CREEDE — As the sun rose above the Caldera peaks north of Creede on Saturday, hockey pucks slid across the ice at Silver Ice Park and hockey players from all over the US took to the ponds for a weekend of fun competition and old-fashioned hockey.
Silver Ice Park was packed with people who ventured to the small mountain town and braved the freezing temperatures to enjoy two days of fun and adventure at the Golden Pick Tommyknocker Pond Hockey Tournament on Jan. 13-14.
Though the wind blew for most of the weekend, people found warmth and camaraderie among the bonfires burning along the edges of the two ponds.
The tournament has gained popularity over the past several years since its inception and people come to Creede once a year to enjoy the winter activities and participate in the hockey tournament.
With names like Chilly Civilians, Ice Guys Finish Last and Wapiti Warriors, these teams have one thing in mind and that is to have fun and compete for bragging rights by the end.
“We always have a great time coming to watch the teams play. We weren’t quite ready for the cold, but we just went home and added more layers,” laughed a spectator as he and his wife took a spot next to one of the burning bonfires.
The hockey tournament was broken into two levels with about 17 teams per level. As the day wore on, teams dropped out of the brackets, leaving two final teams to compete on Sunday afternoon. The two days were full of fun, cheering fans and delicious food prepared by Fremont’s Guest Ranch.
On Sunday as the teams hit the ice for the final few games, the wind died down enough to allow the sun to warm the cold air. The last two games came down to Level A teams Naughty or Ice and Perry’s Fairies, who took the championship, and Level B teams Rio Grande Lip Rippers and Breck Brew with the Lip Rippers coming in as champions.
