Check out the commercial promoting this years tournament!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ED3n5A7eS0o
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
More pics...
Our last game... vs. P.H.A.-Q lost 9-7...
Team Picture: Front row L-R: Aaron Davenport, Troy Buduan, Darryl Peterson
Back row L-R: Kenny Salo, Scott Glowaski
Rink layout of all 18 rinks... We played on 18, 12 & 15.
Darryl talking to some guys from Buffalo in the changing tent.
Back In Everett
Ok lets play a little catch up...
Sunday morning... after a nice "Champagne Brunch" @ the Eagle Waters Resort Restraunt. We headed out to the pond hockey championships. Even though most of the teams left town, there was still a pretty decent crowd to watch the last few games. You would think, being a championship, there would be major hype. None at all. Wisconsin was also under a winter storm watch & it was snowing like crazy. From when the teams scraped off the ice to a few minutes in, inches of snow was piling on the rinks, making it hard to skate & pass. None of the teams the Icelagers or Monkeys were in the finals. But it was a close game. A team called Collateral Damage, won the championship in the novice division ( our division ). We hung around for the championship game of the gold division & that was a heated contest. After that, we pretty much went back to our lodge, kept a eye on the news & packed up our stuff. The news kept saying that the winter storm would bring another 3 inches to the 5 feet that was already on the ground for the past few days. We made sure our flights were on time & went to bed ready to wake up extra early in the morning.
Monday... Travel Day!! We got up @ 5:30 a.m. & made the drive to Rhinelander. We were the first plane out that day @ 7:35 a.m. We boarded early & got to witness a little deicing. You could feel the plane slide a little getting up to speed for take off. We had a brief stop in Eau Claire, before heading up to Minneapolis. I was really impressed at these pilots being able to land in the snow. We had a few hour layover in Minneapolis, so there was a little shopping & eating before boarding the plane home. We had the same flight as the Icelagers, who drove to Minneapolis to catch the Minnesota Wild game the night before.
I spent the rest of my day, & most of today, resting... It was a fun trip & I definitely recommend it to anyone that loves to play the game. It was a amazing experience & I'm saving up for next year. Keep an eye out to USA hockey, registration for next year is going to start in the summer. I was told that they actually had to turn away 50 extra teams this year. So register early!!
I will be posting more pics on this soon... so check back!! GO MONKEYS!!
Sunday morning... after a nice "Champagne Brunch" @ the Eagle Waters Resort Restraunt. We headed out to the pond hockey championships. Even though most of the teams left town, there was still a pretty decent crowd to watch the last few games. You would think, being a championship, there would be major hype. None at all. Wisconsin was also under a winter storm watch & it was snowing like crazy. From when the teams scraped off the ice to a few minutes in, inches of snow was piling on the rinks, making it hard to skate & pass. None of the teams the Icelagers or Monkeys were in the finals. But it was a close game. A team called Collateral Damage, won the championship in the novice division ( our division ). We hung around for the championship game of the gold division & that was a heated contest. After that, we pretty much went back to our lodge, kept a eye on the news & packed up our stuff. The news kept saying that the winter storm would bring another 3 inches to the 5 feet that was already on the ground for the past few days. We made sure our flights were on time & went to bed ready to wake up extra early in the morning.
Monday... Travel Day!! We got up @ 5:30 a.m. & made the drive to Rhinelander. We were the first plane out that day @ 7:35 a.m. We boarded early & got to witness a little deicing. You could feel the plane slide a little getting up to speed for take off. We had a brief stop in Eau Claire, before heading up to Minneapolis. I was really impressed at these pilots being able to land in the snow. We had a few hour layover in Minneapolis, so there was a little shopping & eating before boarding the plane home. We had the same flight as the Icelagers, who drove to Minneapolis to catch the Minnesota Wild game the night before.
I spent the rest of my day, & most of today, resting... It was a fun trip & I definitely recommend it to anyone that loves to play the game. It was a amazing experience & I'm saving up for next year. Keep an eye out to USA hockey, registration for next year is going to start in the summer. I was told that they actually had to turn away 50 extra teams this year. So register early!!
I will be posting more pics on this soon... so check back!! GO MONKEYS!!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Couple pics
The Monkeys showing off the Labatts sweaters we recieved after registering for the tourney.
Also representing Everett... The Icelagers It was nice having another team from Everett to support.
Saturdays games... #2 & #3
Didn't get a chance to post this yesterday... Enjoy...
