Huntsville, ON– An incredible six hundred games of hockey were played out in Huntsville this weekend for the 5th Annual Canadian National Pond Hockey Championships. Mother nature served up near arctic conditions, while the event delivered repeat Men’s Champions, a familiar women’s National Champ, and a new winner in the Men’s Recreational Division.

In the Men’s Championship Division, both finalists from last year returned for a second showdown, as the Officetrax Vandals of Brampton came from behind in a 17-11 victory over the Champions Quebecois de Hockey D'antan.

“To make it to the final 16 (playoff round) two years in a row is hard enough, but for the same four teams to make it to the championship again is a major accomplishment,” says Executive Director, Neil Lumsden.

For the women’s victors, The Alumni , it was their 4th appearance in the championship round to battle it out for the highest women’s pond hockey honour in Canada . The Alumni ultimately became 3-time champions defeating the 2009 title holders, The Wade Belaks.

In the Men’s recreational division, the Wombats, a team from London, Ontario, held off a late charging Jabba the Hacks of Bracebridge to win the 2010 Recreational Men’s title.

Set against the backdrop of the expansive Deerhurst Resort, the first weekend of the Canadian National Pond Hockey Championships, were welcomed by a mix of sun, snow, and minus 16 degrees temperatures. True to pond hockey form, players and volunteers braved the elements and once again played their part in this truly Canadian event. Over 600 players and volunteers converged on the Muskoka town of Huntsville. More than 80 on-ice referees and countless other volunteers were required to help orchestrate the massive pond hockey showdown.

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