The U.S. Pond Hockey Championships are an annual pond hockey event on

Lake Nokomis Lake Nokomis is one of several lakes in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and part of the city's Chain of Lakes. The lake was previously named Lake Amelia in honor of Captain George Gooding's daughter, Amelia, in 1819. Its current name was adopted in 19 ...

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Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

. Though an amateur tournament, the competition draws hockey enthusiasts from all over North America, many of whom have pro and college hockey experience. ESPN.com listed the tournament as part of their "101 Things Sports Fans Must Experience Before They Die."

Format

The tournament includes competition in six divisions: * The Open Division (anyone can play) * 40+ Division * 50+ Division * Rink Rats (amateurs who would rather not face the near-pro talent that is common in the Open Division) * Women's * Seniors * Bender The Bender Division is for the beautiful late bloomers of the Pond. Boys and girls who got in to hockey long after the glory days of high school were gone. The teams compete for a trophy called the Golden Shovel. Each year, the winners of each division get to engrave their names into the Golden Shovel in a tradition reminiscent of the NHL's

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

Past winners (Open Division)

Tournaments

2006 Tournament

2007 Tournament

Due to the unusually warm weather in

during the winter of 2006–2007, tournament sponsors moved the tournament from Lake Calhoun to

. Notable players in the 2007 tournament include: *

Phil Housley Phillip Francis Housley (born March 9, 1964) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He most recently served an assistant coach for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 2019 to 2022. Housley was th ...

Brad Bombardir Luke Bradley Bombardir (born May 5, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played for the New Jersey Devils, Minnesota Wild and the Nashville Predators in the NHL. He currently serves as the Minnesota Wild's Director of Pl ...

Guy Kawasaki Guy Kawasaki (born August 30, 1954) is an American marketing specialist, author, and Silicon Valley venture capitalist. He was one of the Apple employees originally responsible for marketing their Macintosh computer line in 1984. He populariz ...

2008 Tournament

2009 Tournament

2010 Tournament

2011 Tournament

Held January 21–23, 2011 on Lake Nokomis.

2012 Tournament

References

External links

U.S. Pond Hockey Championships Web Site
Ice hockey tournaments in the United States Pond hockey 2006 establishments in Minnesota Recurring sporting events established in 2006 {{Icehockey-competition-stub