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Playing on the pond
by Missy Votel When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, or so the old adage goes. But for a group of die-hard local hockey players, when life gives you ice, you shovel it off and make a rink. Last weekend marked the inaugural Creede Three-on-Three Pond Hockey Tournament (also known as the Creede Golden Pick Pond Hockey Tournament, depending on which side of the pass you’re from.) The two-day outdoor tournament was put together by Durango’s Matt Morrissey, director of Chapman Hill, along with the help of the Creede Chamber of Commerce and several dedicated Creede locals. Sporting everything from full modern regalia to the time-honored blue jeans and cotton T, 10 six-person teams from Durango, Creede and Alamosa braved sub-zero temperatures and ice au-naturel to face off over who would be the next kings and queens of old time hockey in Southern Colorado. And while the Level 1 crown will spend the next 12 months in the San Luis Valley, a short-handed team calling itself “The Cold Wind,” made up of two Durango women and one Durango man, can bask in the glory of being the reigning unofficial Southern Colorado Level 2 pond hockey champs. “We had no expectations going in, we were surprised every time we kept winning,” said Cold Wind player Jennifer Zahratka who grew up playing boot hockey on the frozen lakes of northern Minnesota. She was joined by Molly Marquez, a teammate of hers on the Durango Betties, an all-woman traveling hockey team, and Brian Fredrick, a relative rookie. “We had no subs, so I think we were just really gelling by the end,” said Zahratka, who is married to Morrissey. Of course, with early morning temperatures of minus 22, it’s hard to imagine anything not gelling. “I think it worked to our advantage that we didn’t take rests or have to sit on the bench,” she said. “That way, we stayed warmed up.” However, staying warm didn’t seem to be a problem for some of the more, shall we say, traditional players. “There were a couple of characters over there wearing nothing but T-shirts, jeans, skates and work gloves,” said fellow Durango tournament attendee Will Blanchard. In fact, when it comes to the official regulations of the game, it’s safe to say one could fit them all on one side of a hockey puck. “There aren’t that many rules,” said Morrissey, who based the guidelines for the Creede tournament on the National Pond Hockey Championships, held in Minneapolis. Overall, the rules are looser versions of those of indoor hockey, with the emphasis in Creede on teams with members of varying abilities. “This was meant to be a mixed thing,” said Morrissey. “We wanted it to be fun for different groups.”
To that end, no breakaway goals were allowed, with players required to pass at least once before shooting. Furthermore, the game was kept flowing by eliminating the icing rule, whereby play is halted when the puck passes from one end of the ice to the other without being touched. Perhaps the biggest difference was the net, which was conspicuously devoid of goalies and not really a net at all, but a wooden frame of 2-by-4s. “You had to score by getting the puck under the boards, which were a few inches off the ice,” said Zahratka. “That way, really good players couldn’t just lift the puck.” And while all players agreed the outdoor setting, in a dramatic sheer-walled canyon in downtown Creede, was unbeatable, playing in the great outdoors did present some challenges. For starters, recent heavy snowfall caused the collapse of a dam that was forming a second rink for the tournament. As a result, event participation was capped at 10 teams playing on one pond. The 200-by-90-foot sheet was split down the middle to accommodate two games at a time. Furthermore, fluctuating temperatures caused fissures in the ice, making for frequent repairs, and without the benefit of boards, pucks often went missing. “A lot of times you’d have to stop play and yell to the bench for someone to throw you another puck,” said Zahratka. As mother to 5½-month-old Dylan, she found the outdoor setting particularly tricky. “I’d have to sit in the car and feed him. Unfortunately, they don’t make nursing sports bras.” But it is this type of informality and adversity that draws players in increasing numbers to Creede and other pond hockey events throughout the country. According to Morrissey, there are three other pond hockey tournaments in the Lower 48: the Minneapolis National Championships; The LaBatt’s Pond Hockey Tournament in Superior, Wisc.; and another smaller one in the Eagle-Vail Valley of Colorado. Morrissey says the sport is gaining in popularity, though, as evidenced by the near-record attendance at the New Year’s Day NHL hockey game played outdoors in Buffalo, N.Y. “There’s a big thing going on right now with nostalgia,” said Morrissey, who said he grew up playing pond hockey in the Northeast. “I wanted to bring that experience to people in Durango who don’t always have the chance to play outside.” And for those who didn’t take advantage of this chance, Morrissey said plans are in the works to make the tourney an annual event and that the town of Creede may host its own separate pond hockey tournament in February. “The setting is crazy beautiful and everyone in town came out to watch or help out,” said Morrissey, who also owns a cabin in Creede. “At one point, there were 350 people in the stands, made up of townspeople and families.” While pond hockey may have a rough and tumble side, as illustrated by the occasional lack of protective headwear and empty PBR cans scattered beneath the players benches, it has a softer, more forgiving side, too. “Most everyone was there for the right reason, to have fun and meet new people,” said Blanchard. “Except for the championship game, it was just about a good game of pond hockey. Over the course of the weekend, I only saw blood spilled twice.” Which brings us to perhaps the most important rule of all – an unspoken one governed by the old-time hockey code of honor. Morrissey summed it up, “One thing about hockey is that you always have to shake hands with the other team at the end of the game and let what happened on the ice, stay on the ice.” •
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The Independent Weekly Line on Durango and Beyond
