skip navigation

Introducing the Sundown Showdown

By Jim Dahline, 08/15/16, 6:00PM CDT

Share

New Friday Tournament to be Feature of Friday Funtime Festivities

In addition to thinking of new ways to speak alliteratively, we're always thinking of ways to improve the player experience at the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships. We got to thinking about something we could do on Friday evening. We've got the Labatt Blue Zone which was voted one of the best hockey bars in the world. We got a few rinks. And, we've got a massive tent. But, we haven't done anything new since introducing the Cedar Division a few years back. So, we pulled out the grease board and did some scheming on creating something new and fun. 

What did we come up with? Well, how about a little side tournament featuring the great teams of the USPHC? We know that so many teams travel from afar, we wanted to get them a few more games to make the trip extra special. But, we didn't want to mess with the beauty that is the USPHC. So we decided on The Sundown Showdown.

The Sundown Showdown is a 32-team, two-game guarantee bracket tournament. The beautiful Nokomis sunset will be the backdrop for the beginning of the tournament, and a raging Labatt Blue Zone will be the backdrop for the end. You're eligible to play if your team is registered in the Rink Rat, Cedar, or Women's Divisions of the 2017 USPHC. What? No Open teams? Nope, they've got enough to worry about stopping Kurt's Kids from getting another badge on the Golden Shovel. Oh, and obviously, we'll have lights when we need them. One other thing. Rules are the same with the exception that games are two 10-minute halves instead of 15 minutes. Gotta get through the bracket and The Commish is getting old so he needs to get home and get a little sleep before Saturday. 

With a max of 32 teams, we expect it to sell out quickly. Did we mention it's only $200 to add the Sundown Showdown to your registration? The best deal in all of pond hockey if you ask me. 

Well, that should be enough to wet the whistle. Look forward to crowning a champion for the Sundown Showdown.

Now, time to start the cold weather dance. Which you really don't want to see.

From the Pond, JD