March 1, 2020

DUNKIN’ POND HOCKEY WINNERS INSPIRED BY MIGHTY DUCKS

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

GRAVENHURST — Pond hockey’s popularity peaked Saturday with a frozen four faceoff that raised Canada’s outdoor game to new commercial heights sponsored by Dunkin’ Donuts and Budweiser beer.

Team Iceland took home the woody in the A division of the Barstool tournament, which combined best of shinny and showmanship.

The Mississauga boys beat a bunch of Halifax transplants who live in Toronto.

The score of the face-paced, rough and tumble final was 17-11, for the team whose name was inspired by the opponents in the second of Disney’s Mighty Ducks movie trilogy.

Iceland went undefeated in beating the Hawks, capping a five-game run that included three round-robin games, a crossover and the final.

All in a day’s work for the eight men who played in minus-15C ice weather on another glorious day on Lake Muskoka (which was billed in the U.S. as being a Toronto event).

And on more good ice provided by chief icemaker Devon Morley and his crew.

This weekend’s tournament followed the 14^th Original Pond Hockey Championship put on earlier this month by Geoff Carleton, who was contracted by the Barstool organizers to provide the rinks and infrastructure.

He oversaw events from the sidelines, bundled in a faux fur hat.

The games followed another Barstool tournament the previous weekend in Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire.

John Feitelberg, one of the organizers, who handed out the wooden Barstool trophy, said he hopes to make it an annual tournament in Muskoka.

There were four divisions of eight teams, with six to eight players each.

Registration was sold out the first day, Dec. 18, with an entry fee of $1,000.

All teams received and played in numbered tournament jerseys.

A hardest shot and an accuracy contest were part of the two-day event, which also saw a couple of former NHLers in attendance signing autographs and posing for fan photos.

See photo gallery and 3 videos below.