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Saturday, January 28, 2006
Apples iced in pond hockey tourney
The day after, Nick Moore said his legs "felt like they were filled with cement," and he had trouble putting on his socks.
"Now I'm walking around Frankenstein-like," Moore joked yesterday from the offices of Associated Press Television News, where he is a senior producer.
That's what a weekend of pond hockey -- outdoors, in subfreezing temperatures -- will do to you. Moore, of Millburn, was among 700 skaters who participated in the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships on Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis over the weekend.
Moore's team, the Bad Apples, did as well as could be expected, considering many of the teams featured former collegiate and NHL players.
It helped to have a little of the Midwest in your blood; the winners in all three divisions -- open, women's and senior -- hailed from the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. A team named Almost 40 won the open division title, defeating the Federal League All-Stars 10 to 9 in overtime. The MN Flyshooters 2 beat the Fighting Weasels to win the women's division, while the Loons knocked off the Sunday Slackers to take the senior division title.
All three winning teams will have their names inscribed on the Golden Shovel, which event co-organizer Fred Haberman called "the Stanley Cup" of pond hockey. The Almost 40 squad will represent the U.S. in the first Canadian National Pond Hockey Championships this weekend in Muskoka, Ontario.
A total of 116 teams participated on 24 rinks in the U.S. championship. Beer, brats and Snickers bars were available inside a heated hospitality tent called the Warming House. Temperatures were in the 25-30 degree range, which Moore called "perfect."
"Oh mighty lords of winter, you breathed on us a biting weekend of below-freezing temperatures and nose-dripping winds, providing us the ideal conditions for the ultimate celebration of outdoor hockey," Haberman said.
"Any colder," Moore said, "and your toes would have started screaming."
The Bad Apples, to his surprise, won their first game 11-7 over Shame on Ice, despite initially falling behind 4-1.
"Then reality kicked in," Moore said. "The reality is that when you put out a call for a pond hockey tournament ... you attract a lot of insanely good hockey players."
The Bad Apples were beaten 17-1 by Johnnie Red 1 in their second game. "They were barking out plays to each other," Moore said in wonderment.
In their third game, the Bad Apples were trounced 22-0 by the Muckers, but Moore said his squad "played better and had more fun."
"If you send out Curious George to fight King Kong, you know who's going to win," he added.
Pond hockey, according to its adherents, is hockey as nature intended. There are no rule books, and equipment is often borrowed or makeshift. For shin guards, Moore used Bubble Wrap, stuffed between his long underwear and sweat pants.
Moore promises the Bad Apples will be back at next year's tournament -- better, not badder.
"We'll try to keep the other team to single digits," he said.
"Now I'm walking around Frankenstein-like," Moore joked yesterday from the offices of Associated Press Television News, where he is a senior producer.
That's what a weekend of pond hockey -- outdoors, in subfreezing temperatures -- will do to you. Moore, of Millburn, was among 700 skaters who participated in the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships on Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis over the weekend.
Moore's team, the Bad Apples, did as well as could be expected, considering many of the teams featured former collegiate and NHL players.
It helped to have a little of the Midwest in your blood; the winners in all three divisions -- open, women's and senior -- hailed from the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. A team named Almost 40 won the open division title, defeating the Federal League All-Stars 10 to 9 in overtime. The MN Flyshooters 2 beat the Fighting Weasels to win the women's division, while the Loons knocked off the Sunday Slackers to take the senior division title.
All three winning teams will have their names inscribed on the Golden Shovel, which event co-organizer Fred Haberman called "the Stanley Cup" of pond hockey. The Almost 40 squad will represent the U.S. in the first Canadian National Pond Hockey Championships this weekend in Muskoka, Ontario.
A total of 116 teams participated on 24 rinks in the U.S. championship. Beer, brats and Snickers bars were available inside a heated hospitality tent called the Warming House. Temperatures were in the 25-30 degree range, which Moore called "perfect."
"Oh mighty lords of winter, you breathed on us a biting weekend of below-freezing temperatures and nose-dripping winds, providing us the ideal conditions for the ultimate celebration of outdoor hockey," Haberman said.
"Any colder," Moore said, "and your toes would have started screaming."
The Bad Apples, to his surprise, won their first game 11-7 over Shame on Ice, despite initially falling behind 4-1.
"Then reality kicked in," Moore said. "The reality is that when you put out a call for a pond hockey tournament ... you attract a lot of insanely good hockey players."
The Bad Apples were beaten 17-1 by Johnnie Red 1 in their second game. "They were barking out plays to each other," Moore said in wonderment.
In their third game, the Bad Apples were trounced 22-0 by the Muckers, but Moore said his squad "played better and had more fun."
"If you send out Curious George to fight King Kong, you know who's going to win," he added.
Pond hockey, according to its adherents, is hockey as nature intended. There are no rule books, and equipment is often borrowed or makeshift. For shin guards, Moore used Bubble Wrap, stuffed between his long underwear and sweat pants.
Moore promises the Bad Apples will be back at next year's tournament -- better, not badder.
"We'll try to keep the other team to single digits," he said.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
U.S. pond hockey players shoot for Canadian Champs
An appreciation of cold-month, outdoor recreation is a must for Minnesotans, who are annually faced with this dilemma: cabin fever or frostbitten fingers and toes.
Playing hockey on the state's scores of frozen lakes and ponds has long been a ritual for those with skates, a few skills and a disdain for spending the cold months indoors.
