Frozen Experiences of a Lifetime: Lace ‘Em Up for Some Serious Pond Hockey (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
The ultimate North American winter bucket list
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Call me biased (or just call me Canadian), but I say there’s no more iconic winter sport than hockey—and hockey done right means hockey played outdoors.
The Snow Report
The latest snow, ski, and winter sports stories from Outside.Find yourself a frozen pond, lake, river, or oversized puddle, lace up your skates, drop a puck, and go. But if you really want to get serious, sign up a team for one of North America’s major annual pond hockey tournaments. One of the biggest, the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships, takes place each year on Lake Nokomis, in Minneapolis, Minnesota; the Open Division usually includes a bunch of one-time pros but there are also 40-plus, 50-plus, women’s, and “rink rat” divisions—that last one is for those who “may not have the skills to take on former NHL players.” This year’s tournament runs January 18-20, 2013.