U.S. Pond Hockey Championships

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A game of two teams in the 50+ division

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]

The Tournament's slogan is, "HOCKEY. THE WAY NATURE INTENDED."^[2]

Format

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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)

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Year	Team	Origin
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

2017 Wright Homes/Four Star Hockey

2018 Wright Homes/Four Star Hockey

2019 RJ Ryan Construction

2020 Hendy Homes/Tail Gators

2022 Glue Gun.com

2023 Faherty Brand

Tournaments

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2006 Tournament

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2007 Tournament

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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: