Consider them geezers, old-timers or wily veterans - it doesn't matter. The Bald Eagles have heard all the monikers while representing Squamish over the last 12 years.The players in their 40s and 50s continue to cycle the puck around Canada and are heading to Quebec City to join about 170 teams from around the world at the Canadian Adult Recreational Hockey Association (CARHA) World Cup starting Sunday (March 30). The Eagles join 95 teams from around Canada and over 70 more from Finland, France, Hungary, Latvia, Norway, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States."I think it's really the competition of it and the novelty of it that makes it fun," said 50-year-old defenceman Lino Vanzella. "You don't have a chance to do that very often in your life and it's kind of nice to be able to classify it as our golden years in hockey and still enjoy hockey enough that we're willing to commit to going all the way to Quebec City just for a hockey tournament. It brings us back to our youth."The Eagles have a solid history at the competition that runs every four years in a different Canadian city. In 2000, the Eagles won the tournament in Vancouver and in 2004 they lost to an exceptional Russian team in the semi-finals.Now that another four years have past, the Eagles are entered in the 40-plus category although most of the team fits in the 45-plus category, said Vanzella."We always have to take into account the babies on the team."They're in a division with two other Canadian teams, two Finnish teams and a Swedish squad. Although the Eagles haven't been playing body contact for years, they still notice a difference in the European style of play, which focuses on fast puck movement and quick skating, said centre forward Rhe Lacoursiere."[The Europeans] grew up and learned to play hockey a little different than us," he said."We've been out of hockey so long without the contact it doesn't really matter but you can still play an aggressive style even though obviously you can't hit them."Every team is guaranteed three games with the possibility of advancing to the semi-final and final games. The schedule is spread out enough that the Eagles get the chance to socialize with their significant others, teammates and competition without getting burned out. That's unlike the annual Victoria Pacific tournament where the guys battle through four games in about 48 hours, said Vanzella. "That's when you really start feeling it and the aches and pains are there and you're stiff and you just kind of wonder whether you're going to make it through the last game," he said with a laugh.
