US Pond Hockey Championships kick off in Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The ice at Lake Nokomis is looking solid for the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships. Organizers say all events will happen this year.

Championships cut short

The backstory:

Last winter, the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships got cut short because of warmer weather. It’s a much different story this year. Wednesday is all about the youth playing on more than 20 rinks in the cold.

"I’m excited to crush other teams," said Canton Weiner, a player.

It’s Weiner’s first time playing on Youth Night at the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships. The rinks at Lake Nokomis are solid ice compared to last year.

"There was so much water on the sides. It was really hard to skate, we didn’t have fun last year," said player Jack Misson.

Skating on thin ice

What happened:

With players like Misson skating on not-so-solid ice the last time the games were hosted, the U.S. Pond Hockey organization had to make a tough call.

"Weekend two it got warm. And the ice started to melt, and we had to just say, 'Alright, we need to shut this down just simply because of players' safety as well,'" said Event Manager Jesse Delorit.

A change to solid ice

How things have changed:

For the 2025 pond hockey games, the dangerously cold temperatures we had the past few days made for ideal ice conditions at Lake Nokomis.

"Mother Nature, I've been saying that she really helped out this year. This is some of the best ice we've had and the most ice we've had," said Delorit.

Now these young athletes and other hockey players can hit the ice every day of the Pond Championship Games.

"Probably going to be better than last year, cause it's less heat, it's colder than it was last year," said Misson.

The U.S. Pond Hockey Championships resume Thursday and go through Sunday. Now in previous years, it was a two-weekend event. This year, they made it from Wednesday to Sunday with youth night being Wednesday.