Hockey tournament on Meredith Bay!

[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!!