Ice Time: A Tale of Fathers, Sons, and Hometown Heroes

by Jay Atkinson

Book Overview

As kids, we all had passions -- something we loved doing, experienced with our friends, dreamed about every spare moment. For Jay Atkinson, who grew up in a small Massachusetts town, it was hockey. When Bobby Orr scored the winning goal in the 1970 Stanley Cup Finals against the St. Louis Blues, Atkinson became a fan for life. In 1975, he played on the first Methuen Rangers varsity hockey team. Once and always a rink rat, Atkinson still plays hockey whenever and wherever he can. Twenty-five years after he played for the Rangers, Atkinson returns to his high school team as a volunteer assistant. Ice Time tells the team's story as he follows the temperamental star, the fiery but troubled winger, the lovesick goalie, the rookie whose father is battling cancer, and the "old school" coach as the Rangers make a desperate charge into the state tournament. In emotionally vivid detail, Ice Time travels into the rinks, schools, and living rooms of small-town America, where friendships are forged, the rewards of loyalty and perseverance are earned, and boys and girls are transformed into young men and women. Along the way, we also meet his five-year-old son, Liam, who is just now learning the game his father loves. Whether describing kids playing a moonlit game on a frozen swamp or the crucible of team tryouts and predawn bus rides that he endured himself, Atkinson carves out the drama of adolescence with precision and affection. He takes us onto the ice and into the heart of a town and a team as he explores the profound connection between fathers and sons, and what it means to go home again.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0609607065
• ISBN13: 9780609607060
• Release Date: September 2001
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Recaptured

I played hockey for 14 years in Amesbury. Infact, I was the captain of the Amesbury squad that defeats Methuen on page 214. I was a teammate of Chris Cagliuso (Methuen's star) and Jason Trovato on the Valley Junior Warriors from 1990 to 1993 (ages 9 to 11). I could not resist purchasing and reading a book "so close to home." Now in college, I have been detached from the rink since 2000. However, my spirit and the splendor of being at the rink has been recaptured because of this book. The moments that seem insignificant during a high school hockey season are acknowledged by Atkinson - moments that, in reality, are so important, and experiences that I can relate to...the atmosphere of the locker room for example.Participating in a high school sports season is a wonderful experience - one that I enjoyed as a player, and now enjoy as a fan, a reporter, and a coach. Atkinson captures the essence of a high school season, particularly a hockey season. I appreciate his work, and thank him for rekindling so many feelings of my past on the ice and at the rink through his account of the Methuen players.By the way, that Ryan Fontaine delivered a cheap shot on me when I was a junior.Also, my father is the "paunchy fellow" Atkinson describes on page 213. My father, a colonel, did not appreciate the description. However, he appreciates the book.The book touches several topics: athletics, high school life, adolescence, the value of family, youth, reflection, recapturing memories, etc.I highly recommend it.

An Eyebrow Raiser

You don't have to be from Methuen (I am) to appreciate this well-crafted tale of hockey, parenting, and small town values. This is a great read created by a very talented writer - I felt like I was in the hands of the Bobby Orr of prose. The book's dialog and telling anecdotes about the people involved are sure to raise a few eyebrows - but we could use a little eyebrow raising around here.

SKATING AWAY

I'm not even really a hockey fan but I am a big sports fan and this book resonated on a lot of levels for me. First of all, Atkinson's descriptions are amazing--he got me involved on the first page and I just kept wanting more. Also, his depiction of what it's like to be on a team was dead on. I didn't expect the book's emotional conclusion but that made it all the more powerful for me. The bottom line is that if you like good writing, you'll like ICE TIME.

Sports and Everlasting Youth

The author does a good job of conveying the emotions of an athlete growing old but not ready to hang it up just yet. I am sure that anyone who ever participated in high school sports will be able to identify with this book and the travails of the Methuen Rangers. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for fond memories and lifted spirits.

Perfect Ice Conditions

"The most ephemeral and intriguing aspect of hockey is its spontaneity; each rush down the ice blossoms into something different, a new constellation of passes and positioning that happens only once and then melts away, like a snowflake," writes Atkinson in this moving, hilarious and lovingly detailed story of a year in the working life of the Methuen (Massachusetts) High School hockey team. A gifted observer with an eye for character (as in, "Now, there's a character!"), he captures the players, coaches, school officals and parents around the team in living color and salty dialogue. In addition to that, he weaves in memories of his own time as a goalie for the same team 25 years earlier along with his hopes and dreams for his 5-year-old son Liam, whom he is just getting on the ice to participate in league hockey. The mix of spirited reporting and personal memoir, with its evident (but not sappy) love of the sport and everyone involved, is irresistible. For hockey fans, this is a must read. For those who love memoirs, this vivid chronicle of a place many have never been and may know nothing about is a beauty.