Unbelievable. Where is an asteroid strike when you need one.....


MIDDLETON – A junior hockey program has filed a lawsuit against the Essex Sports Center alleging that the rink took away its ice time at the last minute, a move that could force the program to cancel games and practices for the upcoming season.

The Middlesex Islanders, who have 65 teams and 1,100 players, said the sports center hired the head of competing hockey program to schedule ice time at the facility. That person then took away the Islanders' ice time and gave it to his own program, according to the lawsuit filed in Salem Superior Court this week.

The Islanders have been unable to find ice time at other facilities in the area on such short notice and might have to cancel games and practices that it promised to players age 14 and younger, causing a "loss of confidence" and "reputational harm" to their program, the lawsuit said.

The suit asks the court to reinstate the Islanders' ice time and for the Essex Sports Center and Christopher Nagy, the scheduler, to pay damages for breach of contract.

The Essex Sports Center is a privately run business but has been the subject of scrutiny because its facility, which opened in 2016, was built on state-owned land next to Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School and pays the school district $110,000 per year in rent.

Local legislators sought an audit of the sports center's operations last year after reports that the business was delinquent on its property taxes to the town of Middleton, and had been sued by contractors who said they hadn't been paid and by an investor alleging fraud. The state auditor's office declined to perform the audit, saying the business had caught up on its taxes and that the lawsuits were "private matters" not subject to state review.

State Sens. Bruce Tarr of Gloucester and Joan Lovely of Salem then filed a bill that would require the inspector general to perform an audit "to protect the interest of taxpayers," but the bill did not advance.

In its lawsuit, the Middlesex Islanders said they signed a contract with Essex Sports Center in 2017 for exclusive rights to use the ice rink during certain hours on certain days for the fall and winter hockey seasons. The contract also gave the Islanders, who are based in Concord, the right to renew the same time slots for the next two seasons, provided the program gave proper notice, the lawsuit said.

The two sides maintained a "strong working relationship" until April of this year, when Essex Sports Center hired Nagy to schedule ice time at the arena. Nagy owns or manages the North Suburban Wings hockey program, which competes with the Islanders for players and ice time, according to the lawsuit.

The Islanders were concerned that Nagy's hiring would put their ice time at risk, but they received assurances from Essex Sports Center officials that they would get the same time slots, the lawsuit said. But in July, Nagy sent the Islanders a reduced schedule that did not allow for back-to-back games and included early-morning and late-night ice times that are unsuitable for players 14 and younger, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit said Nagy prioritized the scheduling of his own teams' practices and games at the rink and took away ice slots that the Islanders had been using. It accused Nagy of intentionally delaying the release of the schedule until late July so the Islanders would be forced to either accept an insufficient schedule or decline it, which would allow Nagy's program to take all of their ice time.

"Nagy and Essex (Sports Center) did so to intentionally harm (the Islanders) or with disregard for the harm (the Islanders), its teams, and youth players will suffer as a result," the lawsuit said.

Messages left with Nagy, Middlesex Islanders president Richard Gallant, and Essex Sports Center owner James Stubblebine were not returned by Friday.

The Empire Strikes Back.

Richard? What's happening Richard? What goes around comes around. Didn't the Islanders strong arm another fed T1 team out of there a couple years ago stating that they were too close to the empire in Merrimack? Now go move along and steal someone else's ice again.

And this is why the schedule is being held up!!!

Without a doubt.

Even if they rule in favor of the Islanders over time it's probably the case that it won't happen fast enough to avoid a disruption to their season. So unless they scare the rink / rink scheduler enough to back down now (always possible but seems unlikely if the contact isn't iron-clad around the renewal options and it already got to this point) then they will need to find other ice in a hurry or they are probably in trouble. Then they get to decide how to prioritize the ice they do have between all the different teams and face the fallout that comes from that process.

This is pretty crazy - even for jaded youth hockey folks.

I'm sure some people find this amusing because it's the Islanders and RG but you have to feel bad for what this could do to thier players this season. Not good at all.

I'm sure his kids team is all set. It's the Tyngsboro teams they will screw over here. They will just move all the Islanders east teams to Skate 3 and try to get the West teams ice in Salem and Hudson. Or go farther west west like Gardiner and Keene. It's a dick move on the scheduler at Essex. This is going to cause issues for every team in the Fed.

I predict the NS Wings fold after this season.

While I feel bad for the kids impacted. That's what happens when you have 5 teams at each agree year because you are greedy.

I'm glad that finally he is getting a taste of good own medicine especially since they did the same thing to Vipers a few years ago.

Isn’t Chris Nagy the BB&N varsity hockey coach?

Not exactly a POS operation and probably knows how to ready a contract.

I love Dunks! Problem is the product is not there as they are just stealing kids from town just to fill slots on 3rd or 4th teams and gobbling up ice from other smaller orgs with only 1 or 2 teams which is squeezing the kids out and forcing them to go to the dark side.

Greed is Greed and I hope that there was not a signed contract as that org deserves what they get.

So the owner of a hockey team decides to use HIS rink so that HIS teams can skate there as opposed to spending $250/ hr for his teams to skate someplace else.....

Wouldn’t that mean that the icetime previously purchased by NS
Wings is now available ????

Doesn’t seem like this is too big of a deal.... RG just trying to screw another program like he did to the Vipers a few years ago.

Cram it up your cramhole Lafleur!!!!!!

As long as I can still order up some bee pollen and an organic fiber bar from the natural snack shop in the lobby then I don’t care what teams play there.

Plenty of ice for rent at Breakaway..$975.00 per hour. Eddie Hill's price is &1175.00 per half hour. Be lucky you are not that guy.

What go around, come around. Haven't seen much sympathy. By you light house parents in part years when you where kicking around other orgs so suck it up buttercup and enjoy breakaway 6am sat practices.

Is this supposed to be English?

Lawsuit over ice time is dropped
By Paul L eighton Staff Writer

MIDDLETON — A lawsuit over ice time at the Essex Sports Center has been dropped.

The Middlesex Islanders, a junior hockey program that had accused the rink of illegally taking away its ice time, filed a notice of voluntary dismissal of the case in Salem Superior Court on Thursday.

Middlesex Islanders president Richard Gallant and his attorneys did not return messages seeking comment about why they dropped the case.

The lawsuit claimed that the head of a competing junior hockey program, who had been hired by Essex Sports Center to schedule ice time, took away time from the Islanders in order to use it for his own program.

The scheduler, Christopher Nagy, operates the North Suburban Wings hockey program, which the lawsuit said competes with the Islanders for players and ice time. Nagy declined to comment on why the Islanders dropped the case.

Or he has no leg to stand on and dropped the ball...

in other news Christopher Nagy has never been seen again and is reported missing....foul play is not ruled out. How dare he challenge the great one RG. We were all hoping he would succeed.

hard to lose, with the contract on your side

He did succeed!

RG lost for sure, crap ice times being given out...

If true, I'd better get a pro-rated refund for the clinic my bender is doing with him....

Call me Francis again I kill yea!!

Case dropped....MXI has 19 weekday hours at Essex..Which is crazy..Current scheduler cut MXI to 13, taking away 6 hours. MXI cried. MXI was returned 2 of 6 hours lost, scheduler awarded monetary damages for scheduling time/money lost. Previous dysfunctional owners of Essex to blame. Nothing to see here. RG did same to local youth/HS programs when he took over the sheets last year. Karma sux Pooooorrr MXI

If you only new what really went on. Priceless

Won't be sending my kid to BBN!!!

You were not invited. Actually they may need a JV water boy if be interested.