The LaMonica Cup street hockey tournament took place on Sat., July 15 at Garvey Park in Dorchester. The 3-on-3, 16-team tournament was organized by Dot native Dylan LaMonica, 19, along with his family and friends. Dylan wanted to bring the community together to have fun.
“We don’t have any street hockey tournaments in Dorchester this summer, so I decided to bring the community together and create our own. My main objective was just to have fun,” said Dylan, who attends UMass Amherst and plays club hockey. His team won a national title last year.
Saturday’s tournament was the first-ever LaMonica tourney staged at Garvey, but it was technically not the first LaMonica cup ever held in the city. Dylan’s dad, Daryle LaMonica, used to stage similar tourneys in South Boston in the early 2000s.
In this highlight video, above, you can see how serious many of us take street hockey in Dorchester and surrounding neighborhoods, including from across the Neponset River in Quincy. In fact, after a long day facing-off against several tough teams, the winners were “Team Wines” from Quincy. They received the first custom-made “LaMonica Cup Hockey Champions” trophy.
The tournament was made possible by support from local businesses and various sponsors. It also had the support of the community who showed up to watch some exciting street hockey on a nice summer day — exactly what Dylan was hoping for.
“It was a great turn-out,” said LaMonica, who plans to do it all again next summer.
Connor Nee lives in Dorchester. For more of his video work, see his Instagram or visit his website.
