Pond hockey builds community at Duarte’s

Duarte’s pond was frozen over this weekend, a rare treat for Island skaters.

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After a week of freezing temperatures, the sun touched down delicately across the Islands frozen ponds on Sunday, lighting up the rosy faces of those playing pickup hockey.

While many Islanders dream of escaping the winter chill for some sun and warmth, some wait all year for the cold, a chance to lace ’em up and skate on some frozen ponds with people they love. 

Nearly 30 families and friends from around the Island gathered at Duarte’s Pond in West Tisbury to continue a more than 20-year tradition of pond hockey, relishing in the increasingly rare, perfect conditions, and playing all day, and even into the moonlit night.

“My kid, growing up, was always pulled out of school for the first freeze, because I know how precious it is. It’s not every year it goes that way, so we jump on it when we can,” said Brian Donnelly, who was on the ice on Sunday. Donnelly is the father of senior Sol Donnelly, on the MVRHS hockey team. 

“In terms of pond hockey, there are fewer ice days than there have been in past years. This is the first we have had consecutive freezes in a row in a while,” he added. 

With shovels in hand on Sunday, the group cleared snow and outlined a makeshift rink. Two nets were glided out, teams were picked, and it was game on.

Nobody kept track of how many people were on each team, and the scoreboard was secondary. Islanders of all ages and skill levels skated up and down the makeshift rink, giving it their all while enjoying the company of friends and family, more focused on the experience than the score.

As has been the tradition for decades, the nature of the gathering was spontaneous. 

“[Islander] Jason [Gale] saw the ponds were frozen, so I canceled my whole day to head down and lace ’em up,” Donnelly said. “We brought our shovels, our nets, and sometimes we brought plywood and squeegees to help clear the ice.” 

“It was a stellar day, one of our top days, definitely in the top 10 of days in the past 15 years. It was killer,” Donnelly added.

For him, pond hockey is all about building community. 

 “When I was coaching hockey, I used to tell kids life is about memories, and we are just making memories right now, and when you get older and look back on your life, those foundational memories become really important, and I remember those times as skating on the ponds with my friends, and I wanted my kids to experience that too, and I still love it.” 

Some worry the tradition could be a dying culture with warmer temperatures brought by climate change, including Nat Benjamin, another avid Island pond hockey player. “We get so little ice now,” Benjamin said. “But when we do get out there, there is nothing like it.” 

He reminisced on a time when it was cold enough to do what he called “The Great Skate,” where a group of hockey-loving Islanders skated from Gay Head to Edgartown, across the entire south shore. 

“The last time we did the Great Skate was in the 80’s,” he said. “We would hit Squibnocket, then Chilmark Pond, and we would continue from there. We would either take our skates off or just put our guards on them and head over to the next pond when we were done. It  was spectacular.”

Woody Filley, a Chappaquidick resident, said another group of pond hockey players have been going to Brine’s Pond on Chappy for more than 40 years. 

“A lot of years more recently [we are] not getting much ice so when you do get it, it  is magical,” said Filley. 

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For those interested in playing on the Island’s frozen ponds, here are some safety tips to consider from the state:

The thickness of ice on ponds and lakes depends on water currents or springs, depth, and natural objects such as tree stumps or rocks. Daily changes in temperature cause the ice to expand and contract, which affects its strength. Because of these factors, no one can declare the ice to be absolutely “safe.”

If falling in cold water, bring your knees to chest, hold your arms to your sides and clasp your hands, cover your head to protect your body from heat loss. Do not try to swim unless a boat, floating object, or shore is close by. If in water with multiple people, huddle tightly together with your arms around one another to preserve body heat.