Pond hockey came early to Boston this year. Not the sport itself - it’s still too warm for that - but the documentary Pond Hockey was screened at Boston University this week. The event was held at the Agganis Arena, serving as both a screening of the film and a tribute to Jack Falla, the celebrated hockey journalist and professor at BU.
The event was well coordinated in every way, and I don’t just write that because of the open bar. Hockey fans, players, men, women, boys and girls all came out to the screening and sat, transfixed on the screen as every level of hockey player talked about the game we all love. The two greatest active coaches in men’s college hockey even managed to make it to the festivities. Friends and rivals Jack Parker of Boston University and Jerry York of Boston College were on hand to watch the movie and show their support for the Jack Falla Memorial Fund.
But the real stars of the night were those players featured in the film. Pond Hockey is a film made for those who love the game, by guys who love the game. It is about the love of the game in its purest form. It is about hockey the way it was supposed to be played, the way it was originally played.
The film follows the journey of two teams at the US Pond Hockey Championships. But that simply serves as an extension of examining the game. Whether competitive games or whether games where none know the exact score, it is irrelevant. The documentary reminds us all that the game isn’t about suicides or two-on-three drills. It’s not about whether you are playing sober or drunk or have a bonfire going or have a warming hut or only have the sun to provide some warmth or none at all. It’s about playing ice hockey.
In an era of elite camps, travel teams, over practicing, and year round training, the player begins to forget that it should be fun. The irony is that those players are playing or practicing too much to appreciate what they are doing. Being on the pond signifies that freedom that few take the time to recognize anymore. A pond doesn’t cost $125 an hour. You don’t have to schedule time. You don’t have to go because you think your coach is going to pissed if you don’t show. You go because you would rather do nothing else.
Pond hockey is about the love of the game because anyone skating out there loves the game. He or she loves it so much it doesn’t matter how cold it is. Most of them thrive on it. They inhale the taste of winter and exhale the exhilaration of the moment in pure vapor form.
Pond hockey is not just about pond hockey. It’s about pure hockey. It is about the game, not the sport. Pond, river, backyard, parking lot or anywhere else frozen water can become a rink serves the sprit of the game and those crazy enough to play it. The film reminds us what it means to be out there on a fresh sheet. It shows us that any player - from the Great One himself to the guy who was the last cut on the high school team – can lace up a pair of skates, step onto the ice and be taken away to a special place where he can exist until his mother or wife calls him in for dinner.
New Years Day, 1pm EST. NBC, CBC, RDS. Buffalo Sabres v. Pittsburgh Penguins. Outside.
70,000 hockey fans. 2 teams. One frozen pond. Classic.
The CBC just reported that 60,000 people are on the waiting list for tickets to the AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic. How amazing is that?
The pregame show begins at 11am EST on Tuesday, but the hype has been ongoing for months. It's nice to not be one of the only people excited about a hockey game for once. Fans, players, coaches, equipment managers, buffaloes are all waiting to see what the next installment of frozen outdoor hockey has in store for the National Hockey League. Well maybe the buffaloes themselves aren't all that interested in the game, but citizens of Buffalo seem to be jazzed about it. And for once, I share their enthusiasm.
Sabres fans might not be all that jazzed if the afternoon plays out anything like the first game of the home and home series between the two teams. Thanks to Colby Armstrong and Evgeni Malkin the Pens took it to the Sabres in the Igloo Saturday, which is probably the last thing the fans, the networks, and the buffaloes want.
As the first, outdoor regular-season NHL game to be played in the United States many fringe fans will watch their first outdoor game unlikely knowing what to expect. Sabres goalie Ryan Miller, having played outdoors for Michigan State in 2001 during the 'Cold War' provided some insight into the conditions: "I think that cold does a lot more to you than you think. Get one of those survival books, figure out what those guys do to stay alive in the wild, I guess. You can get dehydrated very quickly in the wind and the cold, just the same way you can as if it's hot out. So you have to be aware of that, try and stay as warm as possible, get the core temperature up."
The game, regardless of the temperature or conditions will be a unique memory for all types of fans. If not just for the experience of seeing teams play outdoors, there are also going to be special rule changes made to the game format according to an NHL press release:
To [rectify] any advantages or adversities created by weather conditions at Ralph Wilson Stadium during Tuesday’s AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic, the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins will switch ends halfway through the third period – ensuring each team would spend the equivalent number of minutes attacking or defending each goal, the National Hockey League announced today.
If necessary, a five-minute overtime period also would be divided in half, with the teams switching ends after 2:30 of play.
Should a shootout be needed, each goaltender would be given the option of determining which goal to defend. Thus it is possible that both teams would shoot at the same goal. Once a goaltender has chosen the goal he wants to defend, he must defend that goal for every round of the shootout.
The League also announced that length of intermissions between – and timeouts during – periods may be subject to modification depending on weather and ice conditions, as may be determined by the Game Officials and/or Commissioner Gary Bettman, in consultation with representatives of the National Hockey League Players’ Association.
