"It was loud," says A.J., "and security was very, let's just say, flexible." When the signal comes, they pull on a fresh shirt, put on the gear, head out. Then, as A.J. All would plead guilty, as would Galante. (Prosecutors ultimately dropped the case for lack of proof. Torres said he lost confidence at . A.J. Guess what? So while Greg, 49, can walk, his wife is paralyzed, relying on a motorized wheelchair to move around. The Trashers' most notorious festival of violence had taken place on Dec. 1, 2004, when they hosted the Kalamazoo (Mich.) Wings. He took a shot at us, AJ told me. A Cree from Saskatchewan who sometimes sported a multicolored Mohawk, he stood barely 5'10" but had a chin of granite and relished punching above his weight class. In return, Jimmy asked only that the players make hospital visits or speak at schools. (A.J. "He's the only thing this team has going for it.". At 32, Todd was younger than some of the players. Paul is currently the Hockey Director for the Miami Toros Hockey Program, where he brings an extremely high level of playing and coaching experience to the Kendall Ice Arena. The judge let Galante remain out of prison pending trial but put him under house arrest. - Ability to add additional data to your career profile: Videos, Images, Social Media, Referrals, Fitness Testing Results and much more! That is it.. Some fights started spontaneously, following a big hit. Then Jimmy went about being the Jerry Jones of the UHL. , New Brunswick, Canada, Gilles Richard is the current Vice-President of Hockey Operations for Southeast Elite Hockey. You in? I have to win a title in something. One year ago we knocked on the door, he said. I was on the bench, Doug Christiansen told me. Brenda St. Clair can serve as an inspiration to goaltenders and all hockey fans throughout the world. Rumun Ndur ended up seeing red and going batshit crazy, AJ told me. Catalyzed by their new scorer, the Trashers cruised through the regular season, finishing 48--17. ", Three years ago A.J. A big city has its strivers and fine food and bright lights. Brenda, confined to a wheelchair because of spina bifida, had never been to a pro hockey game. Paul,originallyfrom Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with teams such as Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers and the Colorado Avalanche. Born Jul 23 1982 -- Burbank, IL. about getting back into sports. Besides, what choice did he have? He was one of those players who had everything except whatever mysterious quality it is that separates Wayne from Brent, the Yes from the Not Quite. Thank you." Most teams rode in a rickety, Partridge Familystyle bus. just landed Galarza his first TV fight, on Showtime's ShoBox series, and an endorsement deal with the apparel company Rival Boxing. Mathieuhasbecome a staple in the Tampa area over the last 2 years coaching kids and offering private lessons at Lightning Hockey Schools and Camps, Lightning Community Hockey Development, Lightning Made, Street Lightning, Chase Your Dreams, Future Goals and as a goalie consultant for the Lightning Development Camp. Yet the father delegated personnel moves to the son. Charlie has coached numerous Southeast Elite AAA teams throughout the years, bringing home many championships. When the 2004--05 lockout ended, Rupp returned to the NHL and is still playing, for the Wild. Mike DeWine and First Lady Fran DeWine are set to visit the toxic train derailment site in East Palestine Wednesday for an update on the removal of the hazardous waste from the wreck. Frank The Animal Bialowas, a legend in hockey circles, had played three games in the NHL, then spent the rest of his career in the minors, rambling from rink to rink, like a bad man in a Western. The trade rumors negatively impacted Torres on the field. U.S. Hockey Report provides exclusive amateur hockey news reporting and scouting services in the United States and Canada. During his four years of collegiate playfor the Miami OH Redhawks (CCHA), he received the Terry Flannagan Humanitarian Award recognizing Ernie's strong character and leadership skills both on and off of the ice. Wingfield's skate caught on the ice, and as he fell back his left tibia, fibula and ankle broke with such force that the crack could be heard in the stands. They weren't just happy to go to games. Two months into the season, the games turned nasty. "I'm one of those guys who lives for competition," he says. Predictably, Wingnut went after Elzinga, administering a considerable beating and triggering another near riot. And it all ended in an FBI raid and subsequent indictment that landed Galante in the