U.S. Pond Hockey Championship

Alex was invited to participate in the U.S. Pond Hockey Championship held on Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for Alex so he did not hesitate in accepting the invitation.

I was a little skeptical about the event . . . standing outside in extreme cold temperatures to watch a lot of hockey . . . However, words do not justify the entire experience. There are 20 rinks set up on the lake with a huge warming "house" tent. People travel from all over North America to participate. There were several different leagues. Alex's team "Bad Apples" was in the Rink Rat league.

The games were 30 minutes long with 2 periods and a 2 minute half. Each team of 4 had to show up 10 minutes prior to the game to shovel the ice rink. 

The games were very intense and actually quite exciting. Alex scored at least 1 goal in each of the games. 

Another point of interest is that there were no goalies and they had to shoot into a wood box sponsored by the Mall of America. Why not . . .

The Bad Apples and Alex did extremely well. The won all three games they were guaranteed to play in and moved to the Semi-Finals where they were matched against a team that played D-I hockey for the Minnesota Gophers. Unfortunately, the Bad Apples lost, but the team they lost went on to win the Championship. I have to mention that the teams were competing for the coveted "Silver Shovel."

Despite the extremely cold temperatures, I stayed relatively warm. In fact I was so bundled up, it was a little difficult to move around, but I was warm. In order to stay warm, I wore;

Layer 1: Cuddle Duds

Layer 2: Duofold Long Underwear

Layer 3: Cuddle Duds

Layer 4: Turtle Neck/Sweatpants

Layer 5: Fleece Hoodie/Snow pants

Layer 6: Parka/Gloves/Boots/Hat/Neck Wrap thing

Now I am wondering what else I can experience in extreme cold temperatures . . . perhaps the St. Paul Winter Carnival? That is next weekend. I guess if you can't beat the cold, take advantage of it, right?