Feb.16th, Saturday: Woke up around 7 a.m. & had a little something to eat. Got our gear on & headed out to the pond. Couple of us learned from yesterday & walked out to the pond before slipping on our skates. The rest laced them up in the tent then made the annoying skate out to our rink. We played a team from New Mexico. They had a couple of good skaters, but Darryl & Scott were able to pick their pockets. That led to a few easy goals. The ice is so bumpy, that it creates problems skating as well as stick handling. I can really understand why the players that grow up doing this turn out to be phenomenal stick handlers. We were able to win this one in regulation 9-5. So far we are doing a lot better than we expected. We came in to this trip just for the experience, & now we have a chance to make the playoffs. So after our win we asked the other team to pose for a picture & then headed back to the tent for a couple of pictures & check out the standings. Its pretty simple, we win, we play tomorrow. The team headed back to the cabin, took off our gear & hit the breakfast buffet. Great breakfast!! This resort has been amazing; they even have discounts on breakfast for the hockey players. They have a big one tomorrow, but we are hoping that we miss that one, being on the ice instead. Right now we are getting some rest. We’ve got a few hours before our next game.
Game #2 : We watched a little bit of 300 before heading off to our second game. I think arriving on the ice a little early didn’t help. The ice was different, more air pockets & it was hard to sweep any of the access ice off. It was also harder to dig the puck out of the snow. Its amazing how the puck seems more lively & hops over your stick & into the snow banks. We ended up losing our second game 9-7. The other team out skated us, but we played hard, just didn’t have it at the end. The loss knocked us out of the playoffs. Old Steel, the team we played in game 1 & beat in OT, ended up squeaking into the playoffs. Had we won that game in regulation instead of OT, we’d be playing tomorrow. Instead we’ll be having a killer brunch at our resort & maybe do a little snowmobiling.
So after our loss… we collected our beer & headed back to the changing tents to wander & meet other teams, get our pictures taken with various hockey teams & watch games. After a few hours of just hanging out we went back to the cabin for some R & R. After a nice dinner at a small local pizza place, we caught a local hockey game. It was in a wooden dome built in the 1930’s & is home to the Wisconsin hockey hall of fame. It’s also the home of the Eagle River Falcons, of the Great Lakes Hockey League, a men’s checking league. They were playing a rivalry game vs. the Mosinee Papermakers. Apparently this is a intense rivalry that can get a little out of hand. This game was part of a Rivalry Cup, a home and home series where the total points decide the winner of the cup. Mosinee had won the previous game the night before in Mosinee, 8-5. This game was so much fun. First off, we were in a small barn type of building straight out of Slap Shot. They sold pitchers of beer, in plastic Miller pitchers for $6, refills $5. Chuck-a-pucks were real pucks & after we threw them in the first intermission, they resold them to be tossed again in the second intermission. The fans were rowdy, a lot of cussing & interesting body language, it was a blast to be a part of, definite small town atmosphere. I love what we have in Everett, but it was nice to experience hockey in its small town roots. Eagle River ended up winning the game 4-2. They had the two goal lead late in the game, but Mosinee didn’t want to pull their goalie to give up the cup tying goal. Instead Eagle River with the lead, pulled their goalie in hopes of adding another goal & tying the game. But they fell a point short. I had never seen a game where the puck hit the post as much as I had seen tonight. After the game we headed home & everyone decided to hit the sack. We are not sure what we are doing Sunday, but I know I’m going to have to head down to the office & post this blog. Good Night!!
Feb.16th, Saturday: Woke up around 7 a.m. & had a little something to eat. Got our gear on & headed out to the pond. Couple of us learned from yesterday & walked out to the pond before slipping on our skates. The rest laced them up in the tent then made the annoying skate out to our rink. We played a team from New Mexico. They had a couple of good skaters, but Darryl & Scott were able to pick their pockets. That led to a few easy goals. The ice is so bumpy, that it creates problems skating as well as stick handling. I can really understand why the players that grow up doing this turn out to be phenomenal stick handlers. We were able to win this one in regulation 9-5. So far we are doing a lot better than we expected. We came in to this trip just for the experience, & now we have a chance to make the playoffs. So after our win we asked the other team to pose for a picture & then headed back to the tent for a couple of pictures & check out the standings. Its pretty simple, we win, we play tomorrow. The team headed back to the cabin, took off our gear & hit the breakfast buffet. Great breakfast!! This resort has been amazing; they even have discounts on breakfast for the hockey players. They have a big one tomorrow, but we are hoping that we miss that one, being on the ice instead. Right now we are getting some rest. We’ve got a few hours before our next game.