slammer, along with the infamous gangster Matthew Ianniello, aka Matty the Horse, the then-86-year-old capo di tutti capi of the Genovese crime family. He was suspended from the UHL for life., And then there was the broken-leg game. People who tell the story start with the date, as if recalling an event of historical importance: December 1, 2004. And Galante had the money. He'd already played 12 seasons of pro hockey: a total of 13 games in the NHL, followed by years of wandering the minors. Join Facebook to connect with Josh Elzinga and others you may know. Somehow they got the message upstairs. AJ and I would stand up there and look at the teams that were coming to play us, Galante told me. Listen to the trailer for Holy Week. THE NEW HAVEN division of the FBI is located downtown, on the old site of the New Haven Arena, a prime hockey venue that housed minor league teams from the 1930s to the '70s. He would also wash the Trashers' jerseys in Crisco and slather Vaseline on their helmets so opponents couldn't grab hold in a fight. Now and then, he liked to make an elaborate gesture, something attention-getting. As AJ explained it to me: It happened at dinner. Soon, a 3-on-3 scrimmage was underway with Brenda, for the first time in her life, facing shots in a real game. acted decisively. But his passion for sports never faded. The teenage sports exec became an irresistible media story. Bethlehem's David Bievenue hands the puck as Capital District Jets' Alexander Ridley defends during Tuesday's Section II Division 1 boys' ice hockey championship game at Messa Rink in Schenectady. Marc's experience as a professional Triathlete and coach with Team USA brings an understanding of the whole body and the athlete to the Ice. Section 102 became a subtribe whose members had nicknames like Capone and Jackass. At 4 a.m. the players would be out in the parking lot, huddled in their underwear. We're here to win.". As Wingfield skated away,. Brenda got tattoos of the names of her favorite players. For himself he built a skybox equipped with a kitchenette and a flat-screen TV. And the noisemy God, the noise! 117 Followers, 355 Following, 69 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Josh Elzinga (@jelzinga86) 117 Followers, 355 Following, 69 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Josh Elzinga (@jelzinga86) jelzinga86. In that time he has been instrumental in helping change the face of hockey in Florida. Then AJ had gotten hurt. Still, the joy of playing the sport makes her feel, in her own words, on top of the world, far outweighing any pain she has endured. They also saw the Trashers as a kind of validation: Someone believes in Danbury. Now he was turning up with his gear at a regional airport, being greeted too enthusiastically by what looked like a high-school kid claiming to be his new GM. My son plays there eight or nine times a year. Watch Unreal Save by TJ Semptimphelter. I never had one bad thing happen in my dealings with Jimmy Galante.". He graduated from Manhattanville with a business management degree in 2008 and bought into a New York City company that sells heating oil and diesel fuel. I'll own it. "Listen, for all you guys who don't have a sack, I've brought enough balls for everyone," he said. PHOTOGRAPHS BY WENDY CARLSON (MASCOT, 5); VIDEO STILLS BY THOMAS BUTKIER (2). He offered Roanoke not just a pair of current Trashers but also other players in the UHL supplemental draft that summer. ", THESE BONDS were cemented by a brand of violence the Trashers purveyed without apology. made connections over the summer with agents, scouts and middlemen who could deliver that goalie from Manitoba or that playmaker from Quebec. I hear it again every time my son Micahs Squirt Division travel team plays a home game at the Danbury arena. THEY WERE EVEN WELCOME TO STAY IN THE GALANTES' GARGANTUAN HOME. That spring, when A.J. Typical New York Rangers or New York Islanders fans were in the position of heroin addicts whod lost their supplywhich is how they found their way to the Trashers. Some say he did it as a civic benefactor, to give a depressed city something to rally around. The Danbury arena, meanwhile, has returned to its old existence as a youth rink. "Right from day one, they've said they wanted to be the bad boys of hockey, the most hated team, the Evil Empire," Marc Potvin, coach of the Adirondack Frostbite, one of the Trashers' rivals, disapprovingly told the Toronto Star in February 2005. He had me arrested in the locker room. They had, what, three goons? It was a big to-do. Although Galante claims that he never actually made contact, he was charged with