2012 New England Pond Hockey Classic
 

As of today, there are 182 teams registered for next years event. That is 30 more teams than last year........ The countdown begins for another classic

2012 New England Pond Hockey Classic
 

Friday, February 3, 2011 - Sunday, February 5, 2011

http://cdn.ngin.com/attachments/phot...ader_large.png
New England Pond Hockey Classic

The show must go on
 

With just over three weeks to go before the puck drops I was not holding out much hope for this years Pond Hockey Classic. That is until I read a post on their facebook page last week saying they are considering alternate plans to spread the games over to some of the smaller lakes and ponds that have frozen over. While not ideal at least this would keep the hotels and restaurants full. I hope they can pull it off as these old bones are looking forward to competing again this year.

Plan B?
 

I have no idea what they'll actually do, but I wondered if they could flood parts of Prescott Park to create all the arenas still side-by-side. Probably that the town won't have that, regardless of the revenue it draws to the area. Thoughts?

..... maybe plan c? .... just in case
 

How's about holding it here..... www.watervillevalley.org/Ice_Arena.html ....plenty huge indoor rink....excellent ice.....Rt 93-Exit 28......130-miles from Boston......plenty hotel space right close by .... plus a huge fireworks show, Saturday 7:30pm!

So this means that the Big Lake is frozen over solid; right?

BTW, we live down here on North Hutchinson Island, Florida during the winter, but we will soon be visiting some Gilford friends up in Leesburg, FL, and she is going to plan a Gilford Day down here with as many as she can round up. FUN!

Can you read the headline POND Hockey Classic...on another note there is still time for the bay to get ice. Have faith winter is coming!

I drove by this afternoon. the spot closest to the hotel is semi frozen. The rest of the bay is boatable... ugghhh

Here is the 15 day forecast, looks promising.


<table class="calendar" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td> Tonight 9

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Temps not cold enough
 

At least for the next week the temps, unfortunately aren't cold enough to freeze the lake or even the bay. I have heard from a reliable source that the pond hockey will be rescheduled if the lake isn't ready come Feb 3rd.:) Everyone pray for cold. We all need this event as it has become the biggest weekend in Meredith Bay.

As Winnisquam guy points out, if the 7-10 day forecasts are to be believed, by the weekend we'll see a long stretch of days where the temperature never goes above freezing. We'll see lots of ice forming once that happens.

Winnisquam Guy -- that was a nasty comment.

Yeah but if a little bit of ice forms then gets covered with snow the ice will be insulated and it'll slow it's ability to thicken up.

It also makes for weak ice that is poor for skating. If the snow goes into the water and after the snow ends it gets very cold and the wind dies down, that makes for great ice.

R2B

It si gonna be a while
 

I’ve been around the area in the last couple of days and noticed, Lilly pond isn’t even completely frozen over and has open water in the center, Opechee has some ice but not much, Winnisquam has very little ice even on the south or west side of the bridge. With some weather stations putting next weeks temps in the mid 40’s with rain in the forecast it could be a long wait.
Now grant it this storm we are now getting, 3-4 days ago was suppose to be rain all the way to the Canadian border things have a way of mysteriously changing here in NH.
Yesterday afternoon we noticed 2 people ice fishing on the south side of the Winnisquam bridge with open water all around except for ice from one section of shoreline. The ice may have been just thick enough to support them but we both concurred they were not very smart.

I think I can I think I can
 

Now that we have snow on the ground, the lake will freeze faster. Makes a big difference in the ice build up.

Saturday and Sunday night look to be at or below zero, so if the wind in down, good solid ice will form.

R2B

Breezy though
 

Forecast is for the winds to continue with gusts up to 25mph.

Through Sunday daytime, it looks like the winds will be too strong for the ice to get going. However, I believe the wind will drop to calm late Sunday night with the air temp close to zero. If this pans out, that is great ice-in weather!

R2B

Alternative
 

If the Meredith Bay ice isn't safe enough for the tournament I wonder if Waukewan could work? It's been iced in for awhile now. Hire a couple of school buses to continuosuly shuttle folks from the town docks to Waukewan and keep the tournament in Meredith.

When we left Black Cat this morning, there was ice everywhere. Hopefully, it won't get ripped open by the wind but will have a day or two to thicken

As of now it is still being hosted on Meredith Bay. Founder Scott Crowder has been in Meredith the past few days and shot this photo this morning.http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...60888550_n.jpg keep your fingers crossed

Yesssss!!!!!!!

In an interview today with founder Scott Crowder, he states " To the 1,200 participants, The games will be played". As of now still on the bay. backup plans are in place if NEEDED. I can assure you Crowder, his crew, and all the local volunteers like myself will be working in full force in order to get the ice in the best possible shape.

Looks like the crew has plowed rinks on the bay... Also read in daily sun that the Stanley Cup will be in Meredith...

who is coming out to watch the New England Classic?http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...89501203_n.jpg It is still On!!!

Driving down Waukewan Rd yesterday morning, saw two guys with snow-blowers about a hundred yards out from the trailer boat launching ramp on Lake Waukewan, clearing the snow away and creating ice hockey "rinks." So's it looks like the pond hockey will probably be held on Lake Waukewan, which is about one mile west of the Meredith town docks which are on meredith bay, Lake Winnipesaukee.

