USA Hockey Adult Hockey

USAHockey.com

EAGLE RIVER, Wis. - For many of the hundreds of players who took the ice during the 2009 Labatt Blue/USA Hockey Pond Hockey Championships in Eagle River, Wisc., the weekend was a chance to let all the stress of work fall away for three days to just play hockey.

The same is true for Ford Motor Company Chairman Bill Ford, who for the third time in four tries walked away with a championship trophy, this time in the 50 & Older division with Team Ford.

“This is the highlight of our year, we just look forward to this,” he said.

The championship game Sunday drew a healthy audience and many players and fans from Michigan turned out to watch one of the most recognizable people in the state play as one of the guys. Several players are Ford employees and stopped by throughout the tournament to cheer on Ford.

“I’ve met a lot of people who either work for us or work for someone who supplies us and it’s a blast,” Ford said.

What keeps a busy man who helps run one of the biggest auto manufacturing companies in the world coming back to this event? Ford said it’s the setting, the people and a love of the game.

“You get to our age and you’re only playing because you still love the game,” he said. “We get to know the other teams and the other guys and really look forward to not just playing hockey with them, but hanging out with them.

“The people here at Eagle River are really wonderful,” he added. “We’ve played in other tournaments, but the hospitality here is unlike anything else.”

Ford said the team loves the special atmosphere that the event provides to its participants.

“You could play regular hockey, indoors, and I love that and I do play that, but there’s nothing like this,” he said. “If you have a bad time here, there’s something wrong with you.”