SPARTA, Tenn. — With all the wintry weather the Upper Cumberland has seen over the last week, many people were probably content to just stay indoors, where it was nice and warm by the fire, relaxing while they watched the television or passed the time in some other fashion.

It was cold, there was a little bit of snow, and there probably wasn't enough to entice anyone out into the frozen wilderness. That is, unless you're a hockey fan. The cold temperatures and the not-quite-arctic conditions presented themselves with a unique opportunity, a frozen surface suitable for playing some old-fashioned pond hockey. A local group of guys of varying skill ranges and ages saw two opportunities in the last couple of days to come together and play a couple of pickup games on the ice, which, in Tennessee, doesn't happen very often.

"I haven't seen the conditions like this here in nearly 20 years," said Steve Jones, a native Canadian turned Cookevillian who serves as manager and bartender at local restaurant Spankies. Taylor Redden, a Tennessee Tech graduate who currently works as a software developer, agreed. "I can't even remember the last time we could have done this. I have a couple of thoughts in my head, but I would have been 10-12 years old back during the ice storm in the early '90s. When you live in Tennessee, that's something you see just once in a decade."

Friday afternoon, they put together an impromptu game, but everything came together Sunday afternoon for another match — a 3-on-3 contest, complete with goalkeepers on the frozen man-made lake on Glenn "Birdie" Birdwell's property in White County. In essence, it was the Winter Classic, Tennessee style. "I think it was Steve's idea," said Redden. "He whispered a plan into (Jonathan Parrish)'s ear. JP and Brandon Smith went out scouting ponds. Brandon wakeboards out there on Birdie's lake, and he said 'Well, we'll check out his place.' Sure enough, when they came out here it was pretty thick, and that's how it all started."

And like Cooperstown's annual baseball game with classic equipment, or Ray Kinsella's field from "Field of Dreams," getting to go out there and play on a frozen surface was like seeing the history of the sport unfold. Of course, there weren't many throwback uniforms — the closest we probably got was Parrish's Nashville Predators warmup jersey and my 2004 NHL All-Star Game replica jersey — nor were Gordie Howe or Bobby Orr suddenly appearing out of the lake's banks, but just getting to play on similar conditions as the first people who created the sport, it felt special.

Then again, it also proves some of the NHL naysayers wrong about whether the Volunteer State really needs a hockey team. "It makes me feel like the people that don't appreciate the Predators being in Tennessee can see that we can do the pond hockey thing too," Redden said. "We're true hockey fans. We've actually played the game on a pond." Of course, once I arrived Sunday morning, and signed a waiver in case something did happen, I couldn't help but wonder, "What the heck was I getting myself into?"

My fears quickly subsided as Parrish, Redden and I ventured out onto the ice, testing it in spots to determine the depth and found it suitable to play. Under several northern state safety guidelines, it is observed that two inches is suitable for walking on the surface, while three to four is needed to play. We found an area that was right about three-and-a-half, and was also close to the shoreline and the dockside clubhouse if we needed to warm up. With the lake still covered in snow, the group got to work with shovels, brooms, squeegees and a leaf blower to make snowbanks and clear off an area suitable to play. That whole process took nearly an hour-and-a-half by itself.

With a small, intimate group of spectators observing, the game featured husband and wife, college students and high school students, novices and skilled players, even father and son, as Jones' 6-year-old son, Addison, strapped on the skates for the first time. "Just seeing his face when he goes out there and skates around was priceless," Redden said. "Addison's grown up watching hockey with the Predators and watching his dad play. Now, he gets to go out there and experience it, so that's a complete joy."

Of course, we weren't playing contact hockey. It was more of a casual game with no checking or anything. The only bumps and bruises would have really came from when players slipped on the ice. Myself, I have a whole new respect for goalies. I strapped myself into the heavy pads and stood in goal, my first time even trying to attempt the sport. Playing against guys who had been playing the sport for years, I was more than a little nervous. That wasn't helped as the thunderous sound of guys on skates came crashing toward me.

I got used to it pretty quickly. Even though my 5-hole the area between my legs, for those who don't speak hockey needs a little work as Steve exploited it time and time again. "All day long," he joked. Redden had a great shot on me, but I was able to get the stick and the pad on my right arm up high enough to deflect a shot that would have easily found the upper left corner of the net. Most of the guys who came out had plenty of hockey experience beforehand, so I felt like I was holding my own against these guys.

"I started playing ice hockey in high school," Redden, a Hendersonville High grad, said. "When I came to Cookeville, Steve, JP and a bunch of other guys from Cookeville played in an adult league team way back when at Southern Ice over in Franklin." But that was indoor ice hockey. Heading outdoors is another matter. "It's totally different," Redden said. "You don't have boards to work with. If you're playing in a real rink, anything gets kind of chancy and you're not too sure what to do with it, you can always hit it down the boards. You can't do that with pond hockey. You've got to keep the puck under control and out of the snowbank."

In addition, there were also the little pops and cracks in the ice to contend with. "It was a little unnerving," Redden said. "I think the ice was still settling in. Even Steve said when he lived up north, it will do that. But then, towards the end after the sun had been shining for a while, oh gosh." However, every precaution was taken just in case, even as the ensemble played over an area that was four feet deep.

"No one was going to go in over their head," Redden said. "We had ropes strung out the length of the ice. Steve, JP and I had talked at length at what precautions we needed to take if anything happened. We had someone there who knew CPR who is also a trained nurse. If anything did happen, we were ready." And, for all of the risktaking, it certainly was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. "It made it totally worth the risk," Redden said.

I've always been a big hockey fan, following the game even before the Predators came to Nashville when I was in high school. Admittedly, this was an event I never really thought I would see around here it is Tennessee after all but I can't help but feel, even in my young age, that I've knocked an item off my own personal bucket list the things I wanted to do before I died. Being able to go out there and be a part of that was thrilling and an experience I can't wait to get to do again.