To the delight of the Danbury press and public, they also brought exciting hockey action and stars such as Brent Gretzky (playing and signing autographs), kid brother of you-know-who. says, shifting uneasily in his seat. Defense. Josh Elzinga vs. Brad Wingfield, December 03, 2005 - Kalamazoo Wings vs. Danbury Trashers . The trade rumors negatively impacted Torres on the field. Id look for the guys with the best entertainment rating.. Craig is aUSA Hockey Certified Level 4 coach; his background includes being a former Head Hockey Instructor for Maximum Development Hockey based out of Windsor, Ontario Canada, coaching numerous Southeast Elite AAA select teams and coaching within the Junior Everblades organization for over 15 years, winning multiple state championships. But a small city, full of drifters and vacant lots, faded Victorian houses lining its weed-buckled streets, is ruinously sad. He currently resides in Southwest Florida with his wife, Wendy, and their two children. Still, as one might expect from a teenage GM, the roster was dense with goons. See latest post and follow all instructions. . AL hasattended many coaching seminars and clinics around North America. Mathieuhas had a lengthy professional career that spanned over a 14 year period. After snapping a few, Brenda invited Vogels friends to take some shots on her. All told, he played just five games for them. As he explained, No matter what type of day you had when you go out on the ice for an hour, hour and a half or two hours you forget everything that happened that day and you focus on that black little puck. He ended up reaching over the bench and grabbing the Adirondack coach, trying to pull him over the boards. The result was a kind of frontier justice. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. "But you got to stir it up sometimes.". Maybe because Im Italian and in the garbage business.. But for the Trashers, there was a third game, although neither Jimmy nor AJ knew about it. Hed been named with several others, including Trashers Coach J. Todd Stirling, who pleaded guilty to taking part in the salary-cap fraud. "I said, 'Sure,' which, to my dad, was like signing a contract. Whether people deny it or not, everyone loves a hockey fight.. Galante named his team for the family business: the Trashers. Player after player came by the house to show support. Jimmy and A.J. We play a team like the Frostbite, a team with maybe two goons. One team employee had the inspired idea of buying fresh fish and placing it in the HVAC ducts above the visiting locker room. Josh Elzinga player profile, stats and championships. The Danbury Whalers of the Federal Hockey League now play downtown, and it's fair to wonder whether they would be there were it not for the hockey culture Jimmy Galante started and the arena he built. The 200405 UHL season coincided with the NHL lockout. None of this fazes the 47-year-old Brenda. 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. ", THESE BONDS were cemented by a brand of violence the Trashers purveyed without apology. A legion of small business owners still talk about how, on Trashers game nights, downtown blazed to life. The Danbury Trashers earned respect with their fists as often as their sticks. The Trashers would sell out the arena regularly as fans of various ethnicities, ages and collars converged to cheer them on. On Dec. 3, 2005, Kalamazoo visited Danbury. The United States government came in and seized my assets, and one of the assets was the team, Galante told me. When Danbury became the home of the Eastern Professional Leagues Mad Hatters in 2008, the St. Clairs quickly welcomed them. The Washington Capitals have signed defenseman Nick Jensen to a three-year contract extension worth an average annual value of $4.05 million. Let's just say hindsight is 20/20. I will. What followed was a process of trial and error, with the couple purchasing equipment and constantly refining it to fit Brendas needs. Al grew up and was raised in small-town Manitoba and played all levels of minor and senior hockey. Then Jimmy went about being the Jerry Jones of the UHL. Watch Unreal Save by TJ Semptimphelter. When the signal comes, they pull on a fresh shirt, put on the gear, head out. Team Information. As Wingfield skated away, Elzinga grabbed the back of his opponents jersey and pulled him over his outstretched leg, breaking Wingfields left tibia, fibula and ankle. It was one of those things where wed say, Hit this guy. But no one could catch him. (Galante denies having had this conversation.) SON TY WAS DRAFTED AND SIGNED BY THE TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS IN 2021. But his fights are what people remember. After a life-threatening hockey injury suffered at 18 years of age with a prognosis that he may never be able to play the game again, his passion for hockey and his desire to succeed expectations fueled his rehabilitation and lead him to become an all-rounded athlete who has