Keen competition in Cranberry Cup
BY STEVE SHEPPARD
They arrived on Nantucket with pads and sticks, looking for a place to stay, the closest bar and the location of the island ice rink.

Lance Kelly, captain of Nantucket entry Team Penske, goes low in the crease to stop the puck during Friday night's opening game.

They were traveling hockey players, here last weekend for the third annual Cranberry Cup.

The ten teams competing in this year's tournament were made up of about 140 players from all around the country, from Arizona to Illinois to Maine. One of this year's teams, the Canucks, was composed primarily of players from Canada. They were here not only to help the tournament's beneficiaries - the Nantucket Conservation Foundation and the Foundation for Fighting Blindness - but also to have a good time.

The Cranberry Cup began as the idea of summer residents Zack and Grant Gund. "We started it with a group of friends," Zack recalled before action began last Friday. "We thought it would be a fun idea to do a tournament as a charity event." In the first year, six teams took part, and hockey luminaries such as Olympic gold medalist A. J. Mleczko and even professional players have appeared on teams competing for the Cup. "Last year one guy came from the Czech Republic," Gund said.

For the most part, players are former high school or college hockey players who still enjoy spirited competition. It's for the over-thirty crowd, with no checking and no fighting allowed. "It's old man hockey," says Gund,

Make no mistake, however, it's hockey at its best, and word of mouth has helped it grow in a short period of time. "It's branched out with friends of friends," Gund says. "Some teams play together year-round; some teams are guys who grew up playing together in high school." Gund, for example, played in high school and during his freshman year at the University of Vermont, where an injury sidelined him. He still skates throughout the year, however.

As does Lance Kelly, goalie and captain of this year's Nantucket entry 'Team Penske,' named after sponsors Kathy and Roger Penske. Kelly's been skating in the tournament since the first year, when Nantucket did not have a team. Last year's island representative finished in third place. This year, it's all about island pride. "We've got a good core of

guys," he said. Like Gund, Kelly, too, played high school hockey and was re-energized with the opening of the Nantucket Ice rink.

Teams pay $2,000 to enter the tournament, with Pilsner Urquell this year's main sponsor. Teams played Friday evening and all day Saturday, with each competing in three games before Sunday's finals. There was also a party at the Rose and Crown Saturday night.

The Canucks took first place this year, with islander Chris Shannon filling in as goaltender.

All in all, a good weekend for two worthy causes.

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