MINNEAPOLIS — Leave it up to Minnesota winter to deke out hockey fans on the eve of the U.S. Pond Hockey Championship.
The remainder of the tournament has been canceled due to warmer-than-expected weather, according to its event organizers. Jesse Delorit says pucks won't travel on the sloppy wet ice and it's not safe for players to skate on.
"This event sometimes teeters between a couple of degrees, and we’ve had good luck, and we’ve had bad luck. Last weekend was good luck, this weekend is bad luck," said the organization in a Facebook post.
It's a disappointing end to an event that 300 teams from around the world had signed up to compete in. Roughly 3,000 athletes in total were set to compete at the annual tournament on Lake Nokomis before Thursday's cancelation. The final weekend had over 970 athletes signed up to play. They all will be guaranteed a spot in next year's tournament.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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