Santa Rosa is again hockeytown as players from across globe gather for cherished senior tournament

A sunny summer day in Santa Rosa is not what one would picture as the ideal locale for a major national hockey event, but just about every year hockey enthusiasts from across the globe gather here for just that purpose.

And the games started early Monday at Snoopy’s Home Ice, as a 6:30 a.m. faceoff began Day Four of the 45th annual Senior World Hockey Tournament.

Over 1,000 players are expected to participate in the tournament, which runs through Sunday and is one of the North Bay’s signature amateur sports events.

For many of the lifelong players, ages 40 to 98 this year, the camaraderie is just as important, if not more so, as the competition. Many have become fast friends over the years, even when on opposing teams.

“It’s a brotherhood or a sisterhood of players,” said Walter Whiteside, a defenseman for the Cupertino Maniacs, playing in the 60 and up division. Still in his game gear, he had ambled out of the opposing team’s locker room at 2 p.m. with a drink in hand.

“I’ve played a lot of sports in my life and hockey is the one I’ve done the most, I’ve played for 33 years,” Whiteside said.

The Maniacs had just prevailed over the Santa Rosa Red Barons, 5-3. Per tradition, the local team had then hoisted shots of whiskey inside their locker room.

The tournament was started by “Peanuts” creator Charles M. Schulz, a Minnesota native and devoted hockey player who built and opened Santa Rosa’s famed ice rink in 1969.

The tournament began six years later, and as its acclaim grew, so did its draw, attracting teams from as far away as Finland, Japan, Austria, Australia, Norway and Sweden.

Schulz’s family remain sponsors and hosts. (Schulz’s widow, Jeannie, is an investor in Sonoma Media Investments, parent company of The Press Democrat.)

“I want to definitely thank the Schulz family for doing this for the community. It’s fun, we go out there like we’re little kids and play hard,” said Walter Tom, the right wing and captain of the Red Barons. “If we lose we’re mad for about two minutes and then we share beers together with the other team and we’re all good.”

Tom has been playing in the tournament for 28 years. He started out with the Santa Rosa Great Pumpkins.

“The uniqueness of it to play within a group your own age. They realize that this is actually an international tournament, and you talk to any hockey player around the world and they’ll know about Snoopy’s Senior World Hockey Tournament,” he said.

The competition returned last year after a four-year hiatus due to rink repairs and the coronavirus pandemic.

This year’s tournament features 70 teams and five age groups.

“We’re playing hard. The competition’s always tough,” said Tom, the Red Barons’ captain. “We always try to draft a few Canadians to our team because they’re always the best.”

One of those competing Canadians is Bill Turner, a 74-year-old forward for the Vancouver Fossil Flyers. It was Turner’s fifth year playing in the tournament.

“I enjoy the camaraderie with the team,” he said. “It’s a nice trip, around two weeks each year.”

Tournament Director Blake Johnson said returning teams make up the bulk of the competition. The range of ages and skills sets the tournament apart, he said.

“There’s players that, maybe they picked up the game later in life, but love it just as much as everybody else,” he said. “So, regardless of skill, there’s a division for anybody who wants to come play in our tournament.”

Whiteside, the Cupertino Maniacs’ defenseman, was marking his return to the tournament after many years away. He last played when he was in the 40 and up division.

On Monday, made his first foray as a victor into the losing team’s locker room.

“Those guys were great passers, great skaters, they played well,“ he said.

And the postgame celebration was memorable.

“Having a beer, telling lies. It was fun,“ he said.

Reach Press Democrat intern Charlie Wiltsee at charlie.wiltsee@pressdemocrat.com.