assault. According to the indictment, Galante was making quarterly payments of $30,000 to Matty the Horse, the successor to Vincent the Chin Gigante and the boss of the Genovese crime family. They stayed in the best hotels and ate at the best restaurants. Galante had contributed to DeLuca's campaignsand those of many Connecticut politiciansbut this was personal. Since birth Brenda has suffered from spina bifida, an abnormality that causes an opening in the spinal column. VS. 1st Period - 12:37. All Rights Reserved. ", Jimmy paused. They were the cream of the UHL, one of its best teams and a pet project of hockey celebrities: The franchise was owned in part by the former NHL coach Barry Melrose and the ESPN broadcaster Steve Levy. And how is this kid running a hockey team?". I remember being elated, guys tumbling over the boards like wed won the Stanley Cup. The Trashers went on to win that series, but lost the next. Federal authorities had grown interested in the Connecticut waste-management industry. Follow. Kalamazoo Wings (Kalamazoo,MI) United Hockey League [Minor Professional] 2000-2007 [click to view all-time roster] (Jimmy was allowed to answer only a few questions by email sent through A.J. During a pretrial hearing assistant U.S. attorney Michael Gustafson characterized Galante as a "manipulating, controlling, hands-on bully." Coach Ernie's interest in athletic performance development stems from his extensive career competing in ice hockey. The government seized most of his assets, including 25 trash companies and a string of race cars. Latest Fights Date Players Videos 03/01/09 R. Sexsmith ( EVI) vs. J. Elzinga ( CBZ) 3rd Period 18:55 Watch 11/24/06 M. Versteeg-Lytwyn ( KAL) vs. J. Elzinga ( PHF) 1st Period 12:37 Watch 03/12/06 J. Elzinga ( KAL) vs. D. Van Drunen ( MUS) "We did our due diligence, and they put in the proper paperwork and were professional," says Richard Brosal, then the UHL's commissioner. According to the subsequent indictment, the investigation was part of an effort to thwart illegal practices in the trash hauling industry. It had been kicked off by a complaint. MIKE RUPP wore a look of confusion. "People would make comments: 'Aren't you afraid of him? Within weeks, the agent was seated beside the boss himself in the owners box at the Danbury Ice Arena, cheering as the Trashers skated out. He searched two places, one actual, one virtual. When A.J. That team was uniquely physical, to put it nicely, Doug Christiansen, a 6-foot-5 Trashers wing, told me. ", Occasionally, though, Jimmy betrayed a temper and turned it on his team. You'd look across the ice, and they had eight to 10 heavyweights looking for a fight. How did A.J. "He can score unbelievable," A.J. In professional sports, there are usually two games taking place. So I reached out to a guy I knew in the Quebec League and said, Get me Chad Wagner., Chad Wagner was one of the most feared hockey fighters of the era. That matchup was marred by a brawl that kicked off when Trashers left winger Brad Wingfield attempted to fight Kalamazoos Josh Elzinga, who declined the invitation. They happily agreed. He found skill players on the internet, assembling his squad the way he might have assembled a fantasy-football team. Timo Meier's fantasy hockey value trends up after the New Jersey Devils acquired him. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. Ohio Gov. That's all we needed to hear. He was born in the Bronx but grew up in bucolic South Salem, New York; did a stint in the Air Force; and then took a job driving a garbage truck. In many ways, the first round of that postseason was the high point: the Trashers versus the Frostbite, best of seven. Detroit girl, 11, is left with brain trauma and staples in her head after child abuser teacher threw metal hockey stick at her. Someone had said Galante, with a near-monopoly on regional garbage collection, was driving out competitors. I took a swing at him. Right before the league's trade deadline in March 2006, Jimmy and A.J. And the fans, from section 102 and beyond, still miss their team. The UHL had a salary cap that limited teams to a total of approximately $275,000 for the whole roster. "Listen," he said, "my dad is coming home for dinner at 7:30, and if I don't have a goal scorer by then, I'm in big trouble." also hired Tommy (T-Bone) Pomposello, a former minor leaguer, who would do everything from managing the equipment to scouting talent to helping run practice. When he caught wind of a local kid who couldn't afford college, he quietly wrote a tuition check. Then the FBI moved in. 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