Massena Cup Hockey Action Starting Tonight

By MATTHEW BULTMAN

FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2012

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MASSENA - Forget about Lord Stanley.

The next two days are all about the Massena Cup.

The puck will drop tonight on the third annual outdoor hockey tournament at the Massena Arena.

Organizers say they have been working tirelessly since the beginning of the month, fighting the elements to keep the outdoor ice rink in the arena's shadow in tip-top shape.

"We have had to work in and around Mother Nature," Massena Recreation Superintendent Richard A. Boprey said Thursday as he looked on at the glassy ice spread over the asphalt lot.

"Right now we have perfect ice."

But it hasn't been easy. The recreation department has spent weeks flooding the rink with fire hoses and a water tanker. And the unseasonably warm weather over the past week - with temperatures climbing into the mid 40s earlier this week - has given the group all it can handle, Mr. Boprey said.

"A couple weeks ago I could've put a lifeguard out there," he said.

But assuming the weather cooperates over the next two days, Massena is set to host its largest outdoor hockey tournament yet. Twenty teams have signed up to take the ice, where they will compete for the $1,000 prize awarded to the first place finisher.

And skaters are set to come from as far as North Carolina for a chance to hoist the Massena Cup.

"This is one of the most exciting recreation events going on in Massena," Nathan H. Witkop, a Massena chiropractor who will play in the event, said.

The three-on-three tournament originated with the return of the Massena Winter Carnival in 2010. Since then, it has served as a kickoff to the week-long carnival.

Organizers said they will split the field into two divisions as eight teams will play in the Elite Division and 12 teams in the Open Division, with the Elite class for more experienced players.

The action is set to begin Friday night under the lights beginning at 5 p.m. before picking up again all day Saturday. There is no admission fee to the event, and a beer tent with warming barrels will be set around the outside of the rink.