Could not have worked out better.
The event this year far exceeded anything I could have ever dreamed of considering this is only it's second year. Although the competition was kicked up a notch this year with the number of teams being double last years the sportsmanship was outstanding. 608 games played not including playoffs and I only heard of one tussle and that was in the womens division.
All things considered the ice was in good shape. There were some cracks and ruts but there really is no way to control that. The rinks were flooded at night so the early games enjoyed a better playing surface while the later games were less about skating and more about passing and puck control.
Opening games on Friday morning the Temp was -3. I didn't mind so much but the plastic holding the blade on my skate couldn't quite deal with it. I blocked a shot with my skate and the entire thing just blew apart. I had to buy new skates and try to break them in before my next game in 3 hours.
My hat's off to Scott Crowder who ran the entire thing. All the vendors looked to be very busy I know the hotels were banged out and Lago was a zoo. I don't know for sure about the other restaurants in the area but I am sure they must have felt a nice uptick. I have only been to one or two events in my life when you could actually feel the excitement in the air, this was one of them.
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