The U.S. Pond Hockey Championships are an annual pond hockey event on Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 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."[1]
Format
Players in the 2020 women's final
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.
Past winners (Open Division)
Year
Team
Origin
Roster
2006
Wright Homes/Almost 40
Curt Wright,
Justin Brown,
Dan Goff,
Dave Bakken,
Dave Shute,
Randy Gallatin
2007
Whiskey Bandits
Jamison Steinert,
Matt Elsen,
Jess Johnson,
Tim Olson,
Nick Hanrahan,
Dan Ibrahim
2008
Wright Homes/Almost 40
Curt Wright,
Justin Brown,
Dan Goff,
Dave Bakken,
Dave Shute,
Randy Gallatin
2009
Concord USA
Sam Cornelius,
Peter Fitzgerald,
Billy Hengen,
Justin Kapsen,
Geoff Kragness,
Jeff Yurecko
2010
Wright Homes/Almost 40
Curt Wright,
Justin Brown,
Dan Goff,
Dave Bakken,
Dan Donnette,
Randy Gallatin
2011
Whiskey Bandits
Matt Elsen,
Tim Olsen,
Nicholas Hanrahan,
Joey Dustin,
Jesse Johnson,
Jamison Steinert
2012
Wright Homes/Almost 40
Curt Wright,
Dave Bakken,
Dan Donnette,
Randy Gallatin,
Geno Parrish,
Matt Erredge
2013
WoodStars
Nick Reichert,
Doug Nelson,
Erik Heltne,
Ross Cooney,
Kevin Rollwagen,
Mike Taylor
2014
Wright Homes/Almost 40
2015
Surging Cycle/Red Army
2016
Wright Homes/FHIT
Tournaments
2006 Tournament
This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (July 2018)
2007 Tournament
Due to the unusually warm weather in Minnesota during the winter of 2006–2007, tournament sponsors moved the tournament from Lake Calhoun to Lake Nokomis. Notable players in the 2007 tournament include:
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