Hockey tournament on Meredith Bay!

[Cobalt 25]

This sounds like a lot of fun! It looks like it is well organized and will provide welcome income for local businesses. My team plays in a tournament in Lake Placid, NY, and is sponsored by the one of the same sponsors in Meredith, Labatt's beer. But, believe me, beer is not the focus here! It's all about hockey and having a good time!


http://www.pondhockeyclassic.com/Home_Page.html

I wish them the best of luck in their endeavor.

Peter

(maybe one or two beers will be consumed!)

[BlackCatIslander]

This is a great idea and I hope that it is successful and becomes an annual event. I know that there is a similar event held somewhere in New Brunswick. This should help many of the local businesses.

[Resident 2B]

This is a wonderful idea!

I am well past my playing days, and to be very honest, my playing days were not really that good. However, the memories are priceless.

All I can do now is support this great event. I will be in the beer tent and watching the games. I will also be at Fenway for the NHL Classic and the College night a week later. Go BC!!!

R2B

[trfour]

I'm with ya Cobalt 25, BCI and R2B... Also, my playing days are over, however the enjoyment of doing so will always have a very special place in my heart.

I had the pleasure of watching a video about the M/S Mount Washington, Do watch closely and you will see a brief glimpse of an improvised oar/broom protruding from an porthole in the ship that I immediately associated with the Great, Bobby Gordon Orr of the Boston Bruins Hockey team. Could it have been a summer job for him? ...

Link; http://multimedia.boston.com/m/25325...ly+Friendly%22

[angela4design]

That will be great for the community, and I'll love watching it, as well!

[Bear Island South]

looks like a well planned event and they are taking on Super Bowl Weekend, I think I will make the trek and check it out.

I wonder, is this why Fishing Derby was bumped? could be a bigger draw of tourists.

[hockeypuck]

Weather permitting I'll be there as an observer only. I think my playing days are well behind me. the only time I lace them up now is with the grandkids.
I hope the event is successful and becomes a yearly event. Pond hockey is where many of us got our start. Best of luck to all those participating.

[BlackCatIslander]

I have such fond memories of pond hockey as a youth. Every afternoon after school we would race home, grab our gear, and meet and shovel snow off the ice, if necessary. Depending on which pond we were playing on, there would be one or more games going on. Often someone would have to lay flat on the ice and very slowly inch towards our only puck that was on the edge of very thin ice.

On weekends, we would throw 4 or 5 oranges for food in our hockey bag and play all day. Players would come and go but the game would continue until sunset. No one kept score, the idea was to improve skills and have fun. A great period in my life.

[ApS]

Originally Posted by BlackCatIslander

"...I have such fond memories of pond hockey as a youth...Players would come and go but the game would continue until sunset. No one kept score, the idea was to improve skills and have fun. A great period in my life..."

Suitable hockey ice was hard for to find in central Rhode Island. Fortunately for us kids, there was a fairly level pasture nearby. A few shallow patches froze up quickly that were large enough for hockey.

In addition to improving skills, keeping one's balance was especially important in that pasture: portruding through the ice was the occasional cow patty!

[Simon]

Should be a great tournament. The gentleman behind this event is Scott Crowder from Nashua, NH. He is the son of Bruce Crowder, former Boston Bruin, UMass-Lowell & Northeastern hockey coach.

I wish I could play - but this is a 4 on 4 tournament - no goaltenders allowed. I am planning on attending to watch some of my current adult league teammates participate. We always attend regular tournaments in Montreal every Spring.

Ron

[AC2717]

Does anyone know how I can get a team in this late, I know the website states registrations closed on the 1st, Dam it, this is what I get for taking a week or two off from the Forum, shame on me


Calling all forum members, does anyone have any pull I could use????

[Simon]

AC

Have you called or emailed to be put on the waiting list? One of my teammates is in the same situation.

Ron

[AC2717]

Yup
set it all up yesterday

Was told by the person runing the tourney, Scott, that they may open the Open division back up to more teams because of the demand. We are third or fourth on the list we were told

[Cobalt 25]

AC2717, keep us posted on whether or not your team gets in. Also, how you do!

Based on some of the responses I've seen, this video may be of interest to some of you. It's a bit repetitive after a while, but it does have some good stuff.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/118204/pond-hockey

Peter

[AC2717]

Just checked on friday, was told they are pretty sure they are not expanding the leagues, but cross my fingers that teams will dump out, only 4 weeks till the tourney, I hope a couple decide they cannot make it, we are all waiting with baited breath and i started to make plans to call Dead River for Propane for the cottage and everything else.

[ACutAbove]

if you get in and you need a extra player for some reason let me know...thanks

[AC2717]

Will do
I will put you on the team waitlist

[Pontoon Goon]

Has anyone been by Meredith Bay lately ? With all this up and down weather I am wondering how the ice is looking. Only eight days to go.

[hilltopper]

Originally Posted by Pontoon Goon

Has anyone been by Meredith Bay lately ? With all this up and down weather I am wondering how the ice is looking. Only eight days to go.

It looked pretty good to me last night as I drove by. I'm wondering if they'll flood each of the shoveld rinks the night before the tournament?

[Pontoon Goon]

Thanks for the info Hilltopper. They are going to put water on but it is pond hockey so they say to expect bumps and cracks whatever else nature decides.

[Simon]

You’ve got to love a young entrepreneur.

Some kids graduate from college, especially in this economy, and have no clue as to what they’re going to do. Half the time it’s of no fault of their own, it’s just bad timing.

