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Grand Lake kicks off first ever Pond Hockey Classic tournament this weekend

Tim Devries and his sons Tobin, 9 and Nash, 6 play hockey on the Grand Lake ice rink next to Town Hall. The hockey tournament this weekend will be held on seperate rinks on the surface of Grand Lake.
File photo / Kristen Lodge |

If you are looking for some fun this weekend grab your skates, pads and stick and head on up to Grand Lake for the first ever Grand Lake Pond Hockey Classic.

On Saturday the Grand Lake Chamber of Commerce will host the first annual Grand Lake Pond Hockey Classic on Grand Lake. The tournament will feature three-one-three hockey action on four separate rinks on the ice of Grand Lake. Each registered team will be guaranteed at least three games during the course of the tournament. The action on the ice gets underway at 9 a.m. Saturday.

Grand Lake area resident Brian Blumenfeld will serve as the tournament commissioner. Blumenfeld has spent the last several weeks preparing for the event in conjunction with the Grand Lake Chamber.



“This is our first annual Grand Lake Pond Hockey Classic,” Blumenfeld said. “We will have four rinks right off the public beach. Anyone can come and watch the teams. We are hoping that this is just the first year of a tournament that grows to be the biggest and baddest pond hockey tournament in North America.”

Blumenfeld noted that registration for the tournament closed Monday but a total of 27 teams have signed up for the event. Retired Colorado Avalanche enforcer and Stanley Cup Champion Scott Parker will be playing in the tournament Saturday along with his team, Parkers Platoon, which is the Parker family’s nonprofit organization.



The tournament will feature three separate divisions based on skill levels with advanced players competing in the Moose Division, intermediate players competing in the Elk Division and beginning players competing in the Fox Division. The top two teams in each division will receive prize packages.

There will also be a beer tent featuring brews, Bloody Marys and some locally distilled spirits from Idlewild. Event organizers expect the tournament to wrap up sometime around 5 p.m. Saturday evening with after tournament action continuing at Pancho & Lefty’s featuring live music from The Acme Band.


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