This week was supposed to be the Black Ice Pond Hockey issue. And the key phrase there is supposed to.
Every year in the week leading up to the tournament, we have a section that’s chock-full of all the information you need to enjoy a weekend of great hockey at White Park.
And with the tournament slated for next weekend, right about now you should be laughing at the funny team names, mapping out what days you want to go and getting psyched for some classic pond hockey.
There’s only one problem: The tournament has been postponed. And that explains why you’re reading this and not the eight-page pull-out that should be taking up the middle part of this Insider.
Thanks to some unseasonably warm weather over the last few weeks and more expected through the rest of this week (with some rain mixed in), it was a recipe for some last-minute changes and tough calls that organizers didn’t want to have to make for a second year in a row.
“You start looking at 40- and 50-degree weather with rain, and it’s not too conducive for ice,” said organizer Chris Brown.
In case you forgot, the second day of last year’s tournament was played on boots, while the final day had to be moved indoors to Everett Arena because of ice conditions – and that’s not really what pond hockey enthusiasts and players are looking for.
“We’re probably a little gun shy after last year,” Brown said.
So instead of crossing their fingers and hoping for a cold snap that just wasn’t in the forecast, the decision was made last Tuesday to change the dates for the seventh annual tournament.
Now the tournament is planned for Feb. 10-12, with just about everything staying the same – just taking place two weeks later.
“People are paying a sizeable registration fee and I think it’s in our best interest to provide a surface worthy of the tournament,” Brown said.
The hope for Brown is that all – or at least most – of the 95 teams will still be able to make it for the tournament.
And if you haven’t checked it out before, you really should. The ice is broken up into eight small rinks and instead of goalies, there’s these little 6-foot-by-2-foot boxes with small 1-foot openings on each corner for goals to be scored in. No slap shots allowed in this tourney.
In addition to the hockey, Black Ice is home to daily bonfires, live music, fireworks and a youth hockey program featuring 5- to 7-year-olds from the Concord Youth Hockey Mite Program, who most certainly skate better than us.
So while you might be disappointed that you’ll have to wait a couple extra weeks to check out all the action, trust us, it will be worth it.
“I don’t think the general public wants to be trudging around down there in mud puddles,” Brown said.
And if you’ve got an in with Mother Nature, make sure she knows to keep things at a good temp for making ice – just make sure you specify outdoors and not in anyone’s pipes.
For more info, visit blackicepondhockey.com.
