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This “Lab” is All About Chemistry

12/08/2016, 12:30pm MST
By Greg Bates - Special to USAHockey.com

Options Lab adult league team mixes camaraderie and competition

Clyde Weycker and Dan Hoff have been playing on the same adult hockey team for the past 16 years.

Every season that they log on the ice might be their last together. But as long as one of them is still going to play, the other guy isn’t too far behind.

“Dan and I are both in our 50s and I know I look at him and he looks at me, and I’m like, ‘I’m not quitting if you’re not quitting,’” said Weycker, who is 50. “A lot of that peer pressure from one another to keep going. It’s a fun group of guys and I think that’s why we enjoy being together. Obviously at my age we like to compete, but at the same time it’s more of a social thing than it is anything else.”

The guys play for Options Lab — formerly Hoff Law Offices — in the adult league in the Appleton (Wisconsin) Family Ice Center.

“It’s hard for me to quit, because we have such good locker room chemistry,” said the 53-year-old Hoff, whose playing career has endured two back surgeries and one knee surgery. “It doesn’t matter that our youngest guy is around 30, and it used to be in the 20s. ... On our bench, when we’re in a tight game like we were last weekend, those of us that are that good don’t crab about it. With about five minutes left, I pull myself and let the younger guys finish it up. If we’ve got a shot at winning, [great,] but if we don’t win, we still have beer.”

Weycker and Hoff, who own a bar together in Appleton, have come a long way on the ice over the years. Both men didn’t pick up hockey until they were in their 30s when their sons were playing.

“When we started, our major accomplishment was if we got over the boards and we’re still upright when we get to the ice that was good, to the point now that if 16 years ago I would see the speed of the game and the competition, I would look at a different option than B [League],” Weycker said. “I might have to start at coed or something just to get my bearings. The speed of the game is a lot better than it’s ever been.”

Weycker moved from an adult team in the league in 2000 and Hoff the following year. A few years later, a group of about eight guys joined Options Lab and have remained on the team ever since. That core group of players is the glue that holds the team together.

“It’s all about chemistry for us,” Hoff said. “We’ve only had a few people that just didn’t fit in with the locker room very well. The best way to put it is a band of brothers. And we look forward on Sundays to make sure we’re there. Not only on the ice, but jabbering before the game, jabbering afterwards having a beer.”

Playing on the same team has definitely proved advantageous for the guys on Options Lab. Great team chemistry on and off the ice is evident.

“You know the tendencies of where they’re going to be in certain situations,” Weycker said. “I won’t say you’re throwing blind passes, but you have an idea of an area where a guy is going to be just because you’ve played together so long.”

Options Lab gets very little turnover year in and year out, but a few fresh faces mix up the lineup a little.

“It’s good to get new blood in there,” Weycker said. “Obviously, that core base of eight guys has always been consistent and that’s always good. It’s good to get some new guys in there and change the atmosphere a little bit, get a different perspective.”

Options Lab has enjoyed some success over the years playing in the B League. The team has captured five regular-season titles and two postseason championships. But it’s never been all about just winning. The guys like to have fun, first and foremost.

“I’m an old college football player, so I’m as competitive as anybody — I don’t like to lose,” Weycker said. “If it’s a tight one-goal or tied hockey game, everybody’s going for broke.”

The Options Lab teammates enjoy hanging out away from the rink. It’s become a tradition that every Sunday night when they play in the 5 p.m. time slot, the guys have steak night. They’ll head to the Appleton Street Sports Bar & Grill, which is owned by Weycker and Hoff. The guys also hold a Christmas party and year-end gathering.

“As time goes on you feel like you’re part of a family and it’s your brothers,” Weycker said. “It’s just a good stress reliever at the end of the week and going into the next week that you get to be with your friends and get to enjoy some camaraderie for a couple hours. Just sit back and laugh at some of the funny things that happen during a game.”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.

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