pond hockey

[TGfan06]

you guys should give this new form of pond hockey a shot... looks fun!

Sub-aqua ice hockey | Video | Reuters.com

 

[jimotis4heisman]

ESPN - ESPN The Magazine

THE BIG GAME ON A LITTLE POND IN PLASTER ROCK



by Doug McIntyre

I didn't know much about the World Pond Hockey Championships when ESPN The Magazine asked me to cover the seventh annual tournament in Plaster Rock, New Brunswick. What I did know was sports reporters don't usually get to play in the events they're writing about.

"I'm in," I told the editor, as if he was my men's league captain checking headcount for an 11:30 game on a Wednesday night.

A quick troll via Google suggested this excursion would not be for the weak. A locker-room chinwag confirmed the perils ahead.

"Yeah, I had a couple toes turn black," said Shawn Kallet, a league rival and 2007 WPHC finalist, when I grilled him about rumors he'd suffered frostbite in 2006. "But it was the most fun I've ever had playing hockey." I scribbled "buy feet warmers" at the top of the list on my notepad.

The pictures online were stunning. Twenty 150-by-75 "rinks" carved out of the snow that sits on Roulston Lake, where the competition has been held since 2002. Using the word "world" back then might have seemed been a bit ambitious. The 40 squads that competed six years ago hailed from the three Maritime Provinces and neighboring Maine. Today, however, the organizers' vision has been more than realized. For the past two years, the event has been maxed out to 120 teams; every Canadian province, 35 U.S. states and 15 countries have faced off for the chance to raise that wooden Stanley Cup look-alike.
More than 800 applications were submitted to tourney director Danny Braun in each of the last two years. In fact, the WPHC has been such a smashing success, proceeds from it helped build Plaster Rock's gorgeous new $4.8 million ice arena, which opened in November.

In 2007, Prime Minister Stephen Harper dropped the ceremonial first puck, the first time Canada's head of government ever set foot in this tiny village of 1,200 people. Clearly, this pond hockey thing was officially a big deal.

Better make room reservations, pronto.

"We're not staying in a hotel," said my new teammate Dan Demasi when I spoke to him by phone the next day. Dan was a two-time WPHC vet and seemed to know what he was talking about. At this point, he said, the only available rooms would be an hour away.

"We're renting an RV, driving it up and parking next to the lake," he said. I began to feel queasy. I have enough trouble keeping my Jetta dent-free in New York City. "If the weather isn't too bad, it'll take about 12 hours," he said.

Before we set off, we needed a fourth player. Former Dartmouth captain Mike Loga was already on board, but Dan was determined to find an all-world winger. He suggested former NHL All-Stars Glenn Anderson or Valeri Kamensky, both of whom play pickup locally.

Not only did I believe that went against the spirit of the event, but having a Stanley Cup champ on the roster was no guarantee of success. In 2007, a team featuring two-time Cup winner Brian Skrudland didn't even make the elimination rounds. Plus, I'd already told my buddy Jeff Olsen he was in. I knew Jeff, a former SUNY Cortland standout with excellent hands, would be a perfect fit, on and off the ice. He also worked for Budweiser and offered to bring drinks. Dan was sold. Our team was set.

Fast forward to Feb. 7. We finally rolled into Plaster Rock at about 2 p.m. after driving through the night. We were the Wolfpack, and after a month of planning and stationary bike sessions, we were ready to take our shot at the world title.

Unlike at other outdoor tournaments, there are no divisions at the WPHC. Young guys play against old. Women compete against men. Of the 120 teams, maybe a dozen have a legitimate shot at glory. But even for the elite foursomes, it's not just about the competition. It is about playing the game as you did as a kid—no coaches, no refs, just God's own game in its purest form.

Still, we were among the handful of teams that thought we could go pretty deep if a bounce or two went our way. At the very least, we were determined to be one of the 32 teams that would advance to Sunday's playoffs.

Mike Loga of the Wolf Pack



First, we had to not freeze to death. At around 3 a.m. that first night, the propane tank in the RV ran out. When my shivering woke me up, the thermometer read minus-4 degrees. I lay there hoping it was a nightmare until I heard my teammates starting the engine and putting on their coats, hats and gloves before crawling back under the covers.

"We'll get a tank the next morning," said a voice in the dark. No one grouched; what was another six hours of misery to imminent champions?

On the ice, things went more smoothly. In group play (teams are split into 24 divisions) we went 5-0, outscoring opponents, 133-53. That earned us the 15th overall seed in knockout rounds, where we got past our first serious opposition—four super-fit army bruisers from the Canadian Forces Base in Gagetown, New Brunswick.

Up next was the Easton Express, this year's incarnation of the four-time defending champion Boston Danglers. We hung with them for a while, but in the end, they smoked us. But I don't really want to talk about that, because losing one game isn't going to be my lasting memory of Plaster Rock.

What I will remember is when, 20 minutes into Friday's first game, under the lights, a light snow began falling. I'll remember the awesome beauty of the snow-covered pines that ring the lake. I'll remember playing a kid's game with friends new and old, and not wanting to be anywhere else in the world at that moment.

"Life is good when you can skate into the beer tent," Bryan Gruley wrote in The Wall Street Journal in 2004.

That sums it up perfectly. Those words have become the tourney's unofficial mantra, and rightfully so. For anyone who has ever fallen for this wonderful game, it doesn't get any better than skating on that little pond in Plaster Rock.

not the event i played, cool though...

 

[jimotis4heisman]

looks as if with 10 more days of subfreezing weather christmas eve maybe the day for some shinny in central ohio...