All signs point to Meredith Bay for 17th Pond Hockey Classic

MEREDITH — Meredith resident Scott Crowder has hockey running through his veins. He's the son of a former Bruins player, and spent plenty of time on the ice himself. He knows many people in the Lakes Region share his devotion to the sport, and later this month, players of all skillsets will compete in the 17th annual New England Pond Hockey Classic.

The tournament takes place Friday through Sunday, Jan. 30-Feb. 1, on Meredith Bay, and Crowder said this year, 275 teams with 2,200 total players will compete. Teams in different age groups and skill brackets will compete to capture the legendary Lake Winnipehockey's Cup.

Talent ranges from former professional players to those who never even suited up in a high school uniform. Crowder joked everyone in the classic is some form of washed-up hockey player, regardless of division.

“We have some competitive divisions that are smaller in size, but the majority want to come out and just play the game they love,” Crowder said.

Many players and teams have competed in the past, the classic has a 95% return rate. The event is free for the public to watch. Entries for teams are full.

Thousands of spectators and participants return year after year for the largest of the organization’s three events. Crowder described it as an “outdoor winter festival that hinges on the sport of hockey.”

“This is a weekend where people — old friends, childhood friends, coworkers, buddies — can have a weekend away, and escape from reality a bit,” Crowder said.

Crowder said pond hockey is a different breed, noting the speed, structure, and strategy diverges from an indoor game. With slightly smaller rinks, and short side boards, slapshots and raised pucks aren’t allowed. He said “saucer passes” can be permitted. The bay is filled with 26 rinks, with prefabricated pond hockey nets 6 feet long with small bucket, promoting low puck play. The game is also played four-on-four, with no goalies.

“Sometimes it isn’t even the most talented team that can win, but instead the ones who figure out how to play pond hockey,” Crowder said. “It is some great hockey, and there are smiles plastered on everyone’s faces.”

Crowder is a graduate of UMass Amherst, and while he grew up in Nashua, he spent summers in the Lakes Region, and now lives in Meredith. After graduating from college in 2009, he had the idea pond hockey is something a lot of people grew up playing or watching, and Meredith Bay could be the perfect spot.

The event was created in a time period where there was a re-emergence of hockey popularity, with the NHL Winter Classic, and various tournaments in the Midwest and into Canada.

He recalls appearing before the selectboard 17 years ago, and telling members it would put the town on the map. Crowder said the community, including the sponsors, have embraced it.

“It struck a chord early on,” Crowder said. “For me, it was a connection of two childhood passions. My family has a house on Bear Island, and in the winter, it was all hockey.”

Crowder’s father is Bob Crowder, a former University of New Hampshire hockey player who went on to play four seasons with the Boston Bruins and the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1980s, with his best 1982-83, when he had 21 goals and 19 assists. He is also the former coach of esteemed hockey schools like the University of Maine, UMass Lowell and Northeastern.

Crowder's organization has steadily grown since its inception. While the Meredith event is the largest, they also hold the newly-acquired U.S. Pond Hockey Championships on Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis, as well as the Pond Hockey Classic on Lake Champlain in Vermont. Crowder said there are about 5,500 participants and 600 teams spread across the three events.

“The goal is to give the hockey community a good excuse to come out and celebrate the way the game is supposed to be played.”

Each year, however, he's reminded why hockey is played indoors. The elements in New Hampshire can be difficult to predict, including ice thickness. There is plenty of adjustment along the way, and taking of measurements leading up to the event. While traditionally held on Meredith Bay, the Pond Hockey Classic has at times been held on nearby Lake Waukewan due to ice conditions.

All indications right now point to Meredith Bay for this year.

“This is the earliest ice and freezing in the bay that I can remember going back 10 years, and we’ve already had crews out doing test holes,” Crowder said, noting they like to have at least 12 inches of ice to be safe. “We’ll start to scrape, flood, and maintain the ice. It looks like the ice will be where we need it to be.”

Crowder said the popular Coors Light Chill Zone will be operating out of the parking lot at Lago, close to all the action on the ice, and tournament village will offer merchandise.

The Coors Light Welcome Party will kick off the weekend Thursday, Jan. 29, with entertainment and giveaways from 5 to 10 p.m. at the Winnipesaukee Ballroom at Church Landing. Players can also check in at the welcome party.

Tournament Village will open at 7 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 30, with games running 8 a.m.-4:35 p.m.

At 9 a.m. the Common Man Food Truck will be open, merchandise will be sold, and other fun activities taking place in the village. The stage opens at 10 a.m. with DJ and Tournament MC Adam Furious. Shuttles will run from designated event parking lots to tournament village between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.

The schedule repeats on Saturday, Jan. 31, with the addition of playoff brackets. Schedules are available online at 8 p.m.

There will be no event shuttles on Sunday, Feb. 1, and the village will be open 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Playoff games start at 9 a.m., with championship games at 1:15 p.m.

For more information, visit pondhockeyclassic.com.