Snow is trucked from Little Bear East Arena to the Star Line Mackinac Island Ferry dock, where it is blown onto the ice Monday, February 16. Pickup trucks on Moran Bay are plowing it into stacks, which will mark ice rink boundaries for the U.P. Pond Hockey Championship that begins Friday in St. Ignace. Sports action will begin on Moran Bay in St. Ignace at noon Friday, February 20, when 600 players from around the county and Canada face off in pond hockey matches during the three-day U.P. Pond Hockey Championship.

Ice will fly off skate blades and pucks will slide across the bay during aggressive hockey play in the afternoon on the outdoor rinks. Friday evening, inside Little Bear Ice Arena, skating legends from the Detroit Red Wings will play against last year's top two pond hockey teams. The Red Wings alumni also will have a special meeting with young St. Ignace Mite hockey team players, who will play during an intermission.

Fans may also witness a marriage proposal during the weekend event, organizers say.

In its third year, more than 100 local volunteers have been planning the event, making final preparations, and are scheduled to work. Tournament play, snow bowling, a warming tent, and bonfire will be off shore between the Shepler dock and Kiwanis Beach.

Volunteers erect the warming tent Monday on Moran Bay that will be used during the three-day hockey tournament in St. Ignace this weekend. Matches will take place on 15 surveyed rinks, totaling about 3.8 acres on the ice-covered waters of Lake Huron.

Last week's warm weather that melted much of the snow and left a layer of water on the ice will not stop the event. The ice still is about 24 inches thick, said organizer Mark Sposito.

"Ice is not the issue," he said. "It's the snow."

Snow usually is plowed into rink boundaries and will have be trucked in by Art Huskey and Sons Excavating of St. Ignace, said Mr. Sposito.

This year the rink layout is more organized, as local surveyor Neil Hill used his equipment to mark the areas.

Also new this year is the way ice will be prepared and maintained. Playing surfaces will be cleaned and smoothed using a Zamboni ice resurfacing machine. Purchased in December by the St. Ignace Visitors Bureau, the ice equipment will relieve about 20 volunteers who previously labored on ice preparations.

With temperatures expected to be in the low 20s during the day and in the teens at night, Mr. Sposito said he expects the weather to provide near-perfect conditions for tournament play.

About 100 teams from Washington, Florida, Virginia, New York, Missouri, Ontario, Canada, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan will compete for the top spot.

Players will range from 21 to 64 years old, said Mr. Sposito. Teams will compete in four divisions of 21 years and older, 30 years and older, 40 years and older, and a women's division. New this year is a novice division comprised of players who have not played organized hockey until they were at least 21 years old.

About 2,000 spectators are expected to attend the events. Attendance is free and ramps have been constructed leading from the shoreline to the ice and tent area.

Play begins at noon Friday and runs until 5 p.m. Hockey players will take to the ice beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday and matches will continue until 5 p.m. Finals will be played Sunday, including the championship game.

Friday evening, February 20, a match-up between an alumni Detroit Red Wings team and last year's 21-and-older Gold Division playoff teams will take place on the ice at Little Bear East arena at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased by calling 643-6950.

On Saturday, live music and food and beverages will be offered in the tent. Tricky Dicky and the Spoonmen, a Mackinac Island band, will play and Red Wings alumni will be available to meet with hockey fans. The concession stand will be operated by the St. Ignace Hockey Association, its biggest fundraiser of the year.

As hockey competition continues, a section of Lake Huron ice will be transformed into a bowling alley, with teams aiming at pins at the end of an icy lane beginning at 11 a.m.

The number of teams competing in snow bowling will not be known until Saturday, said Mr. Sposito, who in the last couple of days had registered three teams from Detroit and two from Kalamazoo. Last year, 20 teams participated.

The challenging game takes place as five-member teams compete using real bowling balls and pins. The alley is a stretch of slick ice, and traditional gutters are replaced with wooden boards that help keep the balls on course. Hay bales provide bumpers for the balls and keep pins from sliding every which way, said local bowler Ralph Colegrove, who helps set up the site.

Bowling teams are required to set their own pins and keep their score.

St. Ignace resident Jay Allan designed and built an automatic ball return, which operates on gravity.

The solid ice alley creates a unique challenge for bowlers, said Mr. Sposito. On a traditional maple bowling lane, the ball rolls toward the pins, but on ice, it skids. Bowlers have no idea where the ball is going to go. Hitting the pins on the first ball is not too difficult, he added, but picking up pins on the second throw is the challenge.

In a bowling alley, bowlers can control the speed and direction of the ball. In snow bowling, even the most skilled bowler is challenged. The highest score since the game has been offered is 150 points, said Mr. Sposito.

"I think that's why it is so much fun," he said.

"It is kind of tough," agreed Mr. Colegrove, "but it is fun."

Cost to participate in bowling is $25 a team, or $5 per person. Teams can register and pay as late as Saturday morning, said Mr. Sposito, as long as they have made a reservation ahead of time. This helps organizers ensure there is enough equipment available for all bowlers.

Proceeds from the event go to the St. Ignace Recreation Department. To register, call the Recreation Department at 643- 8676.

Planning already has begun for next year, and Mr. Sposito hopes to add a curling exhibition in 2010. He now is working on getting four clubs to hold exhibition matches. If successful, in the future the sport could be added to the roster of weekend events.

Schedule of Pond Hockey Events on Moran Bay

Friday, February 20
Noon until 5 p.m. — hockey
competition
Warming tent with food and
beverages
7:30 p.m. — Detroit Red
Wings Alumni Team
Exhibition game, Little Bear
East ice arena. $10.
Saturday, February 21
9 a.m. until 5 p.m. — hockey
competition
11 a.m. snow bowling begins
Warming tent with food and
beverages
Live music by Tricky Dicky
and the Spoonmen
Sunday, February 22
10 a.m. to noon —
hockey finals