Black Ice Pond Hockey hits the ice on Janaury 28th

The 1883 Black Ice Pond Hockey Championship and Festival returns to White Park this Janaury 28-30 in Concord, NH.

The largest outdoor winter event in New Hampshire, Black Ice sees 95+ teams and about 700 hockey players come to Concord.  Black Ice offers a wide array of family activities which include interactive games, rock wall, bonfires, live entertainment, fireworks, food trucks and ice and snow sculptures.  Black Ice will welcome youth hockey teams from New Hampshire playing in the “Shinny Classic.” 

The Mission of the 1883 Black Ice Pond Hockey Championships is to grow ice skating and recreational opportunities. The “1883” refers to a historical date and “Black Ice” refers to the purest of ice. St. Paul’s School, located in Concord, and hockey have been synonymous since November 17, 1883 when the school community gathered on the Lower Pond to witness the first organized game ever played in the United States.

Hobey Baker was a student athlete who went to St. Paul’s School.  Baker has been called “The Father of American Hockey” - And, at the age of 14, Baker joined the school’s varsity hockey team. By 15, he was awarded the Gordon Medal as the school’s best all-around athlete.

Concord is the home to two US Olympic Hockey Athletes.  Douglas N. Everett was also a member of the US Olympic team at the 1932 winter games in Lake Placid, NY.  Doug was inducted into the US Hockey Hall of Fame in 1974 and became a member of the inaugural class in the New Hampshire Legends of Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002.  On December 7, 1965 The Douglas N. Everett Arena opened.  The arena was dedicated in Everett’s honor for his hockey achievements.  Tara Mounsey won a Gold Medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics held in Nagano, Japan and won a Silver Medal at the 2002 Olympics held in Salt Lake City as a member of the US Woman’s Olympic Hockey Team.  Tara was selected to the All-World Teams at both Olympics.