The following is an excerpt from The Berkshire Eagle about the 3rd Annual Berkshire Pond Hockey Classic tournament.
By Jesse Kolodkin, The Berkshire Eagle
Photo by Jesse Kolodkin –The Berkshire Eagle
MONTEREY — It was a little gray.
The third annual Berkshire Pond Hockey Classic was on Saturday at Benedict Pond in Beartown State Forest, and other than the sky being gray, it was about as perfect a day as any skater could ask for.
A frozen pond, a light snow, temperatures in the high 20s, half a dozen rinks to play hockey or free skate on, gorgeous vistas of the Berkshire mountains in a state forest and fires to warm up around.
“It’s been so much fun. It just takes a real village,” said Classic founder Alex Regen. “Everyone’s just having a great time. It’s about every single person that shows up. Monterey, the DCR, the police, the fire [departments] have to be here. I’m thrilled. All the kids, future Pond Hockey Classic participants. I’m thrilled, this is exactly how we drew it up.
“This is the vision. The idea was if Norman Rockwell could paint a pond hockey tournament, this is” it.
For the second straight year the Classic was outdoors but unlike last year, the event was even bigger. Last February there were 12 teams playing, but 2025 is bigger and better and this year’s Classic had a full 16 teams in two conferences.
“It’s been awesome. Perfect day. It’s not too cold for us, it’s not too warm,” said Jim Thomas, who built the rinks and helped Regen run the event. “We got a really good day. The play’s been good, the ice is holding out… Really good hockey.”
An A and B Conference were fielded, with two divisions in each. Each division was a round robin leading to playoffs between the best teams in each division. The two division winners in A played each other in a Conference A Championship and the same thing happened in Conference B.
The first and second Classics had different champions, but both hadn’t lost their crown. That’s because the Berkshire Law Enforcement team won the inaugural event, but couldn’t make it last year. Dirty Mike and the Boys won last year and both title winners were in attendance this time around.
However, neither made it to the final which guaranteed new blood would get Benedict Pond bragging rights.
Conference A’s championship was never in doubt, with the Berkshire Benders blasting past the Berkshire Shamrocks to a double-digit win.
The Berkshire Eagle. Read the full article here.
More BPHC News here.
Learn more about the Berkshire Pond Hockey Classic.