Rough rink conditions for Pond Hockey

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - After going through several delays and weather conditions, the Labatt Blue Pond Hockey Tournament decided to call it quits and cancel the remaining games for Saturday's event.

Between the sleet, freezing rain, and Friday's snowfall, four of the nine ice rinks began deteriorating overnight and on Saturday making it unsafe for the teams to play on.

Labatt Blue Associate Brand Manager Lisa Texido said, "It wasn't just the snow it was the sleet and frozen rain that took a beating on the rinks. Pace Rinks was here actually all night working tirelessly around the clock."

Labatt first decided Saturday morning to delay the start of the games to 11 a.m. to prep and groom the five remaining rinks. They then moved the 1 p.m. games to 6 p.m.

The teams that were part of the morning schedule were able to play their games. Texido said since they only had half the rinks to work with, they figured into that how many players and teams they had left to play making the decision to cancel the rest of the games to be made.

Hockey player Brendan Call said, "It was a little sloppy. Half the ice was water and a puck actually got stuck about two inches below the ice at one point. People were going over the boards;  it was just uneven."

As everyone says, "This is Buffalo," and the players weren't about to let the weather or ice rink conditions get in the way of them having fun.

"I definitely would rather play on ice but it is what it is, you can't stop Mother Nature," said player George Cameron.

In addition to the games Labatt had food, live music, and of course beer which everyone was more than satisfied with.

Labatt is going to fully refund all registered teams including the ones that played this morning.