Pond stars: Scotty Gomez Foundation hosts 76 teams in Last Frontier Pond Hockey Classic in Big Lake

BIG LAKE — With the sun shining, Isaac Smoldon and a few of his high school buddies traded passes inside a rink groomed on the ice of Big Lake.

Not a bad way to spend a Friday afternoon.

Smoldon, who recently capped his senior season of hockey at Houston High School, was a member of one of the 76 teams registered for the Last Frontier Pond Hockey Classic, an event organized by the Scotty Gomez Foundation. This is the third time the foundation — named for Alaska’s most recognized and decorated hockey player — has hosted the event, and the first time it’s been in Big Lake. It allowed Smoldon and his high school teammates — Noah Gillespie, Austin Zweifell, Tyler Chivers and Hayden Chivers — to skate the day away on one of the dozen rinks groomed on Big Lake.

“This is living the dream right here,” Smoldon said during a break in the action. “It’s awesome. Lots of hockey.”

Smoldon said he’s skating in the event for the first time, playing with four of his high school teammates in the U18 division on a team sponsored by Rep. Mark Neuman.

“It’s great for the community, especially for the hockey community,” Smoldon said.

It’s also a way to look back for a lot of hockey players, like Smoldon, who grew up skating on pick-up games on the lakes and ponds.

“Every chance we got, we’d go down to the lake, go out and skate,” said Smoldon, who started skating as a 2-year-old.

And the Last Frontier Pond Hockey Classic provided another chance for players, youth and adult, to get out and skate.

“It’s just a really good atmosphere,” Smoldon said. “It’s really cool to get to play a lot of guys who you would not usually see.”

Friday was all about the youth hockey, with games in the U10, U14 and U18 divisions.

“You put in rinks, kids will skate,” Carlos Gomez said.

Gomez, Scott’s father and a member of the foundation’s board of directors, said the organization groomed a dozen rinks on the Big Lake ice that boarded its host, Burkeshore Marina. Eleven rinks are for games, with another for families to skate on. The youth divisions started action Friday, and the adults hit the ice Saturday with the final games slated for Saturday.

“It’s a fun way to raise funds,” Gomez said. “With the adults, it will be one big happy party.”

Gomez said organizers are very happy with the growth of the event following its move from Goose Lake in Anchorage to Big Lake.

“There’s lot of potential, a lot of room,” Gomez said.

Additional parking is a big benefit in Big Lake, Gomez said. Adjacent to the rinks is plowed parking bigger than a football field. There was also 60-foot by 140-foot warming tent. There were also concerts on Saturday night, with the Hawaiian reggae act, H3, and a fireworks show courtesy of the Big Lake Lions Club.

Proceeds from the event benefit the Scotty Gomez Foundation, which raises funds to support the sport of hockey in Alaska and provide opportunity for youth who may not otherwise be able to experience the game, according to the group’s website.

Scott Gomez is a former East Anchorage hockey standout who went on to a long and decorated career in the NHL. Gomez recently retired after 16 seasons in the league. Gomez started his career with New Jersey, and won two Stanley Cup titles and the Calder Cup Trophy, for the league’s rookie of the year, during his time with the Devils. Gomez skated in more than 600 games for New Jersey, and more than 1,000 in his career. He scored 756 career points.

The Last Frontier Pond Hockey Classic continues Sunday in Big Lake. For complete schedules, see akpond.com.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.