Martha’s Vineyard is fully in summer season. That means ice cream cones, fireworks, beach days, and...ice hockey?
Yes, ice hockey. This weekend, the Martha’s Vineyard Ice Arena played host to the eighth annual East Coast Classic, a hockey tournament that pits eight summer teams from the Northeast against one another in a battle for the Vineyard Cup.
The Pro-Am tournament included players from NCAA Division I hockey, the ECHL, the American Hockey League, and even two players from the NHL: Adam Gaudette, of the Vancouver Canucks, and Noah Hanifin, of the Carolina Hurricanes.
“With the timing of the event — the middle of July — you don’t expect hockey,” said tournament organizer Peter Alden. “But it’s unique, a nice change of pace, and a beautiful destination. That’s why the tournament works.”
Connections to the Vineyard, and other regional hockey programs, bring skaters back for the summer weekend.
“The tournament gets a really positive response from the players,” Mr. Alden said. “It’s more like an alumni game.”
The Vineyard Kings (the team from the Island) sure felt that way. Jack Riley, an injured player who decided to stand up behind the bench at the beginning of the team’s first game on Friday, thus cementing his status as “coach,” reminisced about how he hadn’t played with many of his teammates since his days in prep school.
“It’s a good time on the ice, and in the locker room,” he said, after giving the referees a piece of his mind, and imploring the scorekeepers to play the goal horn when the Kings found the back of the net.
Although the Kings took a hefty beating Friday night in their first game against the Toe Dragons, conceding two goals in the first five minutes of play and falling 8-5, they came back Saturday morning with a rousing 11-7 victory over the Fialkons. They lost their next game, a close one, to the Wagon Wheels, but still made the playoffs because of a tournament rule that awards points for period victories, along with game victories.
The playoffs set the Kings up for a rematch with the Toe Dragons, their nemesis from Friday. This time, they conceded six early goals, going down by a half-dozen in the first period. Coach Riley urged the team forward, however, and the Kings ended up avoiding embarrassment, losing by a respectable 6-4.
“Their goalie was standing on his head,” Coach Riley said, proud of his squad’s admirable performance.
Even though defense was hard to come by for the majority of the tournament, the final game saw some solid hockey, with players taking shots off the shins and pushing attackers into the boards. The Smokeponies, a team comprised mainly of D1 college players from Northeastern, Providence, and the UMass system, defeated the Toe Dragons 6-3 to take the cup.
Mr. Alden felt that the upgraded rink contributed to the tournament’s success. The building has new lights, new ice, an improved lobby area, and seamless glass around the facility, similar to that of NHL stadiums. In future years, he hopes to have a meet-and-greet between Vineyard youth and the more famous players participating.
“There are a lot of exciting opportunities for growth and opportunities for synergy with the community,” Mr. Alden said. Some former participants who have gone on to NHL careers include Scott Darling of the Chicago Blackhawks, Kevin Hayes of the New York Rangers, and Matt Anderson of the New Jersey Devils.
“The tournament went really well,” Mr. Alden concluded. “The guys took it really seriously, and it’s a great venue.”
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