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Avon: Pond Hockey Championships this weekend

Chris Freud
Vail, CO Colorado
A Vail Daily file photo from Jan. 2006 shows ice skaters on Nottingham Lake preparing for a game of hockey. The town plans to bring back public skating for 2021.
Kira Horvath | Vail Daily file photo

AVON – Not so many years ago, when Andy Clark was a kid, he and his dad did what most Minneapolis families did – flood the back yard.

Clark recalls an ice sheet about two-thirds of the size of a regular rink. But it was the Met Center as far as Clark and his buddies were concerned.

“It was always Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals and we were the Minnesota North Stars,” Clark said. “It won’t happen in reality, but we can always dream it.”



What is not a dream is the Rocky Mountain Pond Hockey Championships at Nottingham Lake, which Clark is helping organize. With eight rinks set up on Nottingham lake in Avon, the ice is ready for two weekends of hockey. The kids – Squirts to Midgets – play Saturday and Sunday. Then, it’s the adults Jan. 22-24.

All in all, that’s 56 teams with sports for five more adult squads available – contact Clark at 970-914-0045. The event is a fundrasier for the Vail-Eagle Hockey Association.

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The action won’t be combined to Avon. The event’s Kickoff Classic is at Dobson in Vail on Jan. 22 at 7:30 p.m. with the Detroit Red Wings Alumni facing off against the Vail Mountaineers and some alums of the Chicago Blackhawks.

The fun part of this is that the alumni of the both the Red Wings and the Blackhawks will be joining the adult teams at the pond hockey tournament later that weekend which should make for some interesting action.

Sports Editor Chris Freud can be reached at 970-748-2934 or via cfreud@vaildaily.com.


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