Ice Quality

[lawryde 0]

I got to thinking after reading this post on making ice.

Making "good" ice is really an art mixed in with the science of HVAC. Too hot, too cold, too humid, too dry, you get crappy ice that feels like your skating in mud or has oddball puck bounces.

So I ask, what is the best ice you've ever skated on? My local rink in Peoria, IL is average at best since it's run by the city.

The best ever was at the Pettit Center Olympic training facility in Milwaukee.

The ice there was awesome, perfectly flawless. It increased your glide, and allowed you to stop and turn on a dime.

[chris68 0]

i go to princeton sports center, in nj, amazing ice

[Chadd 916]

Like most rinks it really depends on the time of year around here. My favorite is probably the Hershey park arena or the Giant Center in Hershey. The arena gets foggy and kinda crappy in the summer but the Giant center is pretty much perfect any time the ice is in.

[sc37 0]

I personally like the CBJ practice rink...definitely the nicest one here. Goalies hate it though sometimes, cause I've had a few complain and say it was too cold and the slush around the crease froze over before the swept it out and it turned into ridges. Generally all The Chiller rinks have pretty decent ice, except the oldest building in Dublin. That place sucks, ice is soft and you get fog and condensation on the glass when it isn't winter.

[Wayne 0]

The best ever was at the Pettit Center Olympic training facility in Milwaukee.

The ice there was awesome, perfectly flawless. It increased your glide, and allowed you to stop and turn on a dime.

You must be severly deprived of any good ice if the Pettit is the best ice you've ever skated on.... How long ago were you there?

[epstud74 24]

I always thought the ice at the Bloomington Ice Garden in Bloomington MN was top notch along with the ice at the State Fairgrounds Colisseum in St Paul, home of the old Fighting Saints.

I always thought the ice at the Bloomington Ice Garden in Bloomington MN was top notch along with the ice at the State Fairgrounds Colisseum in St Paul, home of the old Fighting Saints.

[Doctor Hook 0]

Pretty good ice at Iorio Arena in Walpole, MA. Only sometimes when we get the ice after the speedskaters, there's all sorts of groovage and ruts. Summertime and humidity can be a little dicey, like anywhere, but overall I'm glad I call this my home sheet.

[drisco487 0]

Pretty good ice at Iorio Arena in Walpole, MA. Only sometimes when we get the ice after the speedskaters, there's all sorts of groovage and ruts. Summertime and humidity can be a little dicey, like anywhere, but overall I'm glad I call this my home sheet.

Yeah, that is great ice

[epstud74 24]

These are the two closeby rinks I like to skate at.

http://www.ci.edina.mn.us/content/facilities/braemar_arena/

http://www.ci.bloomington.mn.us/main_top/2...ig_facility.htm

[evor1 6]

www.logitechice.com

[epstud74 24]

www.logitechice.com

Thats a neat facility. Reminds me of the Schwan's Super Rink here on the north side of town..

http://www.nscsports.org/facilities/superrink/index.htm

[Sven 1]

Our rink is VERY f-ed up. Its so bad, believe me.

[chippa13 1844]

Philips Andover always has a nice sheet. Played the new rink in Haverhill last night, ponds on a warm day have better ice.

[drisco487 0]

yeah, the new haverhill rink sucks

yeah, the new haverhill rink sucks

[lawryde 0]

The best ever was at the Pettit Center Olympic training facility in Milwaukee.

The ice there was awesome, perfectly flawless. It increased your glide, and allowed you to stop and turn on a dime.

You must be severly deprived of any good ice if the Pettit is the best ice you've ever skated on.... How long ago were you there?

... 7 or so years ago. It was t*ts back then.

[forbs02 20]

I always thought the ice at the Bloomington Ice Garden in Bloomington MN was top notch along with the ice at the State Fairgrounds Colisseum in St Paul, home of the old Fighting Saints.