garnered respect from coaches and players on all levels. Between periods, players take off their jersey and pads. At a press conference on April 1, Galante also introduced the team's 17-year-old president, who had just bought a suit for the occasion. His job was to be the Kevin Costner to Brent Gretzkys Whitney Houston. Additionally, Charlie is the Head of Academics for TPH, Estero. After the game Wingfield told a local reporter, "It felt great to get back at Elzinga but I would have liked to have seen him leaving the ice on a stretcher or in a body bag.". Wagner was apologetic, and A.J. Brenda got tattoos of the names of her favorite players. Soon, a 3-on-3 scrimmage was underway with Brenda, for the first time in her life, facing shots in a real game. In 1980, after the Houston Oilers barely missed a trip to the Super Bowl, Coach Bum Phillips gave their fans a famous pep talk. Learn more about them from these League History pages. One night, he got into a shouting match with a stranger who turned out to be the visiting teams general managerthe result being a call to AJ from Richard Brosal, the UHL commissioner, followed by a short suspension. Investigators alleged that by paying a quarterly $30,000 "mob tax" to Matthew (Matty the Horse) Ianniellothen the highest-ranking member of New York City's Genovese crime familyGalante's companies had muscled out potential competitors and charged counties and businesses inflated carting rates. Eventually, Donny Grover, a former Trashers defenseman, noticed Brenda in the stands and invited her onto the ice. Then Sen. Joseph Lieberman hailed Galante as a "shining example" in the community. Not that they just rubber-stamped Galante's application. Depending on whom you ask, Jimmy Galante was either one of its mobsters or a legit businessman whose waste-removal company had become associated with the Mafia. VS. 1st Period - 7:13 . Danbury, Connecticut, is the ultimate small city. After a life-threatening hockey injury suffered at 18 years of age with a prognosis that he may never be able to play the game again, his passion for hockey and his desire to succeed expectations fueled his rehabilitation and lead him to become an all-rounded athlete who has . We were paid, and everything was first class. At a home game in Danbury, he beat up three Adirondack forwards, AJ said. "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." Galante was a philanthropist; a pediatric suite in the emergency department of Danbury Hospital was named for his family. A violent, brutal melee from start to finish. Torres said he lost confidence at . As AJ explained it to me: It happened at dinner. He got suspended., As James Harper, a veteran minor-league linesman, was talking with the scorekeeper, he got into it with Jimmy Galante, whod come down from the owners box. 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. Questioned about the no-show jobs, former players laughed and changed the subject. Some of the UHL's East Coast teams were either moving to other leagues or folding. As evidence that Galante was prone to violence, the prosecution played footage of him purportedly striking the official during the infamous Kalamazoo game. And that wasn't all. 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. F--- you. A.J. The Minnesota Wild have acquired forward Gustav Nyquist from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2023 NHL draft. recalls, "even the commissioner was like, 'I would advise against that. BY JANUARY 2005 the Trashers were so riddled with suspensions that they had to suit up an assistant coach, Bobby Stearns, who suddenly became a 36-year-old pro hockey rookie. 2013-current Head Coach of the 2005 AAA Florida Alliance/Southeast Elite Program, 11 years in professional hockey in the AHL, ECHL, and Europe, More information about Marc can be found at, Over 13 years as a Professional Triathlete with 35 overall victories, Oldest Pro to ever compete in Pro World Championship 2006, Junior Hockey- Ohio Juniors Collegiate Hockey Ohio University, Private lessons and Camps Specializing in European Power skating. You in? I sit in Section 102 and let the other parents have it. I first heard it from a father on the sidelines of a Little League game soon after I moved in. ", "WE LOVED THOSE FANS," SAYS OMICIOLI. Josh Elzinga Defense Born Sep 3 1984 -- Burbank, IL [38 yrs. Many Trashers playersnow scattered in office complexes and neighborhood rinks across North Americaspeak of this as the greatest night of their hockey life. First of all, if you look at the bus, it was pretty sick, Mario Larocque told me. The issue was a letter he wanted Harper to send the commissioner, absolving Galante: Tell him that it is fucking imperative that we get that letter that Harpers gonna write to Brosal. Galante added what the referee should say in the letter: After coolin off and thinking about it for a few days I was just as much at fault. 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