This weekend in Minneapolis, 116 teams of six convened on the city's biggest lake to compete for a trophy called The Golden Shovel in the inaugural U.S. Pond Hockey Championships.
Win or lose, objectives were all the same. Have some fun, get a little exercise - and turn back the biological clock a bit to relive that halcyon childhood lifestyle where every waking winter hour was spent at the neighbourhood rink.
"I think it just captures the outdoor type of community that's here," said Brian Bellows, captain of the Has Beens team and a former NHL star who spent 10 of his 17 seasons with the Minnesota North Stars. "I think that's the essence of it."
The event was hatched by Fred Haberman, a local pucks enthusiast and public relations professional. After a friend told him about the Canadian National Pond Hockey Championships, Haberman decided to do the same thing here. Well, the field filled up so fast that 99 teams were stuck on the waiting list.
"The thing just started snowballing, and here we are today with 25 rinks on Lake Calhoun," said Haberman, who also maintains a rink in his backyard on Minnehaha Creek in Edina.
At 39, he's grown increasingly obsessed with the concept of pond hockey.
"It's a bond that the best players in the NHL have with people like me," Haberman said. "Doing it with the wind blowing in your face, and doing it when you're 10 years old, and until your feet are freezing. It's just the most wonderful thing I could ever think of."
The tournament, which included a 10-team senior division and a six-team women's bracket, attracted entries from as far away as Detroit, New York and Boston. The open division championship, held Sunday afternoon, will send the winner off to Ontario next weekend to challenge the Canadians.
With plenty of former collegians and a few old pros in the mix, the level of play is well above average. Special rules put an emphasis on speed and stick handling, though, and help equalize the competition to make a twenty-something like Ryan Coole - who played Division I at Minnesota Duluth - look just as good as Bellows and his 485 career NHL goals.
"The younger guys with the legs will really outplay some of the vets," said Bellows, who retired in 1999 and now works and lives in the Twin Cities area.
On the pond, the game is four-on-four - with each team allowed two subs. A scorekeeper stands outside the boards, which are 18 inches high, and tracks the action during a pair of 17 1/2-minute halves. No slap shots are allowed, and neither is significant lifting of the puck.
Goalies are nowhere to be seen. No net, either.
The goal is a rectangular object about four inches high with a wooden slab in front that prevents players from scoring straight on. Instead, they must sneak the puck in a slot on either side of the slab - almost like dunking a basketball. No winding up and firing from the blue line. And there's no blue line, either, because the rinks are short and narrow.
Without refs, the potential for rough stuff is there, but the exhibition spirit kept the tenor mostly at a gentlemanly level.
"I heard a few games were getting a little ugly," said Coole, who fielded a team with five fellow 1997 graduates of Duluth East High School - all of whom played in college. "But it's hockey. It's competitive, so what can you do?"
Haberman and his partner, Paul Ridgeway, won't break even in this year's tournament, which he said cost more than $250,000 US. But the popularity promises to make it an annual event, with proceeds going to local youth programs including the Herb Brooks Foundation - named in honour of the late coach.
A warmer-than-usual winter made ice maintenance a challenge, as hundreds of volunteers helped scrape, water and sweep the surfaces this week. Some people were concerned during the preparation process about whether the ice would be thick enough, but on a blustery Saturday nobody was surely worried about falling through. Some players wore scarves under the helmets to keep their necks from reddening in the biting north air.
The biggest thrill, for most, was the fact that so much of their hockey experience, in organized games or simple pickup matches, is now done inside.
"My brother used to take me down to the park and throw me into a game," said Marni Orthey Lamberty, a Minneapolis native entered in the women's division. "Just going down there and playing and not having to pay for ice time - that was kind of the fun part. Just get out there and show your thing."
Playing hockey on the state's scores of frozen lakes and ponds has long been a ritual for those with skates, a few skills and a disdain for spending the cold months indoors.
This weekend in Minneapolis, 116 teams of six convened on the city's biggest lake to compete for a trophy called The Golden Shovel in the inaugural U.S. Pond Hockey Championships.
Win or lose, objectives were all the same. Have some fun, get a little exercise - and turn back the biological clock a bit to relive that halcyon childhood lifestyle where every waking winter hour was spent at the neighbourhood rink.
"I think it just captures the outdoor type of community that's here," said Brian Bellows, captain of the Has Beens team and a former NHL star who spent 10 of his 17 seasons with the Minnesota North Stars. "I think that's the essence of it."
The event was hatched by Fred Haberman, a local pucks enthusiast and public relations professional. After a friend told him about the Canadian National Pond Hockey Championships, Haberman decided to do the same thing here. Well, the field filled up so fast that 99 teams were stuck on the waiting list.
"The thing just started snowballing, and here we are today with 25 rinks on Lake Calhoun," said Haberman, who also maintains a rink in his backyard on Minnehaha Creek in Edina.
At 39, he's grown increasingly obsessed with the concept of pond hockey.
"It's a bond that the best players in the NHL have with people like me," Haberman said. "Doing it with the wind blowing in your face, and doing it when you're 10 years old, and until your feet are freezing. It's just the most wonderful thing I could ever think of."
The tournament, which included a 10-team senior division and a six-team women's bracket, attracted entries from as far away as Detroit, New York and Boston. The open division championship, held Sunday afternoon, will send the winner off to Ontario next weekend to challenge the Canadians.
