LYNN — The day after Thanksgiving has become the traditional setting of the Lynn Jets hockey alumni game, even if lacing up the skates the day after a big Turkey Day dinner might not be the easiest of tasks.
“It’s always a good time to get together with these guys,” Lynn Jets hockey coach Mike Roberts said. “The day after Thanksgiving has become a ritual for this game. You see a couple of the guys maybe not in the best of shape, but it’s a lot of fun.
“It’s a good opportunity to get guys from the past and guys who have just graduated together for a good day down at the rink,” Roberts added. “Everyone seems to enjoy and we have had some fun games and a good time these last few years.”
Just under 30 players gathered for the annual game including Jack Stafford (2017), Tony Uva and Alex Amico (2014), and Jeff Porter and Jack Carter (2010).
“It’s great to have a good amount of guys come out,” Roberts said. “The level of play was pretty good. The competitive spirit comes out with these guys. When they come out it’s just a pick up game and then it starts getting a little physical in the corners. The guys love that stuff in the end as long as no one gets hurt.”
The group was split up by age to decide the teams with players dawning home and away Jets uniforms.
“We did all guys that were prior to the Lynn Jets and all of the newly graduated within the last three or four years on one team against the guys that were from around 2007 to 2013-ish area,” Roberts said.
The older group with some of the more recent graduates earned bragging right this year with a 13-8 win.
“The older guys play a little bit different game instead of the run and gun style,” Roberts said. “Tic-tac-toe passing here and there and we wore them down a bit. The other guys have speed and can shoot. Both goalies played well. Jack Stafford did a great job and so did DJ Pinkham, a goalie coach for us who has been with the program for about six years. He filled in for some of the guys who couldn’t make it.”
Roberts was also happy to see a handful of alumni who played before Lynn’s high schools combined to form the co-op Jets, including former coach Joe Conlon, Mike Conlon, Ryan Ferguson and Steve Kramer, make it to the game.
“The competitive nature is definitely still there in these games and it’s good to get these guys together,” Roberts said. “We even have some guys from Lynn English ’98 and ’99 that were here playing. The Jets started in 2007 but the foundation of how that program started, its good to get those guys involved as well.”
With high school hockey just around the corner the game helped Roberts get excited for the upcoming season and reflect on what he hopes is a bright future for hockey in Lynn.
“It absolutely gets you excited for the high school season coming up,” Roberts said. “We did some fundraising with canning in Wyoma Square and around the city. It’s good to be back. Last year was a really good season and hopefully we can continue to keep that mindset going forward as far as the one team, one family kind of thing.
“We have integrated the youth hockey and they are now called the Jets too,” Roberts added. “We are integrating the two programs and trying to keep hockey alive in the city. It’s going to be difficult. We have eight seniors graduating this year. The next two years there isn’t much in the seventh and eighth grade realm. We are doing our best to have these events like the alumni game to keep people involved. We’re just trying to stay up to date so people know we are here. Hopefully we can have another great year and do some damage.”