A.J. A legion of small business owners still talk about how, on Trashers game nights, downtown blazed to life. THE SOUND TRACK of the Starrett City Boxing Club in Brooklyn is on full blast: the thrumming of the speed bag, the grunts of a fighter absorbing shots, the whistle every three minutes to denote the end of a round. felt that the Trashers needed a goal scorer. IT WAS A SPECIAL EXPERIENCE.". persisted. And fans werent the only ones who found the Trashers; players did too. No slow dissipation for the Trashers, no aging and decline. Thats where he told me his story, amid the light and heavy bags, in the regulation ring. This year we beat on the door. "It was definitely a unique group of individualsas well as management!" Soon Jimmy was renting buses to take fans to big road games. Danburys equipment manager would soak the Trashers jerseys in Crisco before they played the Frostbite so the opposing goons couldnt get a firm grip. Jimmy Galante purchased an expansion franchise in the United Hockey League, the equivalent of Double A baseball. In professional sports, there are usually two games taking place. "We're probably not going to want to participate," he said haltingly. "Frank would have been a hell of a Danbury Trasher," A.J. As he headed to baggage claim at the small suburban airport, something didn't look right. Josh Elzinga NOT the Josh who broke Brad Wingfield's leg . There was only one problem: it wasnt protecting her sides, leaving her exposed, and often, black and blue. "We loved those fansI mean loved," says Omicioli. Two months into the season, the games turned nasty. The rivalry between the teams developed fast. I suspended him. We knew the reality: It was hockey, but it was also entertainment. John has two sons who also like to play hockey. wasn't the only reason Galante drew comparisons with Tony Soprano. He named it Champs Boxing Club & Fitness. Gilles is a Level 4 Hockey Coach with USA Hockey. I remember being elated, guys tumbling over the boards like wed won the Stanley Cup. The Trashers went on to win that series, but lost the next. The UHL comprised 14 teams, including the Quad City Mallards, the Elmira Jackals, the Flint Generals, the Fort Wayne Komets, the Kalamazoo Wings, and the Adirondack Frostbite. A.J. Residents greeted the new hockey team with considerable excitement. When Danbury became the home of the Eastern Professional Leagues Mad Hatters in 2008, the St. Clairs quickly welcomed them. Like Danbury, once the producer of many of the world's hats. He offered Roanoke not just a pair of current Trashers but also other players in the UHL supplemental draft that summer. We're here to win.". But by 1 a.m., the Trashers were out of fresh shirts. I remember asking, Why does he have the full mask? Someone told me, Hes only got one eye. Hed lost vision in the othera stick through the visor. Galante passed him a note that asked, Do you want me to have someone pay him a visit? Josh Patterson (F) 2000-2003: 3: Peterborough Petes: Lukas Krajicek (D) 2000-2003: 3: Peterborough Petes: Jon Howse (F) 2000-2003: 3: Peterborough Petes: Not Activated Sections Endorsements It will have desperate people, lost causes, and crime. Gretzky, at 32, was in the descent portion of his career. AJ knew the sort of team he wanted: skill plus muscle, skaters plus goons. about getting back into sports. Josh Elzinga vs. Brad Wingfield, December 03, 2005 - Kalamazoo Wings vs. Danbury Trashers . The Washington Capitals have signed defenseman Nick Jensen to a three-year contract extension worth an average annual value of $4.05 million. Maybe because Im Italian and in the garbage business.. Sign up for EP Premium and verify your profile to access these benefits. She was loving it, said Vogel. For himself he built a skybox equipped with a kitchenette. He was just back from that broken leg when the Wings came to Danbury. You did right by him and were loyal, and he would do anything for you. 355 following. did his homework," says former Trashers center Drew Omicioli, "putting in research and hard work to build the team.". 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. ", THE RAIDERS' AL DAVIS WAS "A WILD MAN WITH A TEAM FULL OF OUTLAWS," SAYS A.J., "AND THAT'S HOW I WANTED TO BE. (Colella denies this.) 