One will likely never experience a sporting event like the Palmer Lake Outdoor Classic.

With four Colorado high school teams playing on Palmer Lake for the third year in a row on Saturday, the annual tournament is unlike any other hockey atmosphere. Between one-foot-high nets, fire pits and food trucks, and a post-tourney firework show, it’s so much more than a tournament.

The four teams competing Saturday were Lewis-Palmer, Pine Creek, District 11 (Doherty, Palmer and Coronado) and Chaparral.

Lewis-Palmer coach Scott Bradley, who helped spearhead the event, couldn’t help but be proud in the moments after the event’s conclusion.

“First off, thanks to everybody in the community for coming out here,” Bradley said. “It was awesome.”

The tournament was formatted like a semifinal bracket. The winners of the first games went to the championship, while the losers played in the consolation game.

Pine Creek — a 2022 participant — overcame a 2-1 deficit to beat District-11 3-2 in the championship game. Lewis-Palmer beat Chaparral, last year’s champion, 3-1 in the third-place game.

“Last year we had a lot of fun. But this year, we won it when it mattered and got this trophy,” Pine Creek senior goalie Logan Hunter said.

While all four teams entered Saturday with the same goal — winning — it was equally fun for the players to play in a more casual, unique atmosphere.

“It was really fun,” Palmer forward Quinn Tefertiller said. “The whole setup we got from the fireworks and the jerseys, it was super cool.”

The nets used at the classic were six feet long but only one foot high, three feet shorter than the standard size. This made offense trickier for skaters on all four teams.

“It’s hard to get used to,” Tefertiller said. “All the goalie really has to do is get down, so you have to find different ways to score. It’s a challenge.”

But for goalies, it was refreshing to have less space to cover.

“It’s way nicer,” Hunter said. “I don’t really have to worry about it. My size pretty much takes up the goal, and I don’t really have to care about what’s going on.”

Attractions like the fire pits and food trucks were standouts in the first two classics, but the two-minute-long firework show after the trophy ceremony was new.

It put the finishing touches on a memorable night.

“I was surprised by the firework show — that was crazy awesome,” Bradley said.

Bradley doesn’t have any goals for the Palmer Lake Outdoor Classic to grow substantially.

He wants it to stay the way it is: A local event with competition and community fun.

“We’re not trying to grow this thing to more than it already is,” Bradley said. “We love having this event, we’re hoping to make it a tradition. We don’t have the ambition to blow this thing up.”