[mcdude]

Laconia Daily Sun

Pucks drop today for 260 teams competing in Pond Hockey Classic

• MEREDITH — The sixth annual New England Pond Hockey Classic gets underway at the top of Meredith Bay this morning with 250 teams with 1,800 players competing in non-stop daily action over the weekend — on 24 different rinks
  Established in the fall of 2009 by recent college graduate Scott Crowder, the tournament was a vision to partner his two passions, the sport of hockey and the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Crowder, grew up in a hockey family, the son of former Boston Bruin and college hockey coach Bruce Crowder, he spent much of his time between the ice rinks in the winter and the waters of Lake Winnipesaukee in the summer.
  Graduating with a degree in Sport Management and Marketing from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, he was confident with his education, prior knowledge of the hockey community and familiarity of the Lake Region that a big time pond hockey tournament could flourish in the area.
  Planning for the first New England Pond Hockey Classic began in October of 2009, just three short months before the puck was to drop. By the time registration closed, the NEPHC had 77 teams signed up to compete with even more on the wait list.
  Doubling in size the 2011 NEPHC saw 152 teams compete with over 100 teams on the wait list. Seeing the success of the event in N.H., Crowder quickly looked for another hockey market with cold winters to host a PHC. 2012 saw 175 teams compete in New Hampshire and an inaugural event on Lake Champlain in Colchester, Vt. which had 57 teams take to the ice.
  ''This is an ideal place for this kind of hockey event,'' says Crowder, noting that the proximity to the Boston area draws lots of teams and players attracted to the old time style hockey in which teams compete outdoors without a goalie. ''It's become one of the premier pond hockey events in the whole country'' says Crowder.
  Last year the tournament switched from having rinks surrounded by snowbanks to using hard plastic boards which are assembled by crews and anchored with brackets and spikes to keep them in place and Crowder says the response was overwhelmingly positive.
  ''The players loved it and we decided that it's a worthwhile investment. It also makes the surfaces in other tournaments in Vermont, Montana and New York City consistent.'' said Crowder. The only other major tournament which uses the plastic boards is in Minnesota.
  This year teams will be coming from as far away as Washington, D.C., Florida and Colorado to play here says Crowder, who say that the hospitality of the Lakes Region continues to be one of the big attractions.
  ''This event has an economic impact on the area of around $2 million. Not only do the players come here, but their friends and families also show up for the whole weekend,'' says Crowder.
  Play starts at 8 a.m. this morning in eight different divisions and games run until around 4:30 in the afternoon. The same schedule holds on Saturday and on Sunday playoff games start at 9 a.m. and run until 12:45 p.m. Finals in all divisions get underway at 2 p.m., with an awards ceremony held at 2:45 p.m.