Game #2 : We watched a little bit of 300 before heading off to our second game. I think arriving on the ice a little early didn’t help. The ice was different, more air pockets & it was hard to sweep any of the access ice off. It was also harder to dig the puck out of the snow. Its amazing how the puck seems more lively & hops over your stick & into the snow banks. We ended up losing our second game 9-7. The other team out skated us, but we played hard, just didn’t have it at the end. The loss knocked us out of the playoffs. Old Steel, the team we played in game 1 & beat in OT, ended up squeaking into the playoffs. Had we won that game in regulation instead of OT, we’d be playing tomorrow. Instead we’ll be having a killer brunch at our resort & maybe do a little snowmobiling.
So after our loss… we collected our beer & headed back to the changing tents to wander & meet other teams, get our pictures taken with various hockey teams & watch games. After a few hours of just hanging out we went back to the cabin for some R & R. After a nice dinner at a small local pizza place, we caught a local hockey game. It was in a wooden dome built in the 1930’s & is home to the Wisconsin hockey hall of fame. It’s also the home of the Eagle River Falcons, of the Great Lakes Hockey League, a men’s checking league. They were playing a rivalry game vs. the Mosinee Papermakers. Apparently this is a intense rivalry that can get a little out of hand. This game was part of a Rivalry Cup, a home and home series where the total points decide the winner of the cup. Mosinee had won the previous game the night before in Mosinee, 8-5. This game was so much fun. First off, we were in a small barn type of building straight out of Slap Shot. They sold pitchers of beer, in plastic Miller pitchers for $6, refills $5. Chuck-a-pucks were real pucks & after we threw them in the first intermission, they resold them to be tossed again in the second intermission. The fans were rowdy, a lot of cussing & interesting body language, it was a blast to be a part of, definite small town atmosphere. I love what we have in Everett, but it was nice to experience hockey in its small town roots. Eagle River ended up winning the game 4-2. They had the two goal lead late in the game, but Mosinee didn’t want to pull their goalie to give up the cup tying goal. Instead Eagle River with the lead, pulled their goalie in hopes of adding another goal & tying the game. But they fell a point short. I had never seen a game where the puck hit the post as much as I had seen tonight. After the game we headed home & everyone decided to hit the sack. We are not sure what we are doing Sunday, but I know I’m going to have to head down to the office & post this blog. Good Night!!
Friday, February 15, 2008
Game #1 in the books....
Morning started with a great breakfast from Scott G. Then we played a 11:45 a.m. & won it in OT 13-12. It was a great experience. We arrived at the pond with most of our gear on. Laced up our skates in a tent & made the very difficult skate out to our rink. Once there, we had to shovel off the access snow with shovels & warm up. There were huge cracks in the ice that we tried to avoid. Most of the time we were unsuccessful resulting in some fun crashes. I also had a hard charge to the net which had me flying over a snow bank. We had a blast & learned a little bit from this first game.
1. Toe warmers, a must. 2. Shields... NO!! They freeze up at times, making it hard to see. 3. Could lose a few layers. I had 3 socks, 3 layers of thermals & under armour, probably could lose a few. 4. Get conditioned!! 15 minute halves sounds easy... No way!! If I think of more, I'll pass it on... the good thing though. After every game, a free 12 pack of Labatt Blue. Oh & we got a free Labatt Pond Hockey jersey last night too. Definitly recommend this trip, its been a blast. I cant seem to get pics up, because of the slow internet here, but I'll make sure to get some up soon. GO MONKEYS!!
1. Toe warmers, a must. 2. Shields... NO!! They freeze up at times, making it hard to see. 3. Could lose a few layers. I had 3 socks, 3 layers of thermals & under armour, probably could lose a few. 4. Get conditioned!! 15 minute halves sounds easy... No way!! If I think of more, I'll pass it on... the good thing though. After every game, a free 12 pack of Labatt Blue. Oh & we got a free Labatt Pond Hockey jersey last night too. Definitly recommend this trip, its been a blast. I cant seem to get pics up, because of the slow internet here, but I'll make sure to get some up soon. GO MONKEYS!!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Day 1... travel
Ok, so we are in Eagle River, Wisconsin. It took all morning to get here, but it was a fun experience so far.
We left Seattle @ 12:50 a.m. Thursday morning, got to Minneapolis around 5:50 a.m. ( C.S.T.) roughly a 4 hour flight. It was 18 degrees when we landed. Since we had about 3 hours til our connecting flight to Rhinelander, Wis. We had breakfast & wandered around. Minneapolis has a pretty big airport.
