Teams from across the city will come together next weekend to play the only hockey tournament on the Rideau Canal this year in the seventh annual Beaver Cup Pond Hockey Tournament.
The weekend-long outdoor tournament will be played at Dow’s Lake on the Rideau Canal, where the National Capital Commission prohibits hockey games
this tournament is an exception.
Les Gagne, the event’s organizer, started the tournament seven years ago because he felt the ice at Dow’s Lake was being underused. Next weekend, four “ponds” will be cleared for the hockey championship.
Although Gagne says the Beaver Cup began as just a tournament, it has become a community tradition.
“It’s my favourite weekend in winter,” says Mike Bureau, a player for the City of Ottawa team. “It’s a totally community environment that’s gathering like-minded people together for a weekend of hockey.”
Gagne says the tournament attracts a diverse crowd. There are 36 teams, consisting of both men’s and women’s divisions, with players’ ages ranging between 19 and 80.
Teams will be competing for what Gagne describes as the “most unique trophy you can win in hockey” – the Beaver Cup, which is a keg with added tiers and a big, silver bowl on top.
However, winning the cup isn’t what many teams are most looking forward to.
For Bureau and his team, which consists of Coun. Mathieu Fleury and Ottawa City Hall staff members, the weekend is all about playing hockey and spending time with friends. He says since the tournament is for fun, things “don’t get too chippy.”
Janice Summerby, a player on the Hanson Sisters team from across Ottawa, agrees. “We’re getting together and having some laughs. We enjoy our accomplishments as much as laughing at our gaffs,” she says. Her team also plays weekly in the adult recreation league at the Bell Sensplex, but she says this tournament is a great opportunity to meet other community members.
Many teams don’t play together full-time. Rather, Gagne says this tournament brings adults together to “relive their childhood dream of playing hockey.”
Despite it being the only hockey tournament on the canal, its rules also make it unique. Gagne says the pond hockey games are fast-paced and played four-on-four with no goalies. Since there’s no stoppage in play during the quick 35-minute games, he says it’d be pointless to have goaltenders.
“It’s a totally different style of hockey,” says Summerby, whose team has won the cup in the past. “It’s really important to handle the puck well, make sure you’re open for passes to support teammates and make sure you’re closing opponent’s lanes.”
Gagne says the Beaver Cup has been so successful that he’s planning to expand it next year into theOttawa Pond Hockey Championship where upwards of 12,000 players will gather on the Rideau Canal to play.
In the meantime, players are looking forward to next weekend’s tournament.
“It’s so Canadian and it’s Valentine’s Day weekend,” says Summerby. “What better way to show your love of Canada and Ottawa?”