driver loses his cool CONSTANTLY in those games. He spends half his time out at the scorers table arguing with the refs. He tries to bully him since hes the famous NHL guy... blah. The goals I've scored on him may not have been my prettiest, but they are among my favorite for no other reason then that they might have shut him up for a few minutes!

Good luck with getting your team back together... We'll see you back up in the higher leagues soon I'm sure. I wear #11, say hey next time we play you guys (so I know who to hit) LOL



Will do. (#4) ;)

Similarly, have any of you played in the Summer League at the Ice Vault? Rev Hell seemed like he did in his breakdown... anyone else have an opinion on the league, competition and all?

Similarly, have any of you played in the Summer League at the Ice Vault? Rev Hell seemed like he did in his breakdown... anyone else have an opinion on the league, competition and all?

I play there now (in the B and C league), and play over the summer as well.

They sometimes can manage an A League during the summer. If I remember correctly, they put together a checking league one summer that was mostly all college players home from school (above my skill level). I never saw any of those games, but I'm sure it was pretty good hockey. Probably not as high as the highest levels at the Ice House.

The B league is decent men's league hockey. You'll have some players from the local colleges (William Patterson and MSU) who skate there and are good players. Some of the players probably have bigger college experience as well. There is a decent mix of good players and role players (like myself). When there is no A league you might get one team that would dominate most of the others.

The C league is basically the B league with the best 2 or 3 skaters off each team removed and replaced with guys who aren't so good.

I've never played in the D league there... cant really speak to the level of play.

Hope this helps....

I've been playing for 16+ years, as have all of my "teammates". All of us have played for top HS varsity clubs, but I kind of thought that that should go without saying. Recently, I topped out at ACHA DI, and being that I just graduated and am now working in Red Bank, I'd like to play in a league.

As for the bolded, again... I kind of figured everyone that plays at like D6 or better has played varsity HS hockey, no? Awesome post, though, thank you very much

Definitely no. Like I said, there are a couple of guys on my D6 team that literally have trouble skating. There is essentially no difference between D6 and D8, your skills don't get evaluated, so people just pick the night that works best for them. If you played ACHA DI then I would say that D4 is the absolute lowest league that you might feel OK playing in. You most likely belong in D2/3 though.

Oh man up...... :naughty:



seriously though its not that bad around here.

Well, I walk with a limp most of the time now anyways and I haven't even been able to skate for a while (but that's due to broken bones in my heels -- I'm the Petr Forsberg of HFboards)... :cry:

bah your a wuss. guy on my team just had his bone spurs shaved on one foot.


though come to think of it he does kinmda skate in circles..... lol.....

oh and jk jon.



as to tghe guy asking about the vault? the d league is a mix of c league teams that went from the midpack down. niot a huge diff. my team has played thesnakes team competivly and we are in diff leagues. it looks like they took some b and dropped them as well so its prolly a little more.

the d league at the vault is much higher than the upper 8 at icehouse. i would put it 5-6 level.

FHA is $3800 for 10 games and and most are 11pm or later. The league is shoddly run by a kid who makes up arbitrary rules as they go along and last winter wouldn't cancel a game due to snow until 10pm.


Ice vault s $3450 for 10 games and has the best ice and if you can put a competitive team there its the best league in the area. A much faster game than the other two rinks. Locker rooms are great.


Hackensack was $3500 for 10 games. Times are good like the vault but less gaps. the ice is slow and the lower leagues 8-7-6 have teams that could play any of the thre divisons excluding the 8b league. Most teams have ringers. They check attendence but unless you are tearing it up don't say anything. Locker rooms are small and the benches too high.


Reffing sucks at allthe rinks. :D




What is you and your teams experience level?I played in D1 there(Hackensack) and IMO they have the worst reffing around. A few years ago I had some health problems and was looking for a non contact league so I played for that D1 team. From game 1 to the end I would get hit, the opposing player would fall and I would get the PIM. It drove me nuts so I vowed to never go back to that place again.

Now I just stick to some higher end open hockey in the area. Is the open hockey at Hackensack still an OK skate?

You gotta remember #66, if they were any good they wouldn't be Adult league refs. :D

Slightly off topic, but if anyone is looking for a goalie/needs a reliable backup for a league, send me a PM and I'll give you my contact info. Ice Vault is great for me, because it is literally 2 blocks from my house...if you need a goalie last-minute I could be there in 5 minutes if available :)

I have no league experience however...I've just played a lot of pickup and open hockey.

Slightly off topic, but if anyone is looking for a goalie/needs a reliable backup for a league, send me a PM and I'll give you my contact info. Ice Vault is great for me, because it is literally 2 blocks from my house...if you need a goalie last-minute I could be there in 5 minutes if available :)

I have no league experience however...I've just played a lot of pickup and open hockey.

pm sent. you can never have too many bu goalies on your list

hey I just joined league 8b and this is going to be my first time playing (yeah you know those people that you guys make fun of for falling all the time. I'll be one of them) I was watching a league 8 game a couple weeks ago and the players could actually skate. are there really noobs that are as bad as you say they are? I mean i dont' care if i suck just as long as i'm not the only noob out there.

hey I just joined league 8b and this is going to be my first time playing (yeah you know those people that you guys make fun of for falling all the time. I'll be one of them) I was watching a league 8 game a couple weeks ago and the players could actually skate. are there really noobs that are as bad as you say they are? I mean i dont' care if i suck just as long as i'm not the only noob out there.

Just dont get frustrated lol

hey I just joined league 8b and this is going to be my first time playing (yeah you know those people that you guys make fun of for falling all the time. I'll be one of them) I was watching a league 8 game a couple weeks ago and the players could actually skate. are there really noobs that are as bad as you say they are? I mean i dont' care if i suck just as long as i'm not the only noob out there.




you'll be fine. What team?>

team win aka grey goose. i have a feeling thats the house team where they put all the noobs.

team win aka grey goose. i have a feeling thats the house team where they put all the noobs.

aww, I saw them on the new schedule, was hoping they'd be last seasons "Kodiak" team. But yeah, 8b is pretty terrible, i'm pretty bad myself, and if i can skate it into the other zone from defense, thats just sad :(

aww, I saw them on the new schedule, was hoping they'd be last seasons "Kodiak" team. But yeah, 8b is pretty terrible, i'm pretty bad myself, and if i can skate it into the other zone from defense, thats just sad :(

What do you mean?

yeah i don't get it.

kodiak was just one of the teams, was hoping they just changed their name or whatever

Can anyone here play goalie for our game next monday 8/11 @10:30pm at the Ice house? Our goalie will be out and we don't have a backup.