's account.). After signing Gretzky, he went for Jim Duhart, the Crash Davis of minor-league hockey. The team was largely the same, with a few additions, including yet another minor-league-hockey legend, David Beauregard. Facebook gives people the power to. They were both in waste management, and both possessed an undeniable charm that compensated for their rough edges. In his 56 games with the Trashers, Wingfield piled up 496 penalty minutes. The league set an annual salary cap of $275,000, with a $2 luxury tax for every dollar spent above the threshold. One day in November, an employee at the Ice Arena was proud to show the building until he was told his visitor was interested in writing an article on the Trashers. what happened to josh elzinga hockey. Same for Mike Rupp. "He made fans feel like they were an integral part of the team. Her style may be unorthodox, but she fits right in between the pipes. was a senior at New Fairfield (Conn.) High, he was at a family pasta dinner when his father, Jamesknown to all as Jimmycasually asked, "How would you like to run a pro hockey team? - Premium Design on your profile page (optional) For this he was banned for life from the UHL. We play a team like the Frostbite, a team with maybe two goons. As the case proceeded, there was plenty of collateral damage. The story of Galantes team has become legend in Fairfield County, where I live. A.J. View the profiles of people named Josh Elzinga. NHL hockey fights, brawls, scrums, roughs, hits,. Wins came in bunches. It was four years to the day from the Trashers' first game. As AJ explained it to me: It happened at dinner. Needless to say it was gobbled right up.The documentary has taken the hockey and sports worlds by storm. (The video was inconclusive.) recalls, "even the commissioner was like, 'I would advise against that. Someone had said Galante, with a near-monopoly on regional garbage collection, was driving out competitors. A view of the scene Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, as the cleanup continues at the site of a Norfolk Southern freight train derailment that happened on Feb. 3, in East Palestine, Ohio. AJ considered it unfair to fans if a game had fewer than three fights. Through hockey, Brenda has served as an inspiration for others, from children learning the sport to those like 25-year-old Eric Vogel, a fellow goalie drafted by the expansion Southwestern Pennsylvania Magic of the Federal League in June. [The attitude was,] You're supposed to be courteous in minor league hockey? When asked whether they knew anything about the other side of Galantes life, most said something along the lines of Not exactly, but we did know we were well taken care of. General Manager of the Augusta RiverHawks of the SPHL (2009), General Manager of the Jacksonville Barracudas of the SPHL (2004-2009), Played in 5 leagues over the course of his professional career, Played in the Sunshine Hockey League; Southern Hockey League; ECHL; Atlantic Coast Hockey League; and the World Hockey Association 2, St. Thomas University Graduate (Fredericton, NB, Canada) on an Athletic Scholarship. Ndur charged the Kalamazoo bench and tried to kick a linesman. In a nod to waste management he named his team the Trashers; the logo was a garbage can armed with a hockey stick, the Zamboni resembled a trash truck and the mascot was called Scrappy. She forgets about being in the chair, Greg added. A case involving a minor-league hockey team also nailed Matty the Horse. "You don't get involved in verbal altercations," Brosal admonished the ref. What happened Josh Elzinga? By the second round, they had nothing left. The judge let Galante remain out of prison pending trial but put him under house arrest. Catalyzed by their new scorer, the Trashers cruised through the regular season, finishing 48--17. If Micahs short careerhes currently 10 years oldwere, God forbid, to come to a sudden end, Id gladly enlist a mobster to buy him a team so he could still have a future in hockey. "You can't have him," Roanoke Valley's GM responded. pursues his new sports passion, boxing management. Winger Frank (the Animal) Bialowas, a former runner-up for Mr. Manitoba, was not much for impulse control either. But for many, the highlight had come earlier in the season, when Wingnut got his revenge. First of all, he was a really good player, AJ explained, and second, the name recognition.. Nothing.. The Danbury arena, meanwhile, has returned to its old existence as a youth rink. Brian was born and raised in Detroit Michigan. A.J. One year ago we knocked on the door, he said. ", In their box above center ice the Galantes heckled refs and sometimes pelted opposing players with Skittles. Before a big game a