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The ninth annual 50+ End of the Road Hockey Tournament in Babbitt was another success.
“We had around 80 participants who travelled from the tri-state area to Babbitt. We had people from Canada, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and guys from Stevens Point, WI and Fargo and Grand Forks,” said Duane Lossing.
“All the teams played three games and some went down to the wire and overtime. The guys like coming to our town. The tournament for them is a little more personal, like when they come back they remember the bartender’s name,” said Lossing. “The six teams played two games on Saturday and one game on Sunday. We had a great concession crew with Lisa Poppenhagen, Thea Lossing, Zoey Cameron, Shelly Sundberg and we had people like Terri and Kevin Pylka doing ticket sales, Wesley and Ryland Sandy running the clock and helping us out. Van Conrad and AJ Jankowski were the refs and they did a good job as well.
“Clayton, our 84-year-old player from Moorhead is a native of Indus near International Falls. He’s just a joy to play with. He’s not just a good player for his age, he’s just a good hockey player, he caught guys on breaks who were 30 years younger.”
Lossing said the event included a banquet and funds raised over the weekend will be used to support youth programs in the area.
“We’ve been able to support more programs which helps show the arena as an asset to the community, not just for kids in the area to skate there but to raise funds as well.
“Caitlyn Stern and Logan Meskill from the Rec Department did a good job of taking care of the ice and helping us out as well. Speed Pro Graphics, owned by Keith Boisner, supplied with us a real professional look for our tournament.”
Lossing also wanted to thank all of the area businesses that donated to the event. Volunteer workers also included: Lori Bissonette, Brenda Lind, Nancy Mettler, Shawn Sampson, Shelly Sundberg, Misty and Jeff Krenzing. Tournament Organizers were Duane Lossing and Lisa Poppenhagen.