With plenty of former collegians and a few old pros in the mix, the level of play is well above average. Special rules put an emphasis on speed and stick handling, though, and help equalize the competition to make a twenty-something like Ryan Coole - who played Division I at Minnesota Duluth - look just as good as Bellows and his 485 career NHL goals.
"The younger guys with the legs will really outplay some of the vets," said Bellows, who retired in 1999 and now works and lives in the Twin Cities area.
On the pond, the game is four-on-four - with each team allowed two subs. A scorekeeper stands outside the boards, which are 18 inches high, and tracks the action during a pair of 17 1/2-minute halves. No slap shots are allowed, and neither is significant lifting of the puck.
Goalies are nowhere to be seen. No net, either.
The goal is a rectangular object about four inches high with a wooden slab in front that prevents players from scoring straight on. Instead, they must sneak the puck in a slot on either side of the slab - almost like dunking a basketball. No winding up and firing from the blue line. And there's no blue line, either, because the rinks are short and narrow.
Without refs, the potential for rough stuff is there, but the exhibition spirit kept the tenor mostly at a gentlemanly level.
"I heard a few games were getting a little ugly," said Coole, who fielded a team with five fellow 1997 graduates of Duluth East High School - all of whom played in college. "But it's hockey. It's competitive, so what can you do?"
Haberman and his partner, Paul Ridgeway, won't break even in this year's tournament, which he said cost more than $250,000 US. But the popularity promises to make it an annual event, with proceeds going to local youth programs including the Herb Brooks Foundation - named in honour of the late coach.
A warmer-than-usual winter made ice maintenance a challenge, as hundreds of volunteers helped scrape, water and sweep the surfaces this week. Some people were concerned during the preparation process about whether the ice would be thick enough, but on a blustery Saturday nobody was surely worried about falling through. Some players wore scarves under the helmets to keep their necks from reddening in the biting north air.
The biggest thrill, for most, was the fact that so much of their hockey experience, in organized games or simple pickup matches, is now done inside.
"My brother used to take me down to the park and throw me into a game," said Marni Orthey Lamberty, a Minneapolis native entered in the women's division. "Just going down there and playing and not having to pay for ice time - that was kind of the fun part. Just get out there and show your thing."
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
'Pondemonium' is hockey at its purest
Pond hockey tournaments evoke a time when kids shoveled rinks and skated for hours in wool caps, through wisps of condensed breath.
Imagine organizing a familial reunion on a frozen lake and nearly 800 people show up.
Imagine each one coming with a hockey stick and skates. Pair them off in teams of four against four and send them out into the Minnesota winter. Station one nonskating referee outside the retaining boards at each of 24 rinks and make room for claques of next of kin to stand in the snow to watch and pound their heavy mittens in support. Make sure a medical attendant is on call. Then courteously advise the contestants to play hockey with zeal - but without actual mayhem.
All of this was done over the weekend on one of the treasured Minneapolis chain of lakes. The result was an end-to-end, unconditional love-in.
The event, the 2006 US Pond Hockey Championships, was described by its sponsors as the largest pond hockey tournament ever produced in the United States. Undoubtedly it was, given the relatively modest field of rivals. The teams spread over three generations and a half dozen states, but predominately Minnesota. They came as clans of believers, all of them committed to ice hockey as the one passion of their recreational lives and, for a few of them, their professional lives. Some had played hockey for five or six years, some for more than 60. What they shared beyond their devotion to the game itself was a sentimental remembrance of its origins on the ice ponds of their childhood.
If you looked closely beneath the helmets and face masks at Lake Calhoun last Saturday and Sunday, you might have recognized a former US senator, Wendell Anderson of Minnesota, waiting for his shift in his gold jersey and the obvious gratitude of onlookers for his 73 years. You might also have identified Brian Bellows, a veteran of years in the National Hockey League. You might have been surprised to see a mite of a young woman, Sarah Simpson, 18, at 95 pounds and 4 feet 10 inches playing against muscular veterans of intercollegiate hockey. The guys weren't going to be steamrolling her. This was strictly nonbrute hockey. It was skate and skate, without goalies, without blue lines, four-on-four, no whistles. And they reveled in it. Why?
"Let me tell you," Mr. Anderson says. He was once one of the popular public figures in Minnesota: governor, then senator, then a defeated senator, and now back in law practice. But first he was a defenseman at the University of Minnesota and then a member of the silver-medal-winning American team in the 1956 Olympics - from beginning to end a man for whom the camaraderie of ice hockey has been his expression of personality. He's also one of its jesters. "I'll tell you why so many of the guys here, and the women, for that matter, talk with so much joy about those years of pond hockey, why they romanticize it. They were kids, the game wasn't structured. They weren't under pressure. They just played it and they saw the open ice, and they could skate with the wind and be creative."
Serious hockey today is played in climate-controlled indoor arenas. But the game's purists still idealize its beginnings, when kids shoveled the snow from the rivers and ponds on the edge of town and skated for hours in their wool caps, through wisps of their condensed breath.
That was not a fairy tale. Thousands of hockey players still credit the pond as the source of their skating ability and their fondness for the game. It was there where the game's possibilities opened up to them and where the fellowship grew. The only way to re-create that atmosphere, the Minneapolis tournament's organizers knew, was to democratize the event and to maximize the raw fun. So they set up an open class for most of the players, smaller sections for seniors and women, and made it gender equal if somebody like the Simpsons of Medicine Lake, Minn., (dad David and two sons along with Sarah) wanted to play together. One of her brothers, of course, didn't make the first game. This IS pure amateur hockey: He locked the keys in his car.