Not 24-year-old Scott Crowder, a 2004 Bishop Guertin grad and recent graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst is putting his sports management and marketing degrees to good use. Rather than wait for somebody else to hire him, he decided to create his own job.

And that job is attracting nearly 500 adult pond hockey players to Meredith Bay this coming weekend. The first-ever New England Pond Hockey Classic, which starts Friday and will raise money for community organizations and Special Olympics, is his brainchild.

“There are kids who have graduated school and aren’t doing anything,” he said. “I have a job I like. And it’s kind of taken on a life of its own.”

Indeed, he couldn’t have expected anything like this. Crowder, the son of former UMass Lowell, Northeastern University, and Portland (AHL) coach Bruce Crowder, tried to get work on his own after college – as a professional hockey player (he played at BG as a freshman and sophomore). He went to California to pursue his dream, tried out for an ECHL team in Stockton, but didn’t make it. He didn’t want to barnstorm the rest of the minor leagues.

Instead, he was up in Meredith in the fall – he would always summer there – and Crowder was always the type of kid to grab a bunch of people on his own an get a pond game going in the winter.

The light went on … and it’s burning bright. Seventy-seven teams are coming, mainly 4-on-4 stuff, and there’s another 30-plus on the waiting list. Sponsors galore. Some hockey names, such as his dad, plus Steve Leach, Bobby Carpenter and perhaps Lyndon Byers. He went to some community meetings, raised the idea, met with insurance companies, the whole nine yards. The kid knows what he’s doing.

“Why not?” he said. “Why not try it? There isn’t another pond hockey tournament in the area to take advantage of the hockey community. It’s a passionate fan base.

“Honestly? I knew it could become something like this. But I wasn’t sure the first year we could get the response like this.”

Media outlets will be coming up to Meredith next weekend to check out Crowder’s brainchild. He has seven rinks, each 150 feet long by 75 feet wide, set up with snow barriers. You can check the scenery out at pondhockeyclassic.com. Crowder’s event does the Facebook and Twitter thing, too. With today’s technology, making it so easy to get the word out, he has teams coming from as far away as Colorado and Washington, D. C. There will be a silent auction as well, with one of the prizes a game against an NHL Legends team.

Good stuff, and we wish him the best. There’s a woman’s team, and one co-ed team. In the coming years, he’d like to branch out to a youth division tournament on a separate weekend.

The folks in the Meredith and Lakes Region business community must love this. “As much as they tell you they don’t hurt in the winter, you know it’s not the same (as summer),” Crowder said. “The hotels, the restaurants, they’ll all benefit from this.”

And you can bet they’re glad, along with Special Olympics and other organizations as well as the hockey community in general, that he didn’t make that Stockton ECHL team.

Game On in Meredith next weekend, check it out. Sounds like fun on Golden Pond.

[Little Bear]

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-20...y-classic-live

This is really cool.

[LakesRegionSpirit]

Just came back from shooting this event today. If you have not been yet, make a point to visit this weekend.

Also, Sunday at noon is an NHL Legends Game.

The guy who ran the bullhorn should run the country. Games started on time, teams ready or not, and games ended when they were supposed to. On time all day.

A great scene. Also nice to see the rest. and bars in Meredith filled to overflowing. Ch.. 9 was there, Helicopter overhead,

Live debut of InterLakes.tv direct to the web, did I say LIVE.

[hockeypuck]

This is great. Just what the area needs. Good outdoor fun and a few extra $$ spread around. The Video is great for those of us unable to make it there. I was sure I would be there to watch but Swine, bronchitis and the double whammy pneumonia kept me down here in Ct. Enjoy the weekend.

[LakesRegionSpirit]

If you would like to view some photos of Fridays games. Please note this is my storefront and the images are for sale, but you can simply view them as well.

http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/thum...aspx?e=6172296

[angela4design]

Great photos! Thanks Spirit!!

[AC2717]

Nice photos, I really wish we got our time in there, but we never got the call.
Oh well, I will make sure we get in next year!

[LakesRegionSpirit]

Saturday Photos. Again, for those that wish not to be pointed to commerce, this is my storefront and there are prices.

http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/thum...aspx?e=6175077

[Cobalt 25]

LRS,

Great action photos! If I were lucky enough to be featured in one of your pics, I'd be sure to purchase a copy. Did all the players know about your website?

I've seen a lot of hockey tournament photos before, both for me and my 2 sons, and yours are way better than most I've seen.

I'm shooting for next year, too!

Peter

[LakesRegionSpirit]

Appreciate your comments about my images, Peter. Thanks. Kevin

[LakesRegionSpirit]

Oh, it was pond hockey, in Meredith, with NHL legends. But a win is a win.

Photos of Sunday's action here:

http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/thum...aspx?e=6180070

[Cobalt 25]

Again, great pics. Looks like the weather was perfect. Who were the guys on the Bruin's Legends team?

Peter

[LakesRegionSpirit]

Carpenter, Leach, Bruce Crowder, Scott Crowder (Bruce's son and event organizer)

[mcdude]

There's a nice aerial shot of the action on the front page of today's Laconia Daily Sun.

[LakesRegionSpirit]

That's one photographic accessory I don't have yet...a plane.

[trfour]

And Story came from the ice in Meredith...

http://citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art...895/-1/CITIZEN

[Pontoon Goon]

Thanks for posting the link to the Citizen Trfour. I was quoted in the article and otherwise would have missed it. That tournament was the most fun I have had in years.

[LakesRegionSpirit]

Feb. 4 - 6.

Appears all events are feeling the need to grab those weekend dates. First Rotary announces early, then pond hockey.

Sled Dogs anyone?