Hockey fans are paying attention to the Bay Area for championships on and off the ice

WESLEY Chapel, Fla. – While the nation’s eyes are focused on the Tampa Bay Lightning, which plays in the Stanley Cup against the Montreal Canadiens, some of the world’s greatest hockey fans have focused on a different series of games held at Bay Area.

The TOHRS tournament will be played in the Wesley Chapel in the ice arena of the Advent Health Center.

“Throughout the year, we have our regional events, they have to play in a regional event to get to the citizens.” shared George Brown, director of the TOHRS Hockey National Tournament. “This is what they will do, they will win the citizens and win the gold medal.”

This year’s event is the largest in history, with 227 teams competing in all age groups.

“Indeed, it is the World Skating Championships. We have children from Colombia, Venezuela,” said Chris Treft, TOHRS ‘s video and media manager. “Tampa Bay has become one of the best hockey markets in the country.”

There are teams from all over the United States, the Cayman Islands, and South America.

Although there has been a shift from roller hockey to hockey and back, there are differences in the arena.

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“It’s a more skillful game for roller skating,” Brown explained. “There’s a lot more scoring.”

Player Christopher Goodwin of the Georgian Lizard Kings team said, “I feel like it will heal you with your hand if you play with teammates who play (ice) hockey.”

Like hockey, roller hockey works with similar skills to master the stick, control shooting cycles, and score.

Goodwin explained, “I love how teams from different places … I play it if I get a chance to play roller hockey.”

“This is the pinnacle of our sport here,” Brown said.

This is reflected in the caliber of the participating players.

“I play roller hockey, I started playing roller hockey, I ended up playing hockey during high school and college and went back to roller hockey,” shared Kyla Sanders of Fort Myers.

Sanders is one of many players competing on multiple teams.

“I play in the women’s division. I also play in the men’s division and over 30,” Sanders said.

With all the action taking place on the ice during the Stanley Cup final, Lightning player Pat Maroon will also be following this TOHRS championship as his son Anthony plays in the league.

LINK: More information about the Roller Hockey tournament can be found here.

A number of semi-finals, semi-finals and championships will be held for different teams today.

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