For the second year in a row, local hockey team the Black Aces have come out on top of the venerable Cedarvale Oldtimers’ Hockey League. The Aces finished a wire-to-wire first place season with a 5-0 sausage-ing of rival team the Wyse Guys, leaving no doubt as to who the class of the COTHL was for 2013-2014.
Goals from Rod, Mark (2), Al, and Mike sent the Wyse Guys packing, with Kevin putting in another perfect game in the net. A total team effort once again.
The decisive win and season also left other teams in the league wondering just what had happened. How could a team that had such humble beginnings turn into such a powerhouse? What was the secret to their success?
Just like the mysterious and mighty Stonehenge, the Black Aces remain inscrutable - a force of nature immune to easy analysis but surrounded by theories, myths and legends. Let’s take a look back...
1990s
In the beginning, there was the Aub. And the Aub said “let there be hockey”, and there was hockey. And it was bad. Really bad. The early days featured a lineup light on talent and even lighter on experience, including a defense corps made up of chain smoking coal miners who could not skate more than three strides without collapsing a lung. They were prodigious brawlers however, which was a good thing since most of the COTHL in those days was ex-boxers, cops, and convicted felons on day parole.
2000
As the millenium drew to a close, the team evolved. Players began skating upright and bought new sticks, smoking in the dressing room was banned, and Paul F stepped up to sponsor the team and provide sweaters that were all the same colour. Black. Black as night. Puck black. Aces Black. The Black Aces were born. The team still had trouble winning, but an unshakeable bond was forming that would carry them through the dark times and onwards towards the distant shining beacon of mediocrity that would be
The mid 2000s
New players arrived, old players retired to become provincial court judges and dubious purveyors of bivalve mollusks, and the Aces slowly but surely became competitive. As the psychopaths and murderers on the other teams were banished and the league became more about ‘skill’ than ‘kill’, the men in black rose through the standings to finally take the championship in the 2007-2008 season. Those were heady days, and the wait staff at Ferros still fondly recall the $20 tip after the end-of-season blowout. Much pizza was consumed that day, my friends, and gallons of beer swigged from the skulls of the Aces’ enemies.
Late 2000s to present day
Although many on the Aces may have felt as if they were part of a nascent dynasty that would extend to eternity, it was not to be. Heartbreak and disappointment were the rule for the next few seasons as the Aces would rule the regular season only to fail in the playoffs. The bitterness of defeat could not be assuaged even by the sweet taste of the Boys That Are Tall nor the many delicious varieties of Ferros pizza. The summers those years were hard, make no mistake.
During the 2012-2013 season it seemed the once-mighty Black Aces, in spite of the excellence of their team sweaters and the inspirational lifestyle of team sponsor and high-altitude entrepreneur Joe P, were in a tailspin. Wins were thin on the ground and goals were as rare as blumpkins at a church picnic. It was looking pretty dire. Even Aces ace netminder Raj C was having trouble keeping his normal laser-like focus after his new bride switched his pre-game ipod playlist from gangsta rap and Norwegian black metal to Justin Bieber and Drake.
Just when all appeared lost, the Aces somehow turned their doomed ship around. Winning the final 4 regular season games and 2 playoff games, the team converted a season of despair into the greatest comeback story in hockey history. New hires Rod and Pete played a big role, injecting new life into the team and helping them to victory.
And now, with the 2013-2014 season done and dusted and 2 consecutive years of awesomeness under their pants, the Aces find themselves talking dynasty once again. A further injection of talent in the form of Mark, Paul and Kevin has made the men in the black shirts a force to be reckoned with. And, just like the mighty Stonehenge, they remain mysterious, rock-like and awe-inspiring.
Great season, you guys. And now please enjoy this not quite safe for work video.
