The Pond Hockey Classic

February 27, 2012 - The Pond Hockey Classic has completed a successful 2012 tournament season in the midst of one of the warmest winters on record. Two tournaments scheduled and two tournaments played: The New England Pond Hockey Classic in NH and Lake Champlain Pond Hockey Classic in VT were both played although slightly modified because of the warm temperatures.

The 3rd Annual NEPHC in NH found a new home during the first weekend in February. Hosted on Lake Waukewan just a short 1/4 mile from it's original site on Meredith Bay, 175 teams competed on 18 rinks and experienced what many participants claimed as the best ice to date during the tournament. The Stanley Cup made a visit to the event on behalf of Restore Hockey who was hosting a fundraising night to support its mission. To view pictures from the 2012 NEPHC please click here.

The Inaugural LCPHC in VT was not without changes due to weather as well. The first day of competition was postponed due to warm weather and the tournament weekend was compacted into two days. The long awaited LCPHC saw 57 teams compete on 10 rinks on Malletts Bay in Colchester, VT. Temperatures were not where the tournament directors would have liked them to be and the ice was worn down by the end of the weekend but the PHC is excited to return to the Green Mountain State in 2013. To see some of the photos from this years LCPHC please click here.

"Looking at the winter we have had and the fact that we were able to pull off both events for the participants and regions that host our events, makes me very proud." said Scott Crowder, Founder of the PHC, "Our team overcame a lot of obstacles that were out of our control and came out on top. We received overwhelming support from our sponsors, our host towns and countless other businesses, people and organizations. We cannot thank everyone enough for their involvements and helping us to make the PHC events truly something special."

Over the course of February the PHC experienced ‎2 Tournaments, 28 rinks, 232 teams, over 1000 pond hockey games and thousands of spectators. Many things came together to make the PHC happen but the real assets to the PHC events are the players.

"Having a group of participants that understand our team will do everything in our power to make sure the event happens for them is amazing." said Crowder "We had to make a number of changes this year, from transporting to event sites to postponing an entire day of competition. The participants deserve a lot of credit for rolling with the punches."

The Pond Hockey Classic will return to the ice next year. Tournament dates for the New England Pond Hockey Classic have been announced for the first weekend of February 1-3, 2013 and the Lake Champlain Pond Hockey Classic dates are to be determined at a later date.

Want to get into the action next year? Registration for next years NEPHC and LCPHC will open to the public on September 1st at noon. 2012 teams will have a pre-registration period during the month of August.