team employee might check into the visitors' hotel and pull the fire alarm. Hockey Fights is an entertainment site with no direct affiliation to the National Hockey League, its teams, or NHLPA. The first was the famed Quebec League (officially the Ligue Nord-Amricaine de Hockey), which can be thought of as an aquarium stocked with fighting fish: young goons and old goons, bald goons and goons with mullets. Born Jul 23 1982 -- Burbank, IL. It was a violent league made of players on the way up, players on the way down, and some players simply holding on, happy to live in the limbo of the minor leagues. Questioned about the no-show jobs, former players laughed and changed the subject. 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. That matchup was marred by a brawl that kicked off when Trashers left winger Brad Wingfield attempted to fight Kalamazoo's Josh Elzinga, who declined the invitation. This summer, she took multiple trips to the ER for what she believes is a pinched nerve in her neck. Torres said he lost confidence at . 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. On Dec. 3, 2005, Kalamazoo visited Danbury. Jimmy owned a stock car racing team and had long talked about becoming a sports magnate. After a few minutes of glaring at them in lacerating silence, Galante dumped the contents of the basket. One was Rumun Ndur, a Nigeria-born Canadian who was known for his aggression. Now it's probably best known for its massive federal prison, which housed Lauryn Hill and has been featured in Orange Is the New Black. says, shifting uneasily in his seat. DeLuca pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of threatening. In the Trashers-Frostbite game, however, he inflicted no real damage even though he spent three periods looking for a fight, ran up 43 penalty minutes and even made a run at the Adirondack goalie. Since birth Brenda has suffered from spina bifida, an abnormality that causes an opening in the spinal column. "Then everyone would ask for the check so they could be there for face-off. John also has coached with the Florida Jr. Panthers and Florida Panthers Hockey Schools for many years. "Especially for a guy with one eye. One team employee had the inspired idea of buying fresh fish and placing it in the HVAC ducts above the visiting locker room. Jimmy and A.J. They loved playing for Jimmy, because he took care of them. With the NHL idled by a lockout that would scuttle the 2004--05 season in mid-February, the UHL became a haven for restless NHL players wanting to play to stay in shape. I first heard it from a father on the sidelines of a Little League game soon after I moved in. There was no other number. But his passion for sports never faded. Because adult-sized chest protectors were too big for her, she initially wore one meant for children. At a home game in Danbury, he beat up three Adirondack forwards, AJ said. And the fans, from section 102 and beyond, still miss their team. They had scorers and skaters and playmakers and defensive stalwarts. Josh Elzinga vs. Mark Versteeg-Lytwyn, November 24, 2006 - Port Huron Flags vs. Kalamazoo Wings. The New York Yankees have the Boston Red Sox; the Chicago Bears, the Green Bay Packers. The United Hockey League's $300,000 franchising fee for a new team? Adam Elzinga. A big city has its strivers and fine food and bright lights. We only use official stats. But he would become something of a hockey Crash Davis: He would play through 2013, retiring at 37. After he was released on $1 million bond, he was asked whether he had any comment. Established 1996 -- Celebrating Our 25th Year . said. THEY WERE EVEN WELCOME TO STAY IN THE GALANTES' GARGANTUAN HOME. 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. Asked by email whether there could be a sequel, a Danbury Trashers II, Galante responds, "Anything is possible! "Right from day one, they've said they wanted to be the bad boys of hockey, the most hated team, the Evil Empire," Marc Potvin, coach of the Adirondack Frostbite, one of the Trashers' rivals, disapprovingly told the Toronto Star in February 2005. The United States government came in and seized my assets, and one of the assets was the team, Galante told me. First of all, if you look at the bus, it was pretty sick, Mario Larocque told me. It started becoming urban legend.. Playing against the Trashers was "a s--- show," said Chris Chaput, who was a center for the Elmira Jackals in 2005--06. 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