Doug Marshall's Chevies won the Alberta Pond Hockey Championship for a third time in the last four years (photo by Richard Pye)

Last Sunday, on a crisp winter day in Lac Cardinal, AB the 2010 Alberta Pond Hockey Tournament awarded their championship trophy after hugely successful four-day tournament. For the fourth consecutive year, teams from across Western Canada made the trip to Lac Cardinal to battle for bragging rights.

• View a photo gallery from the Alberta Pond Hockey tournament

Over the weekend, 78 teams played on 20 outdoor pond hockey rinks for the right to play in the World Pond Hockey Championships in Plaster Rock, New Brunswick. In the end the Doug Marshall’s Chevies with players from Peace River and Grande Prairie out-skated Pro-Ice in a 16-12 match for the chance to compete in the national tournament in New Brunswick. The Chevies are three-time Alberta Pond Hockey Champions having won the trophy in 2007, 2009 and 2010.

“The 2010 Alberta Pond Hockey Tournament went exceptionally well,” said John Haney, President of the Alberta Pond Hockey Association. “This event is about families, sharing the passion of sport and retracing your steps as a child, and we’re proud to say this was accomplished.”

In only four short years, this tournament has seen exponential growth. What started as 36 teams on 12 rinks has grown to nearly 80 teams playing on 20 rinks. This year over 400 players and 200 volunteers braved the Northern Alberta weather to return to the origin of hockey on outdoor rinks and celebrate all that’s great about the game.

The Edmonton Oilers were proud to take part in the fun of the 2010 Alberta Hockey Pond Championships. On the tournament’s opening night, members of Oilers staff coordinated hockey clinics for three local minor hockey teams. The Oilers also sponsored the main rink where the team’s logo could be found at centre ice.