It was raining lightly at the time, yesterday morning, with the temp about 34-degrees, and today it is more like 44-degrees which is a little bit warm for a January 24 day time temp in Meredith.

Split venue?
 

I'm wondering if Scott Crowder, at this point, is thinking of a possible split venue. I think he could have a number of safe rinks on Meredith Bay (some of which are already snowblowed) but probably not enough to satisfy the tournament schedule. You don't want people heading too far out on Meredith Bay at this point in time. At the start of the tournament the Waukewan rinks would need to be used. As the tournament progressed and the number of games decreased they could all be played on Meredith Bay. Only time (and Mother Nature) will tell, I guess...

The Venue will not be split, This is to hard to organize with sponsors and vendors etc... not to mention having officials and himself at both locations. It will be one location, no definite decisions have been made at this point. the only decision that has been made is that the Pond Hockey Classic will happen no matter what!

Pond Hockey Classic postponed
 

WMUR this morning the pond hockey classic has been changed to February 10-12.

http://www.wmur.com/news/30296461/detail.html

Wrong Tourney, the one they are talking about is in Concord NH, not the Lake Winni Tourney

I wish you guys the best. If it does not end up being on Waukewan someone did a lot of work for nothing. There looked to be 22 rinks snowblown there!

Sorry about that.
 

I did not pay close enough attention to the details, just the heading.

no biggie to me, i make mistakes everyday, but it was cool you found that and are keeping a weathered eye on it

The New England Pond Hockey Classic ( Pondhockeyclassic.com ) will be happening on the Weekend of February 3-5. " Like" them on facebook, or follow on twitter for up to date information . Scott Crowder (founder) will be announcing all the details today, as soon as he does, I will post them here. He doesn't want rumors to be started early :) Thanks for the positive feedback guys!!! Come Check It Out!!!!!!!!!!!

The venue is WAUKEWAN.
 

Thanks for the great photo.
I am glad the organizers were able to have a back up plan and keep the event in Meredith.

http://www.pondhockeyclassic.com/new...rrer_id=247487

ALL THE INFO YOU NEED HERE..... One thing I would love to make very very veryyyyy important.. NOOOO ONSITE PARKING, AT ALL no matter who you are. Parking will be available in many spots across Meredith with shuttles being ran.

Looking much better than I ever expected!
 

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...27394327_n.jpg
This was just posted on the Pond Hockey facebook page.

Yes, we were out there today to check it out, the wind blew me all the way across the rink and i was wearing boots, the ice is look great, we will be working as hard as we can to deliver the best conditions for everyone.

Job well done it looks great. Good luck next weekend to all involved...

Thanks, we have been doing our best. And attention to all. slots are still open at the LCPHC at lake champlain in colchester vt. YOU MUST REGISTER BY FRIDAY. Sign up now, and don't miss your chance.

place to skate?
 

Does anyone know if they set up a "rink" for freinds/family/spectators just to skate around on? I am going up to cheer on a friend and I was thinking it would be nice to skate around a little bit. Been A while since Ive been on pond ice!

as of right now, there is no "spectator rink" we have it in mind, but with all the changes this year we have had no time to make one yet, the ice on the WHOLE lake however is great, and only about 2 inches of snow on top. People were skating up and down the whole lake and it was perfect, Bring your skates for sure and we will try to clear off at least a little area to play around on.

Looks like the $100 Gala had been revised....
 

http://www.citizen.com/sports/local_...a4bcf6878.html


What a exciting weekend we have ahead of us......:D:D:D

Surprisingly enough it looks like temps will remain low enough this weekend to make for some great ice conditions. Good luck to all involved!

For those of us who could not be there, how did it go? Any reports?

Article in the Citizen....
 

Scott Crowder should consider this as a large feather in his cap after pulling this one out. As far as the hockey goes this was by far the best year for competitive and spirited play. With so many talented teams now entering, the difference in making the playoff and not making the playoffs could come down to the goal differential. That means nobody slacks off out of fear of not making the cut or just being embarrassed.
As far as the merchants in town I have no idea how this year stacked up to the two previous years but I have a feeling that with the change of venue things may have been a little slower. Maybe someone could chime in on that one.

Great response, glad you had fun, We are glad that everything went off well and everyone had fun. The venue was different but it seamed to work out. Come on up to VT to check out some more action!

Great action shots
 

These were posted on the Pond Hockey's facebook page. Photographer did an outstanding job. http://www.pondhockeyclassic.co/

Pond Hockey Classic made for busy weekend at Kara's Cafe
 

To the editor, Laconia Daily Sun, Feb 14,

My husband and I would like to extend much gratitude and praise to all the people who worked diligently to make the 3rd Annual New England Pond Hockey Classic a successful event. We are the owners of Kara's Cafe & Cakery on Main St in Meredith and the event was directly correlated to a busy weekend.

This fun event boosts our local economy tremendously and we are grateful, thankyou.

Kara and Carlos Martinez
Kara's Cafe & Cakery
Meredith

Great response, glad you enjoyed it. Sorry that we were unable to make in on the bay, im sure that the business was slightly less than it could have been if it was on the bay, but that's mother nature.