It was competitive but pristine hockey impossible in the big league arenas of today. These were shortened rinks without passing lines. Body-checking and lifting pucks were banned. The goals were wood boxes five feet wide and four inches high with slots a foot wide cut into the two corners. Those are the targets, not especially easy in full flight. It still took reflexes and stickhandling to score.
For the human penguin onlookers, most of them wool-wrapped and ear-lapped, there was a shoreside warming tent, hot drinks, and sandwiches. Nobody won prizes for high fashion. The several thousand spectators shuffled about without any obvious show of martyrdom and Saturday's temperatures of 28 to 30 degrees F. were eminently bearable.
The prizes awarded to the champions the next day were awarded with a wink but dignity, the Golden Shovels, which the promoters admit are not quite ready to take their place beside the Lombardi Trophy and Stanley Cup. Admission was free. The $300 entry fee for the 116 teams was expected to net over $300,000, not likely to cover expenses. Fred Haberman, of a Minneapolis public relations agency that organized the event, does see momentum building. "We had 116 teams this weekend," he says. "We could build that into much bigger numbers. This is a wholesome, celebratory weekend, hockey people coming together. And this is a big lake."
Beachcombers in Florida might be alarmed at the thought of several thousand people walking about on an ice surface only a foot thick. Experts will tell you that's more than adequate. And the sense of fraternity was almost as thick as the ice.
Hockey players, especially amateurs like those who played this weekend, are aware of the pecking order of the fans' favorites in big-time sports. Hockey doesn't televise well. There's also the fighting syndrome among the macho pros. Hockey amateurs - men, and increasingly women - know that it takes a pretty rare combination of skilled skating, precision, instinct, and reflexes among all players in their sport.
They also know that it began for most of them on a frozen pond at the end of town.
Imagine organizing a familial reunion on a frozen lake and nearly 800 people show up.
Imagine each one coming with a hockey stick and skates. Pair them off in teams of four against four and send them out into the Minnesota winter. Station one nonskating referee outside the retaining boards at each of 24 rinks and make room for claques of next of kin to stand in the snow to watch and pound their heavy mittens in support. Make sure a medical attendant is on call. Then courteously advise the contestants to play hockey with zeal - but without actual mayhem.
All of this was done over the weekend on one of the treasured Minneapolis chain of lakes. The result was an end-to-end, unconditional love-in.
The event, the 2006 US Pond Hockey Championships, was described by its sponsors as the largest pond hockey tournament ever produced in the United States. Undoubtedly it was, given the relatively modest field of rivals. The teams spread over three generations and a half dozen states, but predominately Minnesota. They came as clans of believers, all of them committed to ice hockey as the one passion of their recreational lives and, for a few of them, their professional lives. Some had played hockey for five or six years, some for more than 60. What they shared beyond their devotion to the game itself was a sentimental remembrance of its origins on the ice ponds of their childhood.
If you looked closely beneath the helmets and face masks at Lake Calhoun last Saturday and Sunday, you might have recognized a former US senator, Wendell Anderson of Minnesota, waiting for his shift in his gold jersey and the obvious gratitude of onlookers for his 73 years. You might also have identified Brian Bellows, a veteran of years in the National Hockey League. You might have been surprised to see a mite of a young woman, Sarah Simpson, 18, at 95 pounds and 4 feet 10 inches playing against muscular veterans of intercollegiate hockey. The guys weren't going to be steamrolling her. This was strictly nonbrute hockey. It was skate and skate, without goalies, without blue lines, four-on-four, no whistles. And they reveled in it. Why?
"Let me tell you," Mr. Anderson says. He was once one of the popular public figures in Minnesota: governor, then senator, then a defeated senator, and now back in law practice. But first he was a defenseman at the University of Minnesota and then a member of the silver-medal-winning American team in the 1956 Olympics - from beginning to end a man for whom the camaraderie of ice hockey has been his expression of personality. He's also one of its jesters. "I'll tell you why so many of the guys here, and the women, for that matter, talk with so much joy about those years of pond hockey, why they romanticize it. They were kids, the game wasn't structured. They weren't under pressure. They just played it and they saw the open ice, and they could skate with the wind and be creative."
Serious hockey today is played in climate-controlled indoor arenas. But the game's purists still idealize its beginnings, when kids shoveled the snow from the rivers and ponds on the edge of town and skated for hours in their wool caps, through wisps of their condensed breath.
That was not a fairy tale. Thousands of hockey players still credit the pond as the source of their skating ability and their fondness for the game. It was there where the game's possibilities opened up to them and where the fellowship grew. The only way to re-create that atmosphere, the Minneapolis tournament's organizers knew, was to democratize the event and to maximize the raw fun. So they set up an open class for most of the players, smaller sections for seniors and women, and made it gender equal if somebody like the Simpsons of Medicine Lake, Minn., (dad David and two sons along with Sarah) wanted to play together. One of her brothers, of course, didn't make the first game. This IS pure amateur hockey: He locked the keys in his car.
It was competitive but pristine hockey impossible in the big league arenas of today. These were shortened rinks without passing lines. Body-checking and lifting pucks were banned. The goals were wood boxes five feet wide and four inches high with slots a foot wide cut into the two corners. Those are the targets, not especially easy in full flight. It still took reflexes and stickhandling to score.
