USA Hockey Adult Hockey

Special to USAHockey.com

High on Mike Principe’s list of people who deserve kudos for making the Labatt Blue/USA Hockey Pond Hockey National Championships run like clockwork are members of the Eagle River Fire Department.

“I was totally blown away my first year at the number of teams and rinks,” the Pepper’s Lemont Auto player-coach said. “The fire department sets up the rinks and plows them. It’s fantastic.

“I give a lot of congratulations to those guys. It’s amazing all the hard work they put into it in order to make it run so smoothly.”

Principe and his 2012 teammates (Charlie Zarzecki, Bruce Turner, Dave Carlson, Ron DiNella, Tom Akers and George Bogdanovic) can appreciate the amount of work that goes into running the Pond Hockey Championships because in their hometown — Lemont is a southwest suburb of Chicago — pond hockey no longer is a way of life.

“In the Chicago area, my son and daughter have never skated outside,” Principe said. “The reason why is that the winters in Chicago no longer are cold enough to support ice.

“When I was a young boy, there weren’t any ponds in our neighborhood, but the Chicago Park District flooded ball fields. The ice would form and become thick enough so we could skate on it. It would last from Thanksgiving through the end of March.”

According to Principe, it was Zarzecki’s idea to form a pond hockey team, which has since twice made the trip to Eagle River. But there’s a story behind the story.

“Everybody on the team became interested [in playing pond hockey] because our daughters play hockey,” Principe said. “I met the guys because my daughter plays hockey.

“We generally carpool so, naturally, during the drive up there, because we’re parents of hockey players, you can imagine what our discussions are about.”

The Pepper’s Lemont Auto skaters do play hockey in indoor leagues, too. In fact, DiNella gave up hockey several years ago, but more recently he resumed playing in a league. And Bogdanovic, who is 67, is forming his own team that will play in a 60-plus division.

“They’re a great bunch of guys and are a lot of fun to be around,” Principe said. “I have a team called the Elder Statesmen that plays at the Southwest Ice Arena. We’ve had ice there on Tuesday and Friday nights year-round for over 30 years.”

But to say the players’ eyes were opened in Eagle River would be an understatement, considering Pepper’s Lemont Auto competed in the 50-and-Over Division.

“That’s an open division, and we were exposed to some very talented players,” Principe said. “They were better than us, but it still was nice to play against them and realize that some of those guys who were 50 played at the Division I level.

“I guess you could say you never lose it.”

Even though Pepper’s Lemont Auto lost two of its first three games and failed to advance, the players weren’t in the least bit discouraged.

“No matter if you won or lost, everybody had a good time,” Principe said. “Even though you’re losing, you’re talking to guys on other teams and joking around.

“I’ve told my kids whom I’ve coached that you’re playing the greatest game on Earth. Respect it and have fun. It shows that there are a lot of people in my generation who still think that way.”

What Principe thinks about the Pond Hockey Championships is the hockey equivalent of turning back the hands of time.

“It’s like a chance to re-live our childhood,” he said. “It’s almost a carnival atmosphere. We’re playing hockey and are serious about the game. But when we’re off the ice, we kick back and enjoy ourselves.

“I had never driven a car on a pond before. To do that and put on skates and go out and play is awesome.”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.