USA Hockey Adult Hockey

I'm on the ground now in Eagle River just over an hour away from my first game. I wanted to encourage everyone to send in any questions to camerone@usahockey.org and also check out all the action happening around Hockey Weekend Across America.

I'll be back later in the day with some photos and more ice chips (Get ready for lame ice references all weekend long, I can't help myself).

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We're essentially hours away from the first drop of the puck at the 2009 Labatt Blue/USA Hockey Pond Hockey Championships in Eagle River, Wisc. My name is Cameron Eickmeyer and I'll be your online and on-ice host for this year's event.

My day job is to manage the content for USAHockey.com and cover some of our big events. The pond hockey tournament falls in that category for sure with more than 200 teams set to take the ice this weekend.

I'm also joining the Yaks in the novice division as a player this year so if you're a member of the Pincherry Lake Loons, Chippers Trucking or Untouchables (My round robin opponents), feel free to send some trash talk to camerone@usahockey.org. The same goes for everyone if you have any questions about the event or have a comment about the tournament. Keep in mind I'll post some responses online John Buccigross style.

Over the weekend I'll post a wide variety of blog posts and feature stories so if you have a good idea for a story, send it in to camerone@usahockey.org.

A quick note to ease any concerns about the weather in Eagle River. It's been warmer than usual on Dollar Lake, but I've spoken to USA Hockey staff at the event and they report ice nearly 30 inches thick and plenty of cold weather on the way so worry not. Plus, the firefighters on location said the quick thaw will actually help fill some of the soft spots and smooth the ice for better play this weekend.

Let me put it another way. There's plenty of cold to go around so your rinks and your Labatts are frosty.

Speaking of the firefighters, a very special thank you goes out to Pat Weber for all his work in getting the rinks ready for us this weekend.

I also wanted to take this chance to let everyone who is coming to the event this year know that they can send in their photos to photos@usahockey.org and I'll be posting them on USAHockey.com over the next week. Last year was a huge hit for user photos. I posted one of my favorites from last year at right.

That's all for now, but feel free to e-mail me any questions or comments (camerone@usahockey.org). I'm looking forward to seeing all of you who are playing or watching and I'm sure you are all excited to see the Cup and Neal Broten. If you aren't playing this year, get in the action for 2010 today.