By D.J. Powers
These players don't play for a spot on an NHL team or for large sums of money. They simply play for the love of the game, the camaraderie, and for a trophy with Snoopy's likeness on it.
And they're all old enough to be your father or grandfather too.
This is the Snoopy's Senior World Hockey Tournament (aka "Snoopy Tournament"), which was held in July at the Redwood Empire Ice Arena (aka "Snoopy's Home Ice") in Santa Rosa, California.
History
The Snoopy Tournament was established in 1975 by the late Charles "Sparky" Schulz, the creator of the "Peanuts" comic strip. The tournament comprises of players 40 years and older playing in age divisions (40, 45, 50, etc.) and skill-level subdivisions (A, B, C, D) named after the various "Peanuts" characters.
Today, the tournament is hosted by Schulz's widow, Jean and son, Monte. It is run by former Mercyhurst College player Mike Kovanis along with a dedicated group of volunteers.
Now in its 36th season, the Snoopy Tournament is held annually with teams not only from across North America, but also from around the world.
Former collegians in the Snoopy Tournament
Since its inception, the tournament has featured former players from virtually every corner of the college hockey landscape. This year, former collegians represented roughly 40 percent of all tournament participants.
As tournament coordinator Kovanis explains, the former collegiate players that have played in the Snoopy Tournament have not only made it an enjoyable experience for everyone, but it has also raised the overall talent level.
"The expansion of the level of involvement in our tournament by former NCAA athletes is a win-win for us and the participating teams," he said. "From a tournament perspective, this helps us to maintain the competitive level in our higher skill divisions to keep us truly the best senior hockey tournament in the world. As well, it offers our competing teams a chance to test themselves against the products of some of our finest institutions of higher learning and collegiate hockey programs."
The most recognizable name playing in the Snoopy Tournament each year is University of Michigan head coach Red Berenson. For about the last 20 years, the Wolverines have regularly fielded not one, but two alumni teams in the tournament. This year, Michigan had teams in the 65 ("Rerun") Division and in the 50A ("Charlie Brown") Division. The Michigan Wolverines 65s, led by Berenson, won their division, while the Michigan Wolverines 50s finished second.
For Berenson, playing in the Snoopy Tournament with fellow Michigan alumni each year has been something very special.
"To be kind of reunited and be playing hockey again at our age has been really special," he said. "Even in the games that get highly competitive at times are a lot of fun. You can still get glimpses of their old selves as players shining through from time to time, even though they haven't played organized hockey in years. It's really something that I don't think any of us anticipated happening when we all left Michigan."
The elder Michigan Wolverines alumni team has remained nearly intact since their tournament debut. That is, until this year when team regular Jerry Andal passed away last winter.
One of the things that Berenson would like to see is the younger Michigan alumni players get involved with the Snoopy Tournament to carry on the tradition. And it's a sentiment that is shared by many of the other players, both Michigan and non-Michigan alumni, who have played in the tournament as well.
"We're definitely encouraging the younger players that played at Michigan to come out to this particular tournament because it's an opportunity for them to have the fun that we have had and this is the one (old-timers) tournament that we've frequented for the last 20 years," said Berenson. "So if we can get the younger guys to come to the Snoopy Tournament and enjoy it half as much as we have, then it would be worth it."
In college hockey, nothing beats a good old-fashioned rivalry. Until two years ago, the Snoopy Tournament had its version of the "college hockey rivalry," which existed between the alumni teams from the University of Denver and the University of Michigan. And it made for one of the tournament's best and most exciting games.
Some of the former collegians that have played in the tournament, such as Berenson, have made hockey their careers, while others have pursued careers outside of hockey.
Then there are some former collegians in the tournament that have made college hockey a family affair. Ken Yackel, a member of the United Nations 55s team that finished first in the "Flying Ace" Division, followed in his legendary father's footsteps to the University of Minnesota. Former University of Denver great John MacMillan, one of the elder statesmen in this year's Snoopy Tournament at 76, saw his nephew Tavis go on to become a standout forward and later head coach at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks.\
Fond memories
While all of these players may be a bit longer in the tooth and a step or two slower than in their college playing days, their love for the game and for their alma maters hasn't diminished. They proudly (and often) speak of their experiences as student-athletes. And what may surprise some who are not familiar with the Snoopy Tournament is the fact that their stories aren't much different from those former players playing in the professional ranks today.
With the increasing growth of youth hockey in Northern California, specifically in and around Santa Rosa, the Snoopy Tournament also offers local youngsters a glimpse into just what makes college hockey so special and the great things that its players can achieve.
"It provides our local community with a chance to see some great quality hockey players during the tournament, which is always a bonus," says Kovanis.
"Well, you would hope that the Snoopy Tournament would help to influence young people," added Berenson. "I don't know how many of them know about it, but some of them come and are inspired by it. I think it goes to show you that hockey is a lifetime sport. It's an inspiration for the young people, but it's even an inspiration for the hockey players too because some of them may feel that they're all washed up at 35 and yet here they are playing in the Snoopy Tournament when they're 70."
As former players continue to play in this tournament each year, the indelible stamp that college hockey has left on the Snoopy Tournament will live on.
D.J. Powers covers college hockey for Hockey's Future (www.hockeysfuture.com) and has covered the Snoopy Tournament extensively for the past seven years.
Photo of the Michigan Wolverines 65s team trophy is courtesy of University of Michigan and the Snoopy's Senior World Hockey Tournament.
Below is a partial list of former collegians that participated in this year's Snoopy Tournament as players, player/coaches and team managers.
Jeff Baikie - Cornell University
Chip Bell - Northeastern University
Red Berenson - University of Michigan
Bob Brawley - Michigan State University
Ross Childs - University of Michigan
Pete Correa - Michigan State University
Bruce Falk - Bemidji State University
Greg Fox - University of Michigan
Domenic Fragomeni - University of Denver
Bill Goodacre - Colorado College
Eric Hall - University of Michigan
Tim Hanlon - Boston College
Al Hinnegan - University of Michigan
Alex Hood - University of Michigan
Rich Haskell - Brown University
Mike Kovanis - Mercyhurst College
Tom Lindskog - University of Michigan
Dean Lucier - University of Michigan
Bob Lund - University of Minnesota-Duluth
John MacMillan - University of Denver
Mike McGrath - University of Wisconsin
Jerry Melnychuk - University of Minnesota
Jack Norqual - University of Minnesota
Greg Page - University of Michigan
Tom Pendlebury - University of Michigan
Patrick Schneider - University of Massachusetts
Kelly Sorenson - Ferris State University
Wayne Smith - University of Denver
Dave Sparks - Harvard University
Boyd Sutton - Miami University
Jim Westby - University of Minnesota
Ian Williams - University of Notre Dame
Ken Yackel - University of Minnesota