About 50 teams are expected to take to the ice next weekend for the fifth annual North American Pond Hockey Championship on Lake Minnetonka's Excelsior Bay.

All teams will play at least three games, and competition begins Friday.

Divisions for those 18 and older include open, 35-plus, 50-plus and a women's open.

Spectators are welcome to attend the tournament and related events.

Maynard's Restaurant in Excelsior will host a warming tent and live bands on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Organizer Jay Witta expects 15,000 to 20,000 people to attend the tournament and entertainment events.

Workers will begin constructing 12 rinks this weekend, he said.

Pond hockey rules call for four-person teams with no goalies, no checking and 16-inch sideboards.

Pond hockey weekends have sprung up in more than 50 communities in several states in recent years; the sport has long been popular in Canada.

TOM MEERSMAN

@STRIBMEERS