Flash take inaugural women's division on Dollar Lake

Nothing says hockey like a frozen lake and some ice-cold Canadian brews. For the third consecutive year, USA Hockey and Labatt Blue teamed up in Eagle River, Wis., for the USAdult Hockey Pond Hockey Championships.

The tournament started on a sunny but frigid Friday. "Because of the cold, we had about 30 inches of ice over the lake that actually made for perfect conditions," said USA Hockey's director of adult hockey, Ashley Bevan.

In spite of typical Northwoods temperatures and snow, participation continued its increasing trend. This year the number of teams jumped to 142 from 80 last year. A women's division with six teams also was added.

"It was by far the best tournament we've been to," said Jena Palermo of Flash, the women's division champion.

The skill level varied in such a large field, but that had little effect on the competitiveness. Possibly the most exciting game of the tournament took place in the semifinals of the men's 40+ bracket when Saturday Night Hockey (SNH) knocked off the reigning champions, Team Cheli's from Detroit, in overtime.

SNH met Secret Aged Man, newcomers to the tournament from San Jose, Calif., later that Sunday for the 40+ division championship.

"I thought it was fun just watching skaters from around the country who have been skating for 30 years," said Secret Aged Men captain Tim Harvey. "I was happily surprised to find out that we were playing on Sunday too."

Both Secret Aged Men and SNH were undefeated through the four games they had played in less than 72 hours. As the first puck dropped, snow quickly piled on the ice, causing problems for the players.

"I could barely see my stick blade on the ice as I handled the puck," Harvey said. "Playing outdoors requires a whole other level of intensity and focus."

At the half the score was 6-1 in favor of Secret Aged Men. After the rink was sprayed down during the intermission, Secret Aged Man came out for the second half even faster.
 
"We always seem to score a few quick goals at the start of the second half, which gives us confidence that we can win," Harvey remarked.

Secret Aged Men rolled to a 17-5 victory and the tournament title.
 
The women's game, between Flash and the Phoenix Scorpions, was filled with much more drama.
          
"We were getting really frustrated with the Scorpions, who put two players in front of the goal as well as the inch of snow on the rink," said the Flash's Jennifer Stacey. The Flash, who normally rely on their speed to blow by teams, went into the intermission facing a 3-1 deficit.
 
The Flash regained their composure and confidence while the weather continued to worsen. Although the snow was falling heavily, "We just tried to get up close and crash the net," Stacey said. "Once we kept scoring, [the Scorpions] didn't skate as hard."

The Flash owned the second half, allowing just one goal and winning the inaugural Women's Pond Hockey Championship by a score of 7-4.