Harrisburg’s Twin Ponds Finalist for Kraft Hockeyville 2016

During the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers game Saturday afternoon, the 2016 Kraft Hockeyville finalist were announced. One of those finalists for the $150,000 prize is Twin Ponds Family Complex – East location. The facility was nominated by Central Dauphin High School student, Samantha Weaver.

“I remember watching the Winter Classic this past New Year, and I saw a commercial on Kraft Hockeyville,” Weaver told Chocolate Hockey. “After learning how to skate and play hockey and meeting tons of wonderful people at Twin Ponds over these past few years, I really wanted to do something for them.

“The people involved there are such great people who try their best to make your time there very satisfying. They really deserve this opportunity to upgrade the rink, and be more known for the great things they do there.”

The complex, which opened in 1993, is one of ten finalists for the title of Kraft Hockeyville 2016. The Grand Prize winner will receive $150,000 in arena upgrades and will host an NHL pre-season game. The ice rinks have been home to the Capital City Vipers and the Hershey Jr. Bears, with alumni like Nick and Marcus Foligno, and Matthew and Johnny Gaudreau playing for the Jr. Bears at Twin Ponds.

“This would be huge,” Reed Patton, owner of Twin Ponds, said about the contest. “This just puts us on the map. Twin Ponds has really been well received from the get-go 23 years ago. And we still have teams from Hershey youth hockey, Capital City Vipers, 500-600 men’s league players – and there’s just a lot of pride in Twin Ponds. I was my ‘build it and they will come’ dream and here we are.”

“What I like most about Twin Ponds is the hockey community there,” said Weaver “I started playing hockey two years ago, which is a pretty late start for me considering I am in high school. Right away, the people there helped me get in contact with somebody to help me start.

“They do not care how old you are, what NHL team you like, or how experienced you are at the game. We all respect and help one another for the love of the game. The people here are just so gracious, and I have met so many great people that helped me get involved with the beautiful sport of hockey.”

The rules do state that if Twin Ponds were to win, the NHL pre-season game could be moved from the small arena in Harrisburg to another local arena to accommodate more seating. One possibility is Hersheypark Arena, which could host its first professional hockey game in 14 years.

First round voting begins Tuesday, April 12th at midnight and runs until Thursday, April 14th at 11:59 pm. Individuals are allowed to vote up to 100 times per day via two mediums. One way to vote is heading to KraftHockeyville.com and voting 50 times on their website. Another 50 votes can be cast by texting the applicable keyword (found on the contest Website) to 35350. Follow Chocolate Hockey on Twitter or Facebook to find the keyword to text.