Inaugural Winter State Games offers adult players the chance to win gold

By Michael Caples –

Hey veteran young guy hockey players – even though you didn’t make the U.S. Olympic hockey team, you can still compete for gold this February.

The inaugural Meijer State Games of Michigan – Winter Games takes place in West Michigan this February, starting a week after the Winter Olympics in Sochi begin. And yes, there’s hockey to be played.

One of the marquee events at the Winter Games is adult hockey; tournament organizers are offering three divisions based off skill level, with the opportunity to take home the gold, silver or bronze in each.

“The objective, just like our summer games, is to create an environment where we hit every segment of the hockey population,” said hockey tournament director Mike Slobodnik. “The State Games is providing hockey for every segment of the population. Obviously we have been doing the high school event, just completed the fourth year, and that has been, to say the least, a resounding success.

“The (adult hockey) idea came about as the State Games committee were preparing for the inaugural Winter Games, why don’t we start an adult event and get that rolling? So we’re excited about the start, and the objective is to split into three brackets. We’ll have the advanced group, the intermediate group, and the novice group, the A, B and C, just like all adult hockey leagues are split up across the state.  …All those groups get all the access and the benefits of participating in an event that’s run by the West Michigan Sports Commission and the State Games of Michigan, with gold medals and silver medals and bronze medals and opening ceremonies and how neat that event is.”

The Winter Games, expected to bring 2,000 athletes to the area to compete in 13 different sports, will officially begin on Feb. 14. Opening ceremony events will take place at the Cannonsburg Ski and Ride Area.

“Just like the Olympics, we’ll have our own opening ceremonies,” said Eric Engelbarts, executive director of the State Games. “They will take place at Cannonsburg Ski and Ride Area, where you’ll see a parade of athletes. We’ll do a torchlight parade, this is where the ski patrol has flares and they go down the hill and escort our torch in, light the cauldron, do some fireworks, big air competition so you have these professional skiers and snowboarders flying off huge ramps and entertaining the crowd. That will kick off our weekend of 13 sports in the inaugural year, with hockey being one of the showcase ones.”

Teams participating in the hockey tournament are guaranteed three games; the teams that advance out of their division during round-robin play will compete in semifinal match-ups and then either a championship or consolation game. Postgame activities will be available for the adult players, as well, as Coors Light is a presenting sponsor and Peppino’s Sports Grille will have special deals for participants.

“We’re trying to create an atmosphere that is much bigger than just a tournament, and an experience that hopefully a lot of these athletes will take home and be able to talk about to their families,” Engelbarts said.