When the National Hockey League decided to leave the cozy confines of its indoor arenas and take their game outside, there were those who thought they were crazy. And yet, the first NHL Winter Classic, played at Bills Stadium in Orchard Park in 2008, set the table for what has become a regular event on the NHL calendar, morphing into other outdoor games played in stadiums across the country and Canada.

While professional players revel in the opportunity to return to their roots, they’re not the only ones. Every year a growing number of amateur players of all ages flock to frozen ponds and lakes to make their own puck pilgrimage.

One such frozen Mecca can be found inside scenic Chenango Valley State Park, where the Binghamton Pond Festival brings families and friends together for a celebration of the game in its purest form.

Since its inception in 2016, it has grown into a series of events scattered over three weekends in January that brighten up even the bleakest winter in upstate New York. In addition to tournaments for players of all ages, there are food vendors, live bands, deejays and activities for kids and those who are young at heart.

“The event basically started as an excuse to get hockey people together and commingle, if you will, and it’s kind of snowballed from there,” said founder and executive director Tytus Haller, who works tirelessly with a dedicated group of volunteers to host the event.

Mother Nature has proven to be a fickle partner in the success of pond hockey events, both in New York State and around the country. To level the playing field, in 2018 the organizers installed mechanical refrigeration under its expansive ice sheet to give players great ice even when outdoor temperatures may not work in their favor. 

“We have thousands of feet of piping running underneath the [ice] sheet,” Haller says. “As far as I know this is the largest outdoor refrigerated sheet in North America. It’s bigger than an Olympic-sized sheet and then we employ a chiller so even if it’s 60 degrees out here we’re able to freeze and keep ice to have games. That’s what separates us from a lot of other events that have tried to do this. They just can’t manage the weather.”

This year’s event coincides with the 100th anniversary of the New York State Parks department, so to celebrate the occasion, organizers decided to shorten the first weekend (Jan. 13-14) to two days to allow the Friends of Chenango Valley Park to hold a centennial celebration.

The second weekend (Jan. 19-21) is dedicated to younger players, as 46 USA Hockey registered youth teams will get in on the fun. There will also be learn to skate and try hockey for free sessions, and an appearance by a local special hockey team.

The festival concludes the last weekend of January with a 4-on-4 adult tournament before a fireworks show sends people home in style. Teams will travel from all over the northeast, and even as far away as Texas and California to experience the thrill of playing in the great outdoors.

But this event is about more than just hockey. It’s about giving back and making the Binghamton community a better place to live. Since its inception, organizers have donated proceeds back to local nonprofit organizations that support, education and sports programs. 

Among the many beneficiaries have been the Mental Health Association of the Southern Tier, the BCC Foundation to fund scholarships, the Friends of Chenango Valley State Park, the Southern Tier Hockey Association and the Binghamton Blizzard.

It’s Haller’s way of honoring a sport that did so much for him.

“When I was a kid my experiences in the sport were really positive. I was around a lot of really good teammates, a lot of really good coaches that were all about culture building,” he says.

“I think that is something that has really gotten lost in our sport and in society recently. Life is just so quick now that people don’t slow down enough to do relationship building. That was one of the big impetuses for doing this event, to try to bring people together to let them build those relationships and experience that camaraderie with other hockey players, because as we all know, hockey players can find each other in a room of a hundred people.”

And for three weeks every January, you know where the Binghamton hockey community will be. Right here enjoying the camaraderie, competition and a connection to the roots of the game.