Really? The Colisseum? My team used to play down there when Hamline and St. Thomas were both playing out of that arena and they had to have a guy run ahead of the zamboni with a broom to sweep along the boards b/c the zam didn't have a board brush. We always had to wait for the ice to freeze. I hated skating in that rodeo barn.

[epstud74 24]

Really? I always skated that arena later at night or early in the morning...Perhaps thats why? I always liked that old barn myself.

[Wayne 0]

The best ever was at the Pettit Center Olympic training facility in Milwaukee.

The ice there was awesome, perfectly flawless. It increased your glide, and allowed you to stop and turn on a dime.

You must be severly deprived of any good ice if the Pettit is the best ice you've ever skated on.... How long ago were you there?

... 7 or so years ago. It was t*ts back then.

not so much anymore.....

[Ryan DYHA 0]

wothout a doubt, I would have to say the best ice I've ever been on is at both Lake Placid and the Utah Oval Skating center. The Oval or something similiar to that is where they had the 2002 olympic speedskating and in side the oval, they have a full size (NHL size maybe, maybe olympic size idk) and an indoor soccer field. that place makes you feel all weird inside, it's like youre playing in the Olympics...:)

[LkptTiger 1]

Firemen's Park in Depew. The ice is decent during the summer, but absolutely amazing during the winter, when the entire rink pretty well cools down to whatever temperature it is outdoors. Growing-up playing for the Buffalo Saints, it was pretty common to see water bottles freeze solid if you didn't shake 'em up and keep 'em moving regularly.

The ice is hard and fast and doesn't get beat-up as much/as quickly as many of the (MUCH) newer buildings I've played in.

[Northside Dangler 9 0]

Joe Louis arena (red wings)

we had a tournament and thats were the championship was played.

it was perfect ice

cold-hard-fast

Joe Louis arena (red wings)

we had a tournament and thats were the championship was played.

it was perfect ice

cold-hard-fast

[GSHL99 0]

Kent Valley Ice Center, the building is fairly new and is nice. The ice quality is okay, it's a little soft for my taste but it's not horrible by any means. My biggest complaint is the Zamboni operators that put way too much water on the ice. When you go out for warm ups and there's enough water that a puck traveling through the center of the rink will make a wake it's a bit absurd.

Castle Ice, building isn't in as good of shape but the ice is of a better quality. It's quite a bit harder, makes for a faster paced game. The big bonus these days is the new pro-shop guy that used to be the Thunderbirds equipment manager. Guy knows how to sharpen, no doubt about it.

Olympic View, has an IIHF sized rink. The ice quality is good, Zamboni drivers tend to do the same thing with too much water as in Kent. I think this is pretty much the result of inexperienced hourly employees running the Zamboni. The locker rooms are also tiny, which is a pain in the ass.

Everett Events Center, the Comcast rink at any rate, is top notch. The ice is well maintained, very hard. My only complaint is that the sheet is a little small. Everything else is great.

[Neal 41]

I thought the Colisseum in St. Paul had good ice, but the walk from the dressing room over those dirty, sandy rubber guards for 100 feet didn't do my edges any favors. The dressing room full of folding chairs wasn't ideal either.

Highland rink in St. Paul off Snelling is my favorite ice. I only get to skate there a few times a year and I always struggle in my first few shifts because the ice is so much faster. I misjudge the speed of passes and how far a puck will glide.

[epstud74 24]

The Colisseum has a neat, old school hockey squalor about it though. Yeah, the ice isnt bad, but the locker rooms are old..I dont remember any folding chairs though. I've driven past the Highland Rink..Charles M Shultz Ice Arena right? Looks like a nice facility, sort of built into the ground in the park by there. I guess the old Met Center in Bloomington was famous for the quality of its ice. That and the Northlands Colisseum were considered the two best surfaces in the NHL when the North Stars played there.

[AnthonyJTa 0]

I'm a big fan of Quincy Youth Arena in Quincy, MA... they boast to having "the best ice surface on the South Shore"... I can attest it's far superior to both rinks in Rockland, MA (Rockland Ice Rink & Bavis Arena), as well as both MDC's in the area.