For the human penguin onlookers, most of them wool-wrapped and ear-lapped, there was a shoreside warming tent, hot drinks, and sandwiches. Nobody won prizes for high fashion. The several thousand spectators shuffled about without any obvious show of martyrdom and Saturday's temperatures of 28 to 30 degrees F. were eminently bearable.
The prizes awarded to the champions the next day were awarded with a wink but dignity, the Golden Shovels, which the promoters admit are not quite ready to take their place beside the Lombardi Trophy and Stanley Cup. Admission was free. The $300 entry fee for the 116 teams was expected to net over $300,000, not likely to cover expenses. Fred Haberman, of a Minneapolis public relations agency that organized the event, does see momentum building. "We had 116 teams this weekend," he says. "We could build that into much bigger numbers. This is a wholesome, celebratory weekend, hockey people coming together. And this is a big lake."
Beachcombers in Florida might be alarmed at the thought of several thousand people walking about on an ice surface only a foot thick. Experts will tell you that's more than adequate. And the sense of fraternity was almost as thick as the ice.
Hockey players, especially amateurs like those who played this weekend, are aware of the pecking order of the fans' favorites in big-time sports. Hockey doesn't televise well. There's also the fighting syndrome among the macho pros. Hockey amateurs - men, and increasingly women - know that it takes a pretty rare combination of skilled skating, precision, instinct, and reflexes among all players in their sport.
They also know that it began for most of them on a frozen pond at the end of town.
Monday, January 23, 2006
Thousands attend first-ever U.S Pond Hockey Championships
After three days of bitter-cold excitement, one team walked off Lake Calhoun Sunday with the prestigious gold shovel.
A team called "Almost 40" defeated the Federal League All-Stars 10-9 in overtime to win the open division of the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships.
The MN Flyshooters 2 won the women's division and the Loons won the seniors' division.
Organizers say thousands of hockey fans attended the three-day event.
Co-founder Fred Haberman thanked the lords of winter for making the weekend such a success.
"We raise our golden shovels to you in awe and hurl a bratwurst into the sky as thanks for bringing 700 hockey nuts and thousands of spectators onto Lake Calhoun this weekend," Haberman said in a news release.
"About 40" will now have the opportunity to travel to Toronto next weekend for the Canadian National Pond Hockey Championships.
A team called "Almost 40" defeated the Federal League All-Stars 10-9 in overtime to win the open division of the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships.
The MN Flyshooters 2 won the women's division and the Loons won the seniors' division.
Organizers say thousands of hockey fans attended the three-day event.
Co-founder Fred Haberman thanked the lords of winter for making the weekend such a success.
"We raise our golden shovels to you in awe and hurl a bratwurst into the sky as thanks for bringing 700 hockey nuts and thousands of spectators onto Lake Calhoun this weekend," Haberman said in a news release.
"About 40" will now have the opportunity to travel to Toronto next weekend for the Canadian National Pond Hockey Championships.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Prepping for Pond Hockey
Click For The Video
Even in the best of winters, ice can get a little 'bumpy'. The same could be said about a frozen dream, unfolding on a lake in the heart of Minneapolis.
"These are generally made for somebody's back yard. Well, we've got 25 back yards back here," laughs John Tuttle one of dozens of tournament crew members.
In just two days, the puck will drop on the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships.
Paul Ridgeway is Co-Organizer of the event, "We're gonna be done in time, but it's gonna be stressful."
Ninety-six teams from across the nation will be ready, and now after weeks of dicey weather it seems their 'rinks' will be ready too.
"We're starting to get the groove on, in terms of getting very efficient. We're able to do what 20 people were doing before, with four people," says a tired but proud Fred Haberman. He is another event co-sponsor.
"By today, we're now doing them every 20 minutes, move to the next rink, as opposed to every two hours," laughs Haberman.
By sundown Wednesday, plastic boards will surround all 25 rinks.
Then comes 48 hours of scraping, and flooding to put the ice in a state that the 'state' of hockey can be proud of.
"What we're doing is putting on two heavy coats, and when those freeze up, we're gonna spray it with light coats to get a really smooth surface, try and get a smooth surface," says Steve Sutherland.
The fun begins Friday night, with a game featuring Governor Pawlenty's 'Team Minnesota.'
Official tournament play is Saturday and Sunday.
Organizers are 'still' looking for volunteers to help with this big event
To get more information or to volunteer visit the http://www.uspondhockey.com
This weekend hockey lovers from around the nation will converge on Lake Calhoun for the U.S. Pond Hockey Tournament.
Thousands of hockey players will lace up the skates during the three day event, but before the first blade cuts through a sheet of ice, volunteers are working tirelessly to prep the pond.
Click For The Video
Even in the best of winters, ice can get a little 'bumpy'. The same could be said about a frozen dream, unfolding on a lake in the heart of Minneapolis.
"These are generally made for somebody's back yard. Well, we've got 25 back yards back here," laughs John Tuttle one of dozens of tournament crew members.
In just two days, the puck will drop on the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships.
Paul Ridgeway is Co-Organizer of the event, "We're gonna be done in time, but it's gonna be stressful."
Ninety-six teams from across the nation will be ready, and now after weeks of dicey weather it seems their 'rinks' will be ready too.
"We're starting to get the groove on, in terms of getting very efficient. We're able to do what 20 people were doing before, with four people," says a tired but proud Fred Haberman. He is another event co-sponsor.
