For Jim Allan and the Montreal Lagers, pond hockey is more than just pond hockey.
Seventeen years ago, a group of guys formed a pond hockey team under the name of the Montreal Lagers and began attending the World Pond Hockey Championships in Plaster Rock, N.B.
This year, there would have been six teams attending the tournament under the Lager franchise.
“The event that they put on is world class,” said Allan, who also got his three adult kids involved.
But this year, the event was cancelled because the ice on Roulston Lake was not thick enough to support the heavy equipment and hundreds of people on the ice at once.
The competition typically runs four days and hosts around 120 teams of five players each. The size of the frozen lake surface allows 40 teams to play games at the same time.
Allan said there are no words to describe how disappointing the cancellation is.
“The guys were extremely disappointed,” he said. “I have a bunch of new guys that were coming. They were so looking forward to it. And when they heard it, they just, they couldn’t believe it.”
Allan wouldn’t have been playing this year because of an injury, but after learning the tournament was cancelled, he messaged some of his teammates to see if they’d still be up for going to Plaster Rock.
Quickly, enough of Allan’s teammates said “yes” to make up one team — and that’s now grown to three teams. He then posted in the event’s Facebook group inviting other teams to join them.
As of late Friday morning, around 10 other teams had agreed to go.
Even if the weather doesn’t co-operate, Allan said the teams will play on indoor ice surfaces or some good old-fashioned road hockey.
Major economic spinoff, says mayor
Tom Eagles, mayor of the District of Tobique Valley which includes Plaster Rock, said the cancellation is unfortunate because the tournament has become one of the biggest winter sports events in the province.
He said the economic spinoff from the event is up to $2 million each year, with between 5,000 and 6,000 people who attend.
The comradeship, the friendship will never go away.— Tom Eagles
Still, he said safety is paramount and the organizers made the right decision. He said hotels and business owners also understand that, but it was still naturally disappointing.
Eagles said he would not be surprised at all to see teams still deciding to make the trip, especially for the ones who are so “embedded” in the community.
“And the local people here in Plaster Rock … they’ve met friends from the Cayman Islands, or Montreal or wherever,” said Eagles.
“They’re long-lasting friends and they see each other once a year and that’s usually at pond hockey.
“The comradeship, the friendship will never go away.”
Part of the community
For Allan and the Lagers, the tournament is a big part of their lives. In fact, around 10 or 12 years ago, five players purchased a house across from the lake that sleeps 24 people just for their yearly trips.
Attached to the house is the “Lager Outhouse,” a bar where they host events and collect money for a scholarship given to a local child each year to further their education, said Allan.
The Montreal Lagers double the amount raised each year for the scholarship.
Allan said although the team is making the trip this year because of their love for the tournament, the plan was mainly hatched to show appreciation to the volunteers and organizers.
“Hopefully we’ll have a party with them, as many that want to come over,” he said.
“We’re gonna try to have some fun and hopefully we’ll get a few more teams and have a fun time.”
With files from Information Morning Fredericton
This story was originally published in CBC News on Feb. 2, 2024.
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