Hell Freeze Tournament bigger than ever

As players of varying ages and backgrounds skated onto the ice, hundreds piled in the Havre Ice Dome to watch the Ninth Annual Hi-Line Hell Freeze Hockey Tournament.

The Hell Freeze Tournament has been held in Havre since January of 2011, started by Brett Patrick, Havre Youth Hockey Association director and Hell Freeze organizer, and a few of his friends after he came back from college. Patrick said the tournament started with five teams, raising money for the Youth Hockey Association. Since then, Patrick said, the tournament has grown along with the fanbase of the event.

This year, he said, Hell Freeze had 14 teams, including teams from across the state and Canada. He added that the tournament also saw more than 200 people sitting in the stands every night of the event.

Last year's tournament raised approximately $10,000 for youth hockey and had 12 teams, he said. This year, he added, he expects they have raised even more.

Chad Winczura of Medicine Hat said that this was his sixth year participating in the tournament, playing defense for the Medicine Hat Retro Kings. He said he likes participating because it is a great fundraiser and he likes that the kids get to benefit from it.

He plays hockey once a year at a game in Medicine Hat.

Another returning player was Nick Chatham of Phoenix, Arizona. He said he and his friend fly up from Phoenix because his friend is originally from Havre. It's good to see some friends and family, he said, adding that the people he meets at the tournament are a pretty good group of guys.

He said that, back home, he plays a couple of days a week and in a couple of different leagues, but thoroughly enjoys playing with the wide span of players he meets at Hell Freeze. Some players have just started, but some are well-seasoned veterans of the game, he said.

Chatham said he was from North Dakota originally but likes Havre. He added that the tournament brings the whole town out and everyone can have a good time.

Chatham, left wing for the Retro Kings, who he has played with the past two years, said he also scored the first goal for his team against the Havre Mclanson, a family team made up with McLain and the Hanson families.

Eric McLain of Havre, player for the Mclanson Team, said he has been playing hockey all of his life and likes everything about it. He added that his whole family plays and his kids play, it being an important part of their lives. He said in addition to playing in Hell Freeze he also is the referee and coach for the youth teams every week.

But Hell Freeze is not only for people who have played hockey in the past, Jennifer Matson said. This was her first year participating in the tournament. She said she was excited to play and wanted to get involved because all of her kids started playing and, after moving back to Havre, she wanted to try it out.

She added that one of the ways the event raises money is by selling beer. People who attend can purchase a $25 cup and have free refills, Matson said, with the Havre Youth Hockey Association paying for the beer and Havre Distributors only charging them for the number of kegs they use.

The audience was made up of friends, family and hockey fans, Alina McLain, wife of one of the players for the Mclanson team, said it is fun to watch everyone in her family play in the tournament. She added that Hell Freeze is a family friendly event and she believed that the event was the best weekend of the year.

McLain said it's a great event that brings everyone in, and involved, with the youth league organization together.

Michael Erickson of Havre said he likes to watch the event. He said his family, in addition to a few other families around town, helped build the Havre Ice Dome and is glad to see that the event was a success.

He said Hell Freeze is good for the Havre economy, bringing people in who are not from the area to stay in hotels around town and eat at local restaurants.

The teams are all really competitive, he said, adding that he loves the competitive nature of the game.

Erickson said he didn't think that Hell Freeze would be as big as it has gotten and is happy with the turnout this year.

The tournament was broken up into three separate leagues, the High Rec, Low Rec and Tripods.

Scores:

In the tripod league:

The Havre Klobofski team secured one win and suffered two losses, although winning its final game against the Havre Jerry Kuhn team, which won one out of its three games.

The Great Falls Hackin Hares won all four of its games, its final game against the Lewistown Snowholes Jr. team, which won one of its four games.

In the Low Rec League:

The Havre Fantastic 40 Plus team lost two of its three games and tied one. Its last match was against The Great Falls Foxes, which went undefeated during the tournament and won its last game against the Bozeman Flying Zams. The Flying Zams won three of their four games.

The Havre River Rats lost three of its games and tied two, losing its final game against the Lewistown Snowholes, which lost two of its games and tied one.

In the High Rec League:

The Larsons won one game, tied one game and lost two, losing its last game to The Mclansons, which won two games and lost two games.

The Maple Creek Wrecker loss all three of its games, losing its last game to The Stockman Bank team, which won three games, tied one game and lost one game.

Stockman Bank lost its final game against the Medicine Hat Retro Kings, which won three games and lost one game.