Labatt brews a bigger Pond Hockey Tournament
2nd annual event set to be four times the size of last year’s, with 64 teams participating
Labatt Blue will host a bigger and better event for its second annual Pond Hockey Tournament.
Officials from Erie County, the City of Buffalo and Labatt USA said during an announcement Monday that they hope to attract a record crowd for the event.
“[Last year] was very successful,” said Dave Grohusko, Labatt brand manager. “Labatt brought a real hockey experience to Western New York.”
This year’s event will be held from 7:30 a. m. to 5 p. m. Feb. 7 at Erie Basin Marina. It will be four times the size of last year’s, with 64 teams competing on eight rinks and in eight divisions — from novice to advanced.
Last year’s tournament had 16 teams, all at the advanced level, and all of the original 16 have been invited to participate in this year’s tournament.
Also new this year is a change in the minimum age of participation, to allow more players to compete. This year’s tournament will be be open to players 21 and older, while last year’s was limited to those 25 and older.
“We’re really excited about this year’s tournament,” said Peter Bodenham, director of marketing for Labatt USA, which is headquartered in downtown Buffalo. “We’ve expanded the level of players who can participate and lowered the age . . . as our consumers requested.”
The game format is four-on-four with no goalie and special nets that are 6 inches high and 6 feet wide. The eight teams in each division will divide into two groups of four for round-robin competition, with the winners of the two groups then competing for the division championship.
Also new are four regional tournaments in Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Saratoga and East Aurora that will send their winning teams to participate.
The tournament will be played on approximately 136,000 square feet of a frozen Lake Erie. The choppy, dull surface delivers hockey in its purest form, officials said.
“We want to create an authentic hockey experience that takes people back to hockey’s roots,” Bodenham said.
All proceeds from the tournament will go to the Police Athletic League.
Many more spectators are expected, with attendance surpassing last year’s tally of several hundred people, said Mayor Byron W. Brown.
Many downtown businesses were open specifically for the tournament last year, and more probably will be open this year for the tournament, which takes place on a Saturday.
“As it grows, it will have more and more economic impact on the area,” Brown said.
“The event will see significant growth this year, and we hope that eventually it will attract teams and fans from outside of the area. Having the four regional tournaments feed a team into this event will jump-start that process. It confirms Buffalo is the home of hockey in Western New York,” County Executive Chris Collins said.
In addition to more participants, Labatt Blue will add music, a skills competition, and food and apparel vendors.
For tournament information and game schedules, go to www.performaxhockey.com .
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