Now playing in his 34th season, Ray has never met a “one-timer” he didn’t like. His favorite position is camping out in the off-wing waiting for some of the greats of the game to feed him… and if they don’t, they’ll be sure to hear about it all the way to the bench.
Still a feared opponent, Ray is not afraid to mix it up and get physical (when needed) in front of the net… and/or digging a ball out of the corner. Every so often you see Ray’s limited back-checking skills shine, which typically includes some type of sliding play. When this actually happens, Hockeytown sends Ray a “Thank You” card for the free dek mopping courtesy of #8.
With (6) Championship jackets, he was part of the third team to go back-to-back in a Winter-Spring Over-30 season. He accomplished this feat with the ’09-’10 team, Lords Of The Rink.
Often feeling like the Rodney Dangerfield of the Over-30 League, Ray will tell you he gets no respect when it comes to the scoring sheets. His trademark “Billy, you Fu@&ed me out of points again” can be heard long before you see Ray entering the rink.
For opposing teams playing against Ray, they often try and cover the real talent on his line (ie. Matty and Joe), but left alone to wander around the left side face-off circle… Ray will bury those one-timers with semi-accuracy. So don’t be fooled by some little roaming old dude, who looks like he’s lost… It’s just Ray playing possum and letting everyone on his line know how open he was.
With aging speed, solid passing skills, and a quick one-timer… Ray is still on of the leagues best!
Rumors & Facts;
- He often pays off the referees and timer for points, (rumored at $20 a game).
- He acquires points while sitting on the bench (or at home on a bye week).
- When substituting for another team, he tries to get his points to count towards his overall career stats.
- Missed (2) seasons because he thought Joe Shannon was also going to miss those same seasons.., except Joe closed the gap and posted 33 points in his absence.
- He is scared about Joe Shannon passing him in the standings (or fact?).
- Is worried that his bread & butter supplier (Matty Iannello) will be moved to another team.
- Every season will threaten the league director with middle of the night visits from some "good family men" if he even considers separating him and Joe Shannon onto different teams.
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