Silvertips put on street hockey tournament

EVERETT — When more than 100 hockey players convene today in downtown Everett, they won't need any ice — except maybe to cool off.

Twenty teams signed up for the inaugural Everett Silvertips Street Hockey Tournament, which begins at noon in the parking lot north of Comcast Arena at the corner of Hewitt Avenue and Lombard Avenue. Competing in three age divisions on three adjacent outdoor rinks, teams will battle for bragging rights and Tips-related prizes.

Since the Silvertips stormed into town in 2003-2004 and had instant success in the Western Hockey League, hockey has become hugely popular in the area. The new one-day street hockey tournament is a chance for Tips fans to show their skills, play a version of the game that doesn't require so much expensive equipment and satisfy their zeal for the sport until Everett's 2010-2011 WHL season starts in late September.

The Silvertips Street Hockey Tournament was inspired by a massive nationwide street hockey competition in Canada, Tips director of game operations Rob Ramsburgh said. Ramsburgh hopes Everett's version goes well and grows every summer.

“Part of the idea was just sort of to keep hockey fresh in people's minds as we head into August, to start thinking about the upcoming hockey season,” he said.

Local fans are familiar with the rules of ice hockey, but how about street hockey? There are major differences between the two versions of the sport. For example, in street hockey:

*Players wear tennis shoes, not skates.

*They use an orange plastic ball instead of a puck.

*Pushing, checking and shoving are not allowed.

Another difference: the street hockey playing surface (in this case, asphalt) is much smaller and there are fewer players. The Tips' tournament is a 4-on-4 format, with most teams expected to have three players “out” and a goaltender. Each team can have up to six players on its roster. (For a complete list of Silvertips Street Hockey Tournament rules go to http://tinyurl.com/2eux2hy.)

In some ways, street hockey might be better exercise than ice hockey.

“I'll be honest: I think this is more physically demanding,” said Pat Pawlak, sweating after taking a break from a fast-paced street-hockey scrimmage Wednesday on a covered court at Hawthorne Elementary School.

Pawlak, 31 of Lake Stevens, three of his brothers and two other pals signed up for today's tournament. Their locally sponsored squad, Team Tailgators, is one of eight teams in the 18-and-older division. There are two other divisions: ages 9-12 (eight teams) and ages 13-17 (four teams). To particiapte, teams paid $100 to $120 each, depending on when they signed up.

Each division starts with a round-robin format and concludes with seeded tournaments. Championship games are scheduled to start at 5 p.m. (ages 13-17), 6 p.m. (ages 9-12) and 6:30 p.m. (ages 18-plus).

The Team Tailgators guys — all devoted Silvertips fans — have played roller hockey and ice hockey together in adult recreation leagues over the past six years. This is their first street hockey competition. As they scrimmaged Wednesday, the constant back-and-forth action was clearly fun but tiring.

“Ice hockey's tough, but being on the ice you glide real well,” Pawlak said. “I think one of the biggest things (about street hockey) is you have to keep your feet moving the whole time. In ice hockey you can glide out and play with the puck; here you've got to be doing it while you run.”

It's probably good that games in today's tournament will be relatively short: 20 minutes apiece (two 10-minute halves).

In addition to bringing their own sticks and tennis shoes, players are encouraged to wear gloves, helmets, eye protection (required for players age 14 and under), jocks, mouth guards and shin guards. Goaltenders must provide their own equipment, including pads.

Playing a stripped-down version of hockey appeals to Jeremy Oshie, captain of Team Tailgators.

“It's kind of a throwback, like playing floor hockey in gym,” said Oshie, 33 of Everett.

Instead of a gym floor, players will use three temporary rinks that were constructed Friday evening. The area near each net will consist of plywood and 2-by-6 pieces of wood, provided by Dunn Lumber. The rest of each rink border will primarily be created by hay bales from Dayville Hay & Grain of Snohomish.

Regardless of how Team Tailgators fares today, Oshie and his friends will likely make the tournament an annual tradition.

“It's something different, something new — a fun little community event,” said Oshie, the second cousin of St. Louis Blues forward T.J. Oshie.

In a way, everyone who signed up for the street hockey tournament is already a winner: participants receive a free ticket to the Silvertips' home season opener against the Vancouver Giants on Sept. 25. Today's three division champions get even more perks, part of a Silvertips Game Experience Package. They get to watch warmups from the Silvertips' bench or the penalty box, ride on the Fanboni and receive a signed puck, Ramsburgh said.

Of note

Fans who show up to watch today can meet former Silvertip captain Mitch Love and current Tips star Kellan Tochkin. Both of them are scheduled to attend.

Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam.