Father Michael Daly, parochial administrator of St. Helena in south Minneapolis, moves the puck during action Jan. 21 at the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships on Lake Nokomis in south Minneapolis. DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

A wind chill of minus-20 greeted Father Michael Daly and his hockey team, the St. Helena Crusaders, as they began play Jan. 21 at the 17th annual U.S. Pond Hockey Championships on Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis. 

Father Daly, who played high school hockey for St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights, recruited seven men for his roster, all of whom are Catholic and played hockey at the high school level or beyond. Pond hockey is played on a smaller rink without goalies. The game employs small, flat goals boarded in front with holes on each side. Teams play two 15-minute halves, rather than three 20-minute periods. 

Among the players on Father Daly’s team are his younger brother, Patrick, and brother-in-law, Brian Borg. It was Father Daly’s first time competing in the tournament, which ends Jan. 23 with the championship game and drew 120 teams from around the U.S. and Canada. He wasn’t used to playing in such extreme cold, but Father Daly and his team adapted and defeated a team called the Mighty Drunks from Nashville, Tennessee, in the first round, 12-2. 

“We just love to play,” said Father Daly, parochial administrator at St. Helena. “I had three Under Armours on and had the neck warmer and the hat under the helmet. I came prepared.” 

Scoring goals and winning games are important for the team, as the tournament is also serving as a fundraiser for building a new adoration chapel at St. Helena. The former baptismal chapel is being remodeled with an altar containing a relic of what is believed to be the true cross of Christ, which, according to legend, was found by Constantine’s mother, St. Helena, in 324.  

The chapel will cost about $112,000, Daly said, and the parish is halfway there. Success in the tournament will keep pledges and donations coming. 

“It’s a good motivation to score more goals,” said Father Daly, who hopes to have all of the funds raised for the chapel by the end of Lent. “The goal is to be in the championship so people know who St. Helena (parish) is.”