"By today, we're now doing them every 20 minutes, move to the next rink, as opposed to every two hours," laughs Haberman.
By sundown Wednesday, plastic boards will surround all 25 rinks.
Then comes 48 hours of scraping, and flooding to put the ice in a state that the 'state' of hockey can be proud of.
"What we're doing is putting on two heavy coats, and when those freeze up, we're gonna spray it with light coats to get a really smooth surface, try and get a smooth surface," says Steve Sutherland.
The fun begins Friday night, with a game featuring Governor Pawlenty's 'Team Minnesota.'
Official tournament play is Saturday and Sunday.
Organizers are 'still' looking for volunteers to help with this big event
To get more information or to volunteer visit the http://www.uspondhockey.com
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Partnership with the Canadian National Pond Hockey Championship.
While the Jan. 20-22 United States Pond Hockey Championships (USPHC) will be America's largest outdoor pond hockey tournament, the true North American champion will not be determined until the following week, when the USPHC Open division winners travel to Ontario to play in the Canadian National Pond Hockey Championship(CNPHC).
The U.S. Pond Hockey Championships is extremely excited to announce an international partnership with the Canadian National Pond Hockey Championship.
The Canadian National Pond Hockey Championships will feature 96 Men's Teams and 24 Women's teams competing for Canadian pond pride during the weekend of January 27-29, 2006.
In an effort to unite the pond hockey enthusiasts of North America, the USPHC and CNPHC will host the other nation's respective Open division champions each year.
USPHC Sponsor Volvo Cars of North America has agreed to provide an official Volvo pond vehicle for the U.S. Champions to drive to Muskoka, Ontario for the Canadian National Pond Hockey Championships.
The U.S. Pond Hockey Championships is extremely excited to announce an international partnership with the Canadian National Pond Hockey Championship.
The Canadian National Pond Hockey Championships will feature 96 Men's Teams and 24 Women's teams competing for Canadian pond pride during the weekend of January 27-29, 2006.
In an effort to unite the pond hockey enthusiasts of North America, the USPHC and CNPHC will host the other nation's respective Open division champions each year.
USPHC Sponsor Volvo Cars of North America has agreed to provide an official Volvo pond vehicle for the U.S. Champions to drive to Muskoka, Ontario for the Canadian National Pond Hockey Championships.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
The USPHC is a Go!
We can't wait for next week's U.S. Pond Hockey Championships, which is now the largest-ever in the nation. You may have noticed temperatures have been above normal the past couple of weeks. What does that mean for the status of our tournament?
We've been measuring the ice, and right now we're tracking it at 9 to 10 inches and growing. The main goal now is to ensure that the surface layer is smooth for game play. As we prepare for flooding, we see a vast majority of next week's temperatures below freezing. This bodes well for the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships.
So, the USPHC is a go. We'll track ice depth daily, and keep an eye on the weather forecast for any surprise up-ticks in temperature. If something changes, we'll let you know. Otherwise, we look forward to seeing you on the ice in seven days for a warm brat, a cool beverage and three days of fun.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
US Pond Hockey Tournament Benefits Charities
Pond hockey fanatics from across the nation, NHL legends, and other hockey greats will take to the pond later this month in Minnesota for the first-ever U.S. Pond Hockey Championships (USPHC), believed to be America’s largest outdoor pond hockey tournament.
Set for January 20-22, 2006 on the frozen waters of Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis, the USPHC will be a three-day, 128-team, four-on-four competition for men and women.
Developed by a group of passionate pond hockey enthusiasts from Minnesota with a sincere appreciation and respect for the purity of the game, the USPHC seeks to draw attention to the traditions of outdoor hockey while giving back to the community. A percentage of proceeds will benefit the Herb Brooks Foundation and DinoMights Inner City Youth Hockey.
"It's hockey as nature intended: on the pond, outside in the elements and during the absolute coldest time of year," said Fred Haberman, co-founder of the tournament and president of Haberman & Associates public relations. "We hope the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships will provide the community a weekend to pay tribute to an important tradition, while bringing national attention to the purity that still exists in sport."
"The Pond is where we grew up, learned to play and made friends. The U.S. Pond Hockey Championships is an inspirational tribute to this legacy and the authentic spirit of a game so many of us enjoy," said Mike Eruzione, captain of the 1980 USA Olympic Hockey Team."
The tournament will feature 25 rinks on the West side of Lake Calhoun and a field of 128 teams competing in open, women's, and senior men's divisions - including 108 open teams, eight women's teams and 10 senior teams.
The ice site will feature 24 150-by-75 foot hockey rinks in addition to "Calhoun Gardens," a 25th and central rink, will be surrounded by bleachers and lights for night-time exhibition and notable games.
Teams will carry six players, with games being played in a four-on-four, no goalie format. Games will be two 17.5-minute halves with a two-minute intermission. Rinks will be cleared in true pond fashion — shoveled off prior to games by the two teams on deck. Official rules will be no checking, fighting or lifting the puck and goals must be scored on the attacking side of center ice.
Opening ceremonies will be held Friday night with a series of pond hockey exhibition games featuring NHL, Olympic and college Alumni facing off under the lights. After the games a musical guest will perform in the warming house tent for a night of celebration and camaraderie.
Saturday will be round-robin tournament play, with each team guaranteed three games. Sunday will feature the medal round, where the divisions will be whittled down to the top team, who will receive "The Golden Shovel."
