LOVE OF THE GAME
Pond hockey endures as good, old-fashioned winter fun
WILTON, N.Y. >> Nobody wears helmets, shin guards or shoulder pads.
The makeshift goal is an old shopping cart, tipped up on its side.
There are no refs, no scoreboard and no large cheering crowds. In fact, the only audience is an ice fisherman, who keeps his distance across the frozen lake’s surface.
This is hockey in it’s old-fashioned purest form, played by whoever gets on the ice first at a small cove on northeast Loughberry Lake, near the corner of Worth and Northern Pines roads.
“It’s open to everybody,” said Garrett Quinn, who played a pickup game with fellow Saratoga Central Catholic High School students the other day.
“But if we can keep ‘em off our ice we try to hold down our territory,” he said, smiling.
Classmate Jake Munn said, “We just play here for fun. I like checking people and scoring goals.”
Weather permitting, a few cars can always be found parked near the site on Saturdays and weekdays after school.
“I live on Saratoga Lake,” Jake Welcome said. “When that’s not frozen we play here. I have a leaf blower in my car to blow off the snow. We like to ski, too, so if there’s a lot of snow we go skiing and then come play hockey later in the day.”
Near the frozen shoreline, a trio of young Saratoga Springs High School grads set up lawn chairs to
put on their skates.
“A lot of guys are always out here,” Nicholas McDonough said. “It’s a great way to get guys together and play some hockey, especially when it’s real cold out and there’s nothing else to do.
“We like to lace ‘em up even though it’s not fresh ice.”
Sean Holmes, of Greenfield, played for the Blue Streaks and his sister, Lilly, is a freshman on the University of Vermont’s varsity women’s hockey team. Holmes said he’d do whatever it takes to get a little ice time.
“I’ll drop the gloves if need be,” he joked.
For those interested in more competitive organized pond hockey, two local tournaments are planned this winter.
The Saratoga Frozen Springs Classic, scheduled for Friday to Sunday, Feb. 8-10 at Saratoga Spa State Park, attracts players from throughout the Northeast.
Teams must have a minimum of four players on their roster no more than eight. All games are played four-on-four, round robin style. Games are 40 minutes long consisting of two 20-minute halves with a two-minute break between halves.
Registration is $400 per team. Single registrants will be placed on a free agent list.
The overall winning team will be awarded trophies at the close of the event and their registration fee will be waived. Additional team prizes will be announced.
To register and for more information go to: http:// saratogafrozenspringsclassic.com,
In Glens Falls, the inaugural Adirondack Pond Hockey Tournament is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 2-3. Special rinks will be constructed on the grass fields of Crandall Park, near the YMCA.
About 40 teams are expected to compete in the two-day tournament, beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday, with championship games in two divisions taking place Sunday afternoon.
The four-on-four tournament will be a triple elimination format, ensuring that each team plays at least three games.
Bragging rights will be on the line plus $1,000 in prizes, hockey gear and the winning teams’ names will be engraved on the annual Champions Trophy. A special skills competition will be offered too, with prizes.
In addition, all players will receive a free ticket to the Adirondack Thunder’s home game on Friday, Feb. 1, along with a tournament T-shirt, a special hockey puck, tickets to the “Puck Drop Welcome Party” on Friday night, and dinner tickets to the Saturday Apres Ice party.
The team fee is $450. Fifteen percent of proceeds will go to local non-profits. This year’s recipients are the Adirondack Civic Center Coalition and the Crandall Park Beautification Committee.
Pond hockey proved quite valuable for Jeff Mead, as he went on to become a standout Glens Falls High School player and scored the gamewinning goal in the 1991 state championship game. He’s now general manager of Cool Insuring Arena and the Adirondack Thunder pro hockey team.
Mead said he can’t wait to come out of retirement and play in the upcoming Adirondack Pond Hockey Tournament.