Greater Madison Convention & Visitors Bureau: 2nd annual Mad City Pond Hockey Championships return to Vilas Lagoon January 23-25, 2015

MEDIA CONTACT:

Erica Rykal, Greater Madison Convention & Visitors Bureau

Phone: 608.255.2537 x2626

Email: rykal@visitmadison.com

(MADISON, WI) – Dust off those hockey skates from the top shelf of your garage – the Mad City Pond Hockey Championships are back! This year’s event takes place at Vilas Park Lagoon in Madison, WI on January 23-25, 2015. The event aims to create a nostalgic outdoor hockey atmosphere for hockey players of all ages.

“Our goal is to provide a pond hockey tournament that brings players back to their youth, playing outside in the elements and under the lights,” said event co-founder Brad Mastenbrook. “We want every team to have a blast, relive their glory days and enjoy Madison as a great hockey town,” Mastenbrook added.

Twelve rinks will be set up at the Vilas Park Lagoon on Madison’s near west side. The format will be 4-on-4 games with no goalies on a 60′ x 120′ sheet of ice with small borders. Games will begin Friday evening and continue until 9pm. Special outdoor lighting will be brought in to illuminate all night games for players and spectators. The fun will continue Saturday from 8am-9pm and Sunday from 8am-4:30pm. There will be scorekeepers for every game with the losing team gets the “luxury” of preparing the ice for the next game.

The event will also include a raffle on Saturday night. Notable raffle items include: twelve NHL jerseys, two hockey sticks, a pair of hockey gloves, a one-night stay at HotelRED in a Premier Studio Suite, a Jerry Kelly signed golf bag, and a Corey Crawford signed Chicago Blackhawks jersey. Part of the tournament proceeds will be donated the UW Carbone Cancer Center. Last year’s event raised $2,000 for Pancreatic Cancer research. For more information please visit http://www.madcitypondhockey.com.

The Madison Area Sports Commission (MASC) is the greater Madison area’s official sports marketing organization. Launched by the Greater Madison Convention & Visitors Bureau in 2010, MASC is charged with elevating the recognition and awareness of the impact of sports tourism on the regional economy while serving the unique needs of the sports tourism business.