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Marita Green, a mom who made the trip from Canada to see her son play in the Syracuse Pond Hockey Classic (SPHC), recognized that the main purpose of the tournament was to have fun. She knew the stakes weren’t high enough to warrant unneeded physicality in the games.

“(My son is) a big guy, and he used to check a lot,” Green said. “I said to him, ‘Don’t you dare check in pond hockey.’”

As Syracuse’s weather dips into single digits, residents may find it difficult to get out of the house and engage with their community. Despite 9 degree temperatures — which felt like -8 degrees — approximately 200 people showed up on Saturday for a fun day of pond hockey at Hiawatha Lake in Onondaga Park for the SPHC.

Dan Downes, first deputy chief of the Syracuse Fire Department, said that this event showed that Syracuse residents are willing to get out and have fun even when the weather is not favorable.

“People’s reaction when it gets to be 5 or 10 degrees out is to stay inside and hunker down,” Downes said. “But we as a community know that we can still have fun when it’s 5 degrees out, bundle up, layer up. I think everyone’s having a great time.”

After the tournament’s inaugural year in 2020, the SPHC was canceled in 2021 due to COVID-19, SPHC’s press release said. This year, spectators of the event recognized the importance of the tournament being held after a year of uncertainty.

Scott Heffron, a Syracuse resident who lives near Hiawatha Lake, said that the event pointed to the community rebounding from the pandemic.

“It’s a sign that we’re getting COVID behind us, and things are coming back to some normality and we can get out and enjoy each other,” he said.

This year’s SPHC included over a dozen teams from across the central New York region, seven of which returned from 2020. The original idea for the tournament stemmed from a group of Syracuse natives, including Mayor Ben Walsh, who grew up skating in the park, SPHC said in a press release.

In the lead-up to this year’s SPHC, Walsh said that after the remarkable response that the event had from the Syracuse community in 2020, it was difficult to have to call off last year’s event.

“We hope hockey fans and everyone who loves winter activities will come out for this year’s tournament,” Walsh said in a press release.

Even in the midst of 9 degree weather, attendees like Scott Heffron were excited for a fun day at the Syracuse Pond Hockey Classic. Meghan Hendricks | Photo Editor

Walsh’s hopes were met, as hundreds of people gathered for a day of music, food, drinks and hockey alongside the 17-acre lake. Spectators lined the snowy shore of the lake to view the six rinks that games were simultaneously being played on.

Kirk Kwaczala, a Baldwinsville resident who played in the tournament, was shocked by the large turnout.

“With the weather and the temperature that was forecasted, there are a lot more people than I thought were going to be here. Pretty fun, you know,” he said.

While the SPHC was advertised as a competitive event, many people saw it as more than a competition because the tournament doubled as a fundraiser for cancer research. A portion of the proceeds from this year’s event went to the St. Baldrick’s Foundation and Luke’s Army Pediatric Cancer Research Fund.

Downes spoke to the fact that competition is not the most important aspect of this year’s SPHC.

“There’s really more of a fun spirit than a competive spirit on the ice … We’re really looking to just have fun,” Downes said. “It’s not looking for a trophy; it’s looking for a smile.”

Published on January 30, 2022 at 9:46 pm

Contact Nathan: nlfennin@syr.edu