Hockey players in the DC area are always up for a good pick up game. After experiencing the worst pick up experience at the hands of Kettler Capitals Iceplex, I thought I would open a dialog with local players to find good places to play.
KCI has pick-up on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I have attended some of their hockey sessions before. The Iceplex actually has a good pro-shop and great facilities. But the problem I had with them is how they were treating players who want to come and play.
I went back on Tuesday to play and forked over the 15 bucks (they take credit cards, which is nice). Only five players showed. To add insult to injury, the rink didn't even supply pucks. What the hell did I pay $15 for?
You can buy a 10 or $10 pass, but then I heard they expire. That means if you play pick up once a week and for some reason you miss a session, say good-bye to your hard-earned money.
Is there any player that pays more than $10 for pick up out there? Most rinks don't charge that much. I even tried to express this to a manager, but the girls working the front desk pulled a blond moment. That day they made $75 with 5 players that paid, they could have made $100 if they had the price at $10 and ten players showed. I explained that $100 is greater than $75 (basic math, who says schooling didn't pay off). All I got were blank stares.
So open mic time. What's your best pick-up and worst pick-up? Mine are:
Best - Mt. Vernon Recreation Center, Wednesdays & Thursdays, $8 for Fairfax County residents, $10 for all others. Usually a good mix of players and can be a fast game with good talent, but also draws some show boats who never change up or never pass, etc.
Worst - Kettler Capitals Iceplex - reasons stated above.
Honorable Mention - The Gardens Icehouse, Laurel MD, Good talent and fun personalities. Some older guys, but give them respect and you might play with former Capitals.
What is yours?
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