The action begins Friday morning at Amelia Park rink in Westfield and runs through Sunday afternoon.
In this 2011 photo, Erica Way skates for the Western Mass. Knights.WESTFIELD – A 16-team field is set for the 14th New England Invitational Sled Hockey Tournament this weekend at Amelia Park rink.
The tournament opens Friday at 7 a.m. and runs through Sunday, with eight teams each in adult and junior divisions. The junior championship game will go on Sunday at noon, followed by the adult championship at 1.
The Western Mass. Knights of Springfield serve as the host team in the adult division. In the junior division, the Springfield Sliders have the honors.
Both Springfield teams are supervised and coached by Carole Appleton, director of Amelia Park rink. Most of the Sliders players are patients at Springfield’s Shriners Hospital.
Sled hockey is a sport for the physically disabled. Players maneuver their single-runner sleds by using one stick to push off and another to handle the puck. If certain players don’t have the physical ability to handle both sticks, they can be assisted by “pushers.” Otherwise, the game has the same rules and penalties as regular hockey.
“I think this is the most amazing sporting event in the valley,” Appleton said. “Spectators who come here soon find out how intense and competitive these players are.”
Teams sponsored by the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League swept the divisional championships last year. Both finals were one-goal games, with the senior title going to a shootout. The field includes one Canadian entry, from Barrie, Ontario.
Thirteen games will be played Friday and 13 more Saturday, with each slate starting at 7 a.m. The Sunday schedule, also starting at 7, will feature four elimination games leading to the finals.
Appleton heads a committee which also consists of Sue Figy, Dale Wise, Barbara Braem-Jensen, Bob Jensen, Dave Ciminelli, Bonnie Sladeski, Ian Wilson, Josh McCully, A.J. Shiverdecker, Patti Andras and Corey Drouin.
Wise, a resident of Needham, brought sled hockey to New England in 1999. He continues to serve as supervisor of the tournament’s schedule.
The first NE sled hockey tournament was played in Boston, but Amelia Park has become its home in recent years.
The 2012 tourney is dedicated to the memory of Albert Ferst, a Westfield businessman and philanthropist who died in December 2011.
“This tournament wouldn’t be here without him,” Appleton said.
Amelia Park is named for his wife, Amelia “Millie” Ferst, who died in 1997.
In 2000, the arena that she envisioned for the city became a reality through the efforts of the Ferst Operating Foundation, which was formed in 1998.
Sunday, May 6, Amelia Park rink, Amelia Park Children’s Museum and the Boys & Girls Club of Westfield will host “A Celebration of Albert (Al) Ferst” at 1 p.m.
Garry Brown can be reached at geeman1918@yahoo.com