What the Stanley Cup is to the NHL, the Golden Shovel is to the USPHC. It will be awarded to tournament winners each year, and they will be inscribed on the shovel as U.S. Pond Hockey Championship champions.
Wheaties is the presenting sponsor. Other sponsors include Volvo Cars of North America, Haberman & Associates Public Relations, Ridgeway International, KARE-TV, KFAN-AM, Mall of America, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, Organic Valley, Polaris, Prom Catering, Star-Tribune and Summit Brewing Company.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
They find lake hockey to be superior
Two Massachusetts-based squads have signed up for this month's (Jan. 20-22) inaugural US Pond Hockey Championships (website: uspondhockey.com) to be played on Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis.
The tourney is very similar to the World Pond Hockey Championships staged in recent years in Plaster Rock, New Brunswick. The Minneapolis tourney will be four on four, with clubs rotating in two spare players, and 25 games will be played simultaneously across the lake. Upward of 128 clubs will play.
''They're already ice fishing out there now," said Eric Davis, one of the tourney's spokesmen, reached late last week in his office not far from Lake Calhoun. ''They don't have their trucks out there yet, but overall we weren't figuring for this kind of ice for another week or two. We'll be ready."
Ex-Bruin Reed Larson and another former NHLer, speedy defenseman Phil Housley, both have committed to play. Rather than a Stanley Cup, the clubs vie for the cherished Golden Shovel, 12 feet top to bottom with a scoop 3 feet wide.
Why play for a shovel? If you're asking, you just don't get it.
The six members of one of the Massachusetts teams are a collection of 2000 and 2001 Amherst College grads, according to team member Chris Orszulak, Class of '01, from Longmeadow. Orszulak, Gregg DiNardo, and Darce Swaggert are all investment bankers. Joe Graceffa is a screenwriter in Los Angeles. Andy Jones is in graduate school, and Rob Hill in medical school.
"We were all roommates at Amherst, and every year we try to get together," said Orszulak. "A couple of the guys are from Minnesota, and I think it was Darce who spotted it. Just seemed like the perfect thing for us to do."
Two Massachusetts-based squads have signed up for this month's (Jan. 20-22) inaugural US Pond Hockey Championships (website: uspondhockey.com) to be played on Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis.
The tourney is very similar to the World Pond Hockey Championships staged in recent years in Plaster Rock, New Brunswick. The Minneapolis tourney will be four on four, with clubs rotating in two spare players, and 25 games will be played simultaneously across the lake. Upward of 128 clubs will play.
''They're already ice fishing out there now," said Eric Davis, one of the tourney's spokesmen, reached late last week in his office not far from Lake Calhoun. ''They don't have their trucks out there yet, but overall we weren't figuring for this kind of ice for another week or two. We'll be ready."
Ex-Bruin Reed Larson and another former NHLer, speedy defenseman Phil Housley, both have committed to play. Rather than a Stanley Cup, the clubs vie for the cherished Golden Shovel, 12 feet top to bottom with a scoop 3 feet wide.
Why play for a shovel? If you're asking, you just don't get it.
The six members of one of the Massachusetts teams are a collection of 2000 and 2001 Amherst College grads, according to team member Chris Orszulak, Class of '01, from Longmeadow. Orszulak, Gregg DiNardo, and Darce Swaggert are all investment bankers. Joe Graceffa is a screenwriter in Los Angeles. Andy Jones is in graduate school, and Rob Hill in medical school.
"We were all roommates at Amherst, and every year we try to get together," said Orszulak. "A couple of the guys are from Minnesota, and I think it was Darce who spotted it. Just seemed like the perfect thing for us to do."
Friday, January 06, 2006
USPHC Hotel Information
HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS AND DIRECTIONS
Conveniently located near Lake Calhoun, the SpringHill Suites Minneapolis West is the official hotel for the 2006 U.S. Pond Hockey Championships. The SpringHill Suites features 126 all-suite hotel rooms, providing up to 25% more space than a traditional hotel room.
Features and amenities include:
Spacious king or two queen bed suites with sofabed
Complimentary "Suites Seasons" breakfast featuring eggs, sausage, and make your own waffles
Complimentary High Speed Internet access
In-room refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker and wet bar
Indoor pool, whirlpool and fitness center
The US Pond Hockey special rate will be available during the tournament weekend, from Thursday, January 19th until Sunday, January 22nd 2006. The rates for the SpringHill Suites are as follows:
King Suite: This includes one king sized bed with a pull-out sleeper sofa. $79
Queen Suite: This includes two queen sized beds with a pull-out sleeper sofa. $99
In order to receive this special rate, reservations must be made before the January 9th 2006 cut off date. After January 9th 2006, all rooms not reserved will be released to the general public. Any reservations made after this cut-off date will be subject to rate and availability.
Reservations can be made in two ways:
By calling the hotel directly at (952) 738-7300 and asking for the "US Pond Hockey" rate.
By calling the toll-free number at 1-888-287-9400 and asking or the "US Pond Hockey" rate.
The SpringHill Suites is located 17 miles (approximately 20 minutes) from the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport. Airport transportation is available through Super Shuttle www.supershuttle.com. SpringHill Suites recommends booking Super Shuttle in advance.
