The 32nd annual Sarah Backstrom Memorial Hockey Tournament hosted by Lake Effect Hockey gets underway this Friday at multiple ice arenas in Erie. But the last minute loss of two ice rinks at LECOM Sports Park due to emergency electrical problems forced organizers to scramble to reschedule many games for this weekend.
It seems that the region’s icy winter weather conditions are to blame for the electrical issues. According to a statement from LECOM Sports Park a pipe burst late Sunday evening in the main electrical room, resulting in significant damage to the facility’s primary power source. For the safety of customers and staff they made the immediate decision to close the facility.
So while they wait for parts to make emergency electrical repairs, the tournament which had been spread over four venues, is now squeezing the action into three.
The 32nd annual Sarah Backstrom Memorial Hockey Tournament is one of the longest running all-girls tourneys in the U.S. It honors the memory of a feisty local girls hockey pioneer with the Erie Lady Lions, who lost her battle with leukemia at age 18. Some 93 girls teams are registered this year, with some traveling from as far away as Florida, Colorado, and Montana.
Of the 30 teams this coming weekend for the 16 and under and 19 and under competition, those scheduled to play at LECOM’s ice rinks will now find their games moved to other Erie venues including the Mercyhurst Ice Center, Flo Fabrizio Ice Center and Erie Insurance Arena.
Mark Jeanneret, Executive Director of the Erie Sports Commission, credited the tournament organizer with hustling to make the changes. “We’ve got great event organizers, and Jason Fowler is another example of an exceptional event organizer that’s quick on his feet, nimble and able to roll with the punches. And he’s been able to take the schedule for this weekend for the 30 teams that are coming, and spread that over the three available ice pads in Erie County. So, nobody should be displaced other than game times may be a little different than expected with two less pads,” Jeanneret added.
Organizers don’t know yet if they’ll have LECOM ice back in the mix next weekend, when some 60 teams are here for four days of tournament competition. “You’re talking 30 teams this weekend, over 60 next weekend, so there’ll be a lot of juggling,” Jeanneret said. “You know we’ll keep our fingers crossed that LECOM gets the two pads back up and running and everything runs smoothly. But at the same time again, I have a lot of confidence in Jason and his ability to put together events. He’ll figure out a way to get it done. This is an important event to our community, it’s an important event to Jason and Lake Effect Hockey and I think heads will come together to figure out how to get it done,” he added.
The event brings more than $2-million into the Erie region, and raises funds for the Mario Lemieux Foundation to support pediatric leukemia research and awareness. Last year’s event contributed more than $10,000. Next weekend the 4-day tourney will have more players in town from the ages 10, 12, and 14 and under teams.
According to their statement, LECOM Sports Park’s ownership and management team has been working diligently to implement an action plan for reopening. “We are currently awaiting parts to complete repairs to our main power systems and are hopeful to resume operations by early next week. We sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through these repairs.”