Once our twin prop plane that sits 40 arrived, we had a 40 min. flight to Rhinelander. Our gear made it all in once piece & we managed to fit 5 guys, bags, sticks & luggage in a Dodge Durango ( not recommened ). It took another 30 minute drive north to reach Eagle River. It was about 12 degrees, some snow showers & about 3-5 feet of snow. We are staying at a wonderful cabin resort, Eagle Waters Resort.
We also got to see the set up for the pond hockey, as well as practice in a private facility ( took a little bribing ). Its been a busy day, not much rest for the weary as we start play @ 11:45 a.m. tomorrow. I will update tomorrow night. Our only internet access is down in the main office so I will try to keep up with my posts. GO MONKEYS!!
We left Seattle @ 12:50 a.m. Thursday morning, got to Minneapolis around 5:50 a.m. ( C.S.T.) roughly a 4 hour flight. It was 18 degrees when we landed. Since we had about 3 hours til our connecting flight to Rhinelander, Wis. We had breakfast & wandered around. Minneapolis has a pretty big airport.
Once our twin prop plane that sits 40 arrived, we had a 40 min. flight to Rhinelander. Our gear made it all in once piece & we managed to fit 5 guys, bags, sticks & luggage in a Dodge Durango ( not recommened ). It took another 30 minute drive north to reach Eagle River. It was about 12 degrees, some snow showers & about 3-5 feet of snow. We are staying at a wonderful cabin resort, Eagle Waters Resort.
We also got to see the set up for the pond hockey, as well as practice in a private facility ( took a little bribing ). Its been a busy day, not much rest for the weary as we start play @ 11:45 a.m. tomorrow. I will update tomorrow night. Our only internet access is down in the main office so I will try to keep up with my posts. GO MONKEYS!!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
13 hours to go...
Trip is finally upon us. We leave Thursday morning, around 12:30 a.m. & should be in Wisconsin by noon. Hockey bag was packed last night, bought a couple of wooden sticks so I didnt have to worry about breaking my good sticks. I made sure all the electronics got plugged in last night & I think I'm good to go. I will update the posts every night while in Wisconsin, & post a few pictures. Next stop... Eagle River, Wisconsin
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Puck'n Pond Monkeys
Left - Right: #67 Aaron Davenport, #13 Darryl Peterson, #12 Troy Buduan, #6 Ken Salo, #10 Scott Glowaski Photo: Deborah BuduanFriday, February 8, 2008
Pond Hockey Schedule
Here are our game times for the tournament.
Friday, February 15th - 11:45 a.m. Puck'n Monkeys vs. Old Steel On Ice
Saturday, February 16th - 9:00 a.m. Puck'n Monkeys vs. NM Hockey
Saturday, February 16th - 1:00 p.m. Puck'n Monkeys vs. PHA-Q
Playoff - Sunday, February 17th - 8:00 a.m.
Championship - Sunday, February 17th - 11:30 a.m.
Friday, February 15th - 11:45 a.m. Puck'n Monkeys vs. Old Steel On Ice
Saturday, February 16th - 9:00 a.m. Puck'n Monkeys vs. NM Hockey
Saturday, February 16th - 1:00 p.m. Puck'n Monkeys vs. PHA-Q
Playoff - Sunday, February 17th - 8:00 a.m.
Championship - Sunday, February 17th - 11:30 a.m.
6 Days To Go!!
Hey All... I just created this blog for everyone to follow our team - the Puck'N Monkeys, on our trip to Eagle River, Wisconsin. 5 of us will be participating in the LaBatt Blue 4 on 4 pond hockey tournament. ( To check out info. on the tournament, click on the USA hockey link to your right. ) We will be leaving for Wisconsin on the morning of February 14th & will be returning back to the Pacific Northwest on February 18. There is a 100 teams participating this year from 18 different states.
So what I'm planning on doing with this blog is... Giving everyone a idea of our experience, from getting ready, to the flight over & some of the sights, as well as the hockey part of it. That way if you decided to take this trip next year... you'll have somewhat of a idea of what to expect. I'll tell you right now, decided what to wear under my gear has been the hardest thing for me to figure out. So I'll definitely keep you posted on that. So I shall end this for now. I will be posting some pictures & more random things later on this evening.
So what I'm planning on doing with this blog is... Giving everyone a idea of our experience, from getting ready, to the flight over & some of the sights, as well as the hockey part of it. That way if you decided to take this trip next year... you'll have somewhat of a idea of what to expect. I'll tell you right now, decided what to wear under my gear has been the hardest thing for me to figure out. So I'll definitely keep you posted on that. So I shall end this for now. I will be posting some pictures & more random things later on this evening.
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