Grizzled Vets
Now it’s time to introduce some of the godfathers of Sauce Hockey, Derek Peltier and Brett Beckfeld. These two are just a couple of hockey guys out there “livin the dream” and doing their thing just like the rest of us are and wish to some day do.
Both have a passion for the game and have been through some of hockey’s infamous highs and lows to keep their dreams alive and give this great game all they can with the time they have. Peltier and Beckfeld both grew up together on the ponds of Plymouth, Minnesota where they became best friends from a young age. They shared the ice together and made opponents “pull the chute” while playing high school together at Armstrong in Plymouth and continued that trend together when they both put on sweaters for the Cedar Rapids Rough Riders in the prestigious USHL. Before moving on to the college and now the professional ranks.
Beckfeld is one of the founders and owners of Sauce Hockey. He’s a slick dangling center with a “do whatever it takes” attitude who isn’t afraid to get his nose dirty or drop the mitts if needed. This guy would go toe to toe with freakin Boogarrd if it was what the team needed, and he’d wake up in the hospital still talking trash. Then the next time he hits the ice he might dangle through your whole team and put a snipe bar down for a Gee Dub. That’s just the kind of player and guy he is. After his almost half a decade with Cedar Rapids, Beckfeld committed to D III powerhouse University of Wisconsin Stevens Point where he captained the squad his junior and senior seasons. After a point packed career at Point he signed a contract this past summer with Stjernen in the Norwegian Elite League. He resides in Plymouth in the offseason where he trains and skates and puts in a lot of time with the local high school summer training programs. He’s worked long and hard to get where he is and is definitely a guy you want on your bench when the team needs a goal or the game gets ugly. Either way Becks is going to show up.
Peltier is an offensive defenseman with unreal hands and smoother skating boots than a Brazilian wax job. Don’t let the skills fool you though; he’ll smile at you in the box after he buries his fist down that back of your throat, then quarterback the PP like Tom Brady in the Super Bowl. After an All Star two years in Cedar Rapids and some of the most unreal flow junior hockey has ever seen, the Avs drafted him in the fifth round of the NHL entry draft. He laced up the skates for four years with the legendary Minnesota Golden Gophers where he wore the “C” his senior season. Once Peltier graduated from the U, he signed with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. After leading the team’s D in points while with Lake Erie in the AHL he was finally called up to the show on St. Patty’s day to play against his hometown Minnesota Wild. Talk about the perfect situation, I don’t think he could have wrote a better story then making his debut in his hometown in front of a sea of friends and family that rushed to the game when they got the news. He went on to finish the year with the Avs and is back in Lake Erie for the start of this season, but don’t be surprised next time you update your NHL 10 rosters on XBOX and you see Peltier on the Avs roster again. He resides in Champlin Park, Minnesota during the offseason to train and go on week long fishing trips.
Both of these men have worked their bags off to get where they are and are showing no signs of slowing down. They have a passion for the game and for Sauce Hockey. Bringing top of the line products to hockey players all over the world, but still having that old school hockey attitude is a at the top of the priority list.
ALL AZ KID
Dave Spina could be one of the best role models a kid could ask for, unless he is trying to pick up a girl after 8 PM. Spina grew up throwing the biscuit around in the burbs of Phoenix, AZ. This is where it all started for Mr. Underdog himself.
Spina, simply energetic and peach fuzzed, moved to Texas at the age of 16 to play for the Texas Tornadoes in the NAHL. Dave started out as a book mark on the bench, separating the forwards and D and playing minimal fourth line minutes. Through hard work Spina made his way to the first line by the end of the year. After his rookie season, where carrying the stick bag and picking up pucks were common place, Spina moved on to wear the crest of our nation with the US National Development Team. Once again, the kid from AZ was simply a glorified cheerleader to start the season. Sure enough, hard work, confidence and the right attitude got him twelve full ride offers by the end of the season. When it was all said and done Boston College was the right place for this soft spoken, dangle struck kid.
After four years of being top three in scoring for the Eagles, Spina inked a pro deal and is now currently under contract with his home town team, the Phoenix Coyotes. Cross that off the to-do list. Talk about living the dream, Dave’s living it!
Dave’s the type of player that the meat wagons on opposing teams chase around the ice with their gloves dangling by their mitten clips, but never catch up to him as he flies by them and walks the tendy for a momentum changing g-no. Dave’s first pro fight left much to be desired, after exchanging a few blows and then falling to the ice, the refs yawned and gave him 4 for roughing. Dave couldn’t punch his way out of a paper bag.
Whether he is hanging out in the locker room, throwing iron around in the weight room showing up guys twice his size, or having an occasional adult beverage, he is that guy that everyone wants to be around. Spina has more stories than Walt Disney himself.
Spina, a skilled player, has more speed than Michael Phelps in the Olympic 200 meter butterfly. He has softer hands than baby S@%T, which helped him lead the San Antonio Rampage in points last season, playing 20 games fewer than the rest of the team. Dave’s tasted NHL preseason, but has yet to crack a regular season game, but it’s only a matter of time.
In the off-season, Dave spends most of his time back hand toe dragging youth players in the Phoenix area. Dave gets it, and it shows by the amount he gives back to this great game. His hard work and endless determination parallel the SAUCE HOCKEY brand. Dave gives Sauce that certain swagger that makes us the brand that players live by.
