The Sault Senior Men’s Hockey League held its second annual Christmas Classic Saturday at the John Rhodes Community Centre on a heartwarming note.
The game marked the return of longtime league member Gerri Longo.
“Five years ago he got cancer and his love is hockey. His whole family is about hockey. They coach hockey. He was in this league for 18 years and today he’s back playing again for the first time in six years. It’s an amazing story,” said Joe Della-Savia, SSMHL player and spokesperson.
“I’m okay. I’m happy to be on this side of the turf. I’ve still got some issues so I’ve got to be careful. When I get the puck these guys will move aside for me,” Longo told SooToday with a grin.
In an extra nice touch, Longo’s team won Saturday’s game 2-1 in a shootout, Longo himself scoring the deciding goal.
“We’ve been playing together for over 25 years. We’re like a group of brothers. When I was sick they put on a benefit for me in February 2020. It was amazing the amount of work they put into it for me,” Longo said.
Longo is a retiree who worked for Mio's Furniture Fashions while Della-Savia is the owner/operator of Inside Out Contracting.
The Sault Senior Men’s Hockey League has been around for approximately 40 years.
“We were once a 35 and over league, then we went to a 45 and over and last year we started an over 60 division. That move brought back at least 50 players who had retired or aged out. Now we have a solid division of four teams of players who are over 60 with at least 15 players on each team. There’s a waiting list of players who want to get back in our league,” Della-Savia said.
The men come from all walks of life.
“I tell everybody who’s new to our league ‘we all get here. We just take different paths.’ We all have a common denominator of a love of hockey,” Della-Savia said.
While the youngest players in the SSMHL are 45, the oldest is Larry Skinkle at 74.
Both 45 and over and 60 and over players came together and were split into two evenly matched teams in terms of age for Saturday’s Christmas Classic.
The men played a 60-minute game and were looking forward to a post-game Christmas banquet.
SSMHL players take to the ice three times every two weeks.
The over 60 division plays its regular games exclusively at the Northern Community Centre while the 45 and overs play mostly at the Rhodes.
More information on the SSMHL can be found on the league’s website.