Monday Morning News and Notes

Here are a handful of shout-outs and announcements to start your week.

  • First off, congratulations to Kevin Attig, the winner of our PondRocket hat giveaway. Kevin “liked” our page on Facebook, and now he’ll brave the cold Alaskan air with a brand new lid. Want in on future contests? You never know how we’ll run them, so your best bet is to like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to our RSS feed so you know when there’s new content. (Here’s a hint: you might want to check back frequently this week.)
  • Our friends the Hockeyboyz are at it again. Back in June, we told you about the 2nd Annual Summer Sizzle, a charity hockey tournament to benefit Jared Allen’s Homes for Wounded Warriors. Not content to wait until next year for Summer Sizzle 3, Scott Winters, Dana Kane, and David Billings have created the 1st Annual Gravy Bowl Thanksgiving Hockey 4-on-4 Tournament. Want to shed some turkey day pounds and raise money for a wonderful cause? Contact the ‘boyz via their Facebook page.
  • The great news just keeps coming out of Meredith, NH. You had the first-ever New England Pond Hockey Classic back in February, bringing together hundreds of hockey players and fans for an unforgettable weekend of outdoor hockey and indoor camaraderie. Then a few months later, organizer Scott Crowder was awarded the Lakes Region Tourism Award, proving that pond hockey events can also double as economic boosts to host towns. Then just last week it was announced that the New England Pond Hockey Classic  has donated more than $1,200 to the Lakes Region Youth Hockey Association. The money was raised as part of a statewide pin-up program in partnership with Amoskeag Beverages. Want to make a donation, or get your youth organization or business involved? Contact Scott via the tournament website. And don’t forget, the 2011 New England Pond Hockey Classic will be held February 4-6, with the first annual Lake Champlain Pond Hockey Classic taking place two weeks later, February 18-20. More info on both events here.
  • A quick addendum to my post last week about Texas Hockey Day. I ended that entry by calling out the rest of the country, saying that it’ll “be a heck of a day when every state has its own hockey day, don’t you think?” Well, it may come to be that every state DOES have its own hockey day, and that I just didn’t look hard enough. Shortly after posting the story to our Facebook page, friend, former teammate, and NH Jr. Monarchs Director of Player Development Jeremy Vega posted with information about New England Hockey Day, slated for Saturday, November 6th. Just like the Texas iteration, New England Hockey Day was created to allow 4-9 year olds to experience the game of hockey for free. It will take place throughout Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Also on the docket for USA Hockey this year? Girls’ Hockey Day in Florida (November 7th) and Western New York Hockey Day (December 11th). For more information, or to sign your child up, visit the USA Hockey website.
  • Finally, I just want to thank you all for yet another great month. This site was launched on February first, and we didn’t see our 1,000th unique visitor until the first week in May. To give you some perspective on our growth, this month had over 4,000 unique visitors alone. I am humbled beyond words that so many of you find time in your busy day to visit this site. We have a lot of fun, useful, and interesting things coming in the near future, so please check back whenever you can!

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Image courtesy of Perry McKenna.

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