MITCHELL — One of the region's largest adult hockey tournaments will be held in a place most people wouldn't imagine: Mitchell, South Dakota.
Stacey Murtha is one of the main reasons for that, helping to build the Lucky Devils Adult Hockey Tournament into a special event on the local hockey calendar and helping raise money to grow the sport in Mitchell as well.
The 13th annual event begins Friday and runs through Sunday, featuring 20 teams in four divisions and 37 games played on two ice rinks inside the Mitchell Activity Center.
For Martha, a Mitchell native who has been involved with hockey in the city for nearly 30 years, the purpose of the tournament remains the same as when it began: to move the sport forward.
“I started playing adult hockey here in 1996 when the rink was built, and since then we've been growing it little by little,” Martha said. “…I just give everything I can back to the sport and the facility.”
All proceeds from this event will benefit the Mitchell Hockey Youth Association, Arena, and Adult League.
Martha has always been into hockey, ever since she was 7 years old, skating around Monroe Park during the winter.
He was a youth coach for 20 years and raised kids in the sport, joking that they “probably had no choice” but to play.
Since the construction of the Mitchell Activity Center in 1995, Martha has been instrumental in the commitment and energy to expand youth and adult hockey in Mitchell. He founded a men's team, the Lucky Devils, in his 1998 year, which initially had only three players, including himself and his brother. They worked hard to keep it growing and now he manages a spreadsheet for his 70-80 individuals who play.
“We just started putting flyers in grocery stores and college campuses, and it just started growing,” he says.
With no local tournaments, teams had to travel to Rapid City or Aberdeen to play. However, in the early 2010s, Mursa launched his own event. Once the city added his second sheet of ice in 2013, the tournament began in earnest.
“I said I could bury it if you would lay down two sheets,” Martha said. “And I've been doing that ever since.”
Adam Souley / Mitchell Republic
For the first few years, Murta ran the entire tournament with limited help, hiring his wife to run the concessions and having his children manage the clocks at both rinks throughout the day.
In recent years, he partnered with Eric Sabers and Eric Lemke to form the non-profit Lucky Devil, which partners with youth associations to host tournaments.
“We've been pushing this issue for several years now,” Martha Sheard said. “I really love helping out, and I used to do it myself.”
And in the process, any money the Lucky Devils earned or received as donations went straight back into hockey.
One of the investments was a $23,000 donation to build a media/film room above the concession stand. Mursa also helped raise funds to build a crow's nest, install shooting cages, a sound system and several other pieces of equipment at the arena.
The tournament is divided into four divisions. The A Division is the premier competition and features several former Division I players, including several of this year's University of North Dakota graduates.
The second division is called C1. Martha chose not to call it the B division because “his A players in the punching bag are there.” And this strategy worked very well to keep out the best players. Then there's the C2 division. and the 35+ category.
An invitation-only event, the entry fee is $1,000 per team, and the tournament sells out every year. Teams come from South Dakota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa. There will be four Mitchell teams competing this year. The Lucky Devils have his A team, his C2 team, and he also has his 35+ team called the Bearded Marlins. Another local team, the Dakota Outlaws, will compete in the C1 division.
This event is established as the largest tournament for youth or adults.
“This is the biggest tournament in the region,” Murtha said. “No one else in South Dakota puts on a tournament. I take four or five teams from Sioux Falls. And I say to them, 'Why don't you have a tournament?' They're like, 'Well, we don't have Stacey Murtha.'
There is no viewing fee to participate in the tournament. Additionally, the Lucky Devils will be conducting a social service on Saturday night from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Thirsty's where they will provide players with free pizza and chicken wings.