Driving Directions to the SpringHill Suites Minneapolis West
SpringHill Suites Minneapolis West 5901 Wayzata Boulevard St. Louis Park, MN 55416 Ph: (952) 738-7300 Fax: (952) 738-7301 www.springhillsuites.com/mspsl
Directions from Hwy 94 from Wisconsin: Take Hwy 394 West. Take Hwy 394 West to the Park Place/Xenia exit. Turn left onto Park Place. Proceed to the 3rd stoplight (16th Street) and turn right. Proceed on 16th Street to the 2nd stoplight (Zarthan Drive). Turn right onto Zarthan Drive and the hotel is ahead on your left.
Directions from Hwy 94 from St. Cloud: Take 94 South/East to Hwy 494 South/East to 394 East. Take the Louisiana Boulevard exit. Turn right onto Louisiana Boulevard and immediately get in the left-hand lane. Turn left at the 1st stoplight (Wayzata Boulevard). Proceed one mile and the hotel will be on your right.
Directions from Hwy 35 from Duluth: Take Hwy 35W South to Hwy 694 West to Hwy 100 South to Hwy 394 West. Exit at Park Place/ Xenia exit and turn left onto Park Place. Proceed to the 3rd stoplight (16th Street) and turn right. Proceed on 16th Street to the 2nd stoplight (Zarthan Drive). Turn right onto Zarthan Drive and the hotel is ahead on your left.
Directions from Hwy 169 from Mankato: Take Hwy 169 North to Hwy 394 East to Louisiana Boulevard exit. Immediately, get into the left-hand lane and turn left onto Wayzata Boulevard. Proceed on Wayzata Boulevard one mile and the hotel will be on your right.
Directions from Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport: 494 West to Hwy 100 North to Hwy 394 West. Exit onto Park Place/Xenia exit and turn left onto Park Place. Proceed to the 3rd stoplight (16th Street) and turn right. Proceed on 16th Street to the 2nd stoplight (Zarthan Drive). Turn right onto Zarthan Drive and the hotel is ahead on your left.
HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS AND DIRECTIONS
Conveniently located near Lake Calhoun, the SpringHill Suites Minneapolis West is the official hotel for the 2006 U.S. Pond Hockey Championships. The SpringHill Suites features 126 all-suite hotel rooms, providing up to 25% more space than a traditional hotel room.
Features and amenities include:
Spacious king or two queen bed suites with sofabed
Complimentary "Suites Seasons" breakfast featuring eggs, sausage, and make your own waffles
Complimentary High Speed Internet access
In-room refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker and wet bar
Indoor pool, whirlpool and fitness center
The US Pond Hockey special rate will be available during the tournament weekend, from Thursday, January 19th until Sunday, January 22nd 2006. The rates for the SpringHill Suites are as follows:
King Suite: This includes one king sized bed with a pull-out sleeper sofa. $79
Queen Suite: This includes two queen sized beds with a pull-out sleeper sofa. $99
In order to receive this special rate, reservations must be made before the January 9th 2006 cut off date. After January 9th 2006, all rooms not reserved will be released to the general public. Any reservations made after this cut-off date will be subject to rate and availability.
Reservations can be made in two ways:
By calling the hotel directly at (952) 738-7300 and asking for the "US Pond Hockey" rate.
By calling the toll-free number at 1-888-287-9400 and asking or the "US Pond Hockey" rate.
The SpringHill Suites is located 17 miles (approximately 20 minutes) from the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport. Airport transportation is available through Super Shuttle www.supershuttle.com. SpringHill Suites recommends booking Super Shuttle in advance.
Driving Directions to the SpringHill Suites Minneapolis West
SpringHill Suites Minneapolis West 5901 Wayzata Boulevard St. Louis Park, MN 55416 Ph: (952) 738-7300 Fax: (952) 738-7301 www.springhillsuites.com/mspsl
Directions from Hwy 94 from Wisconsin: Take Hwy 394 West. Take Hwy 394 West to the Park Place/Xenia exit. Turn left onto Park Place. Proceed to the 3rd stoplight (16th Street) and turn right. Proceed on 16th Street to the 2nd stoplight (Zarthan Drive). Turn right onto Zarthan Drive and the hotel is ahead on your left.
Directions from Hwy 94 from St. Cloud: Take 94 South/East to Hwy 494 South/East to 394 East. Take the Louisiana Boulevard exit. Turn right onto Louisiana Boulevard and immediately get in the left-hand lane. Turn left at the 1st stoplight (Wayzata Boulevard). Proceed one mile and the hotel will be on your right.
Directions from Hwy 35 from Duluth: Take Hwy 35W South to Hwy 694 West to Hwy 100 South to Hwy 394 West. Exit at Park Place/ Xenia exit and turn left onto Park Place. Proceed to the 3rd stoplight (16th Street) and turn right. Proceed on 16th Street to the 2nd stoplight (Zarthan Drive). Turn right onto Zarthan Drive and the hotel is ahead on your left.
Directions from Hwy 169 from Mankato: Take Hwy 169 North to Hwy 394 East to Louisiana Boulevard exit. Immediately, get into the left-hand lane and turn left onto Wayzata Boulevard. Proceed on Wayzata Boulevard one mile and the hotel will be on your right.
Directions from Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport: 494 West to Hwy 100 North to Hwy 394 West. Exit onto Park Place/Xenia exit and turn left onto Park Place. Proceed to the 3rd stoplight (16th Street) and turn right. Proceed on 16th Street to the 2nd stoplight (Zarthan Drive). Turn right onto Zarthan Drive and the hotel is ahead on your left.
