Hockey fans everywhere will be drooling over Labatt USA’s announcement today. This morning the company was proud to announce a pond hockey tournament on Delaware Park’s Hoyt Lake. This four-on-four tournament was created by Labatt USA working with the City of Buffao, Erie County, and the Olmsted Parks Conservancy to make an event that they hope will draw as many people as the successful NHL-sponsored Winter Classic.
Performax Hockey Systems will recruit sixteen local teams to compete in a round robin format. There will be four divisions with each winner of the division advancing to the semi-finals. The two teams to go to the Tournament Championship will get to play in either white or blue Labatt Blue jerseys.
There are, of course, entry rules that can be viewed in full at www.hockeyscape.com. Some of the rules are that the players have to be age 25 or up and there will be no goalies. A special net like those used in USA Pond Hockey will be used instead, which is six inches high and six feet wide.
Labatt USA, which is headquartered in Buffalo, seems to be getting more and more involved in the local scene. It recently announced it would hold its 2007 progress report and 2008 strategic plans meeting for its wholesalers and partners in the area instead of a sunnier location like it has in years past. This newest venture to create a competitive, entertaining, and nostalgic hockey tournament certainly speaks to the dedication Labatt USA has to, what it already feels is, its new hometown.
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