Anyone MSH'ers in the twin cities?

[EndBoards 0]

Just curious if any of you guys in the twin cities could give me a bit of advice.. I'm coming up for a visit next week and was wanting to play a bit with my kiddo...

Are the outdoor rinks still doing ok? Looks like the highs are below freezing through the 15th, so I'm thinking it'll be fine..

We're from Texas, so it'll be my first time playing outside. Any advice?

I'm staying in the St. Paul area, do any of the indoor rinks near there have like parent/child stick & puck sessions?

I'd also be curious if there are any instructional or skills/drills clinics that run regularly? I'd love some instructional time..

[saber26 0]

i dont know anything bout the st.paul stuff but if you play outside dress in layers so that if u get warm then you could jus take a layer off. they might be a little soft though but i havent been on an outdoor rink in a while. but yea they should be fine

[Engine37 0]

I live just a couple miles south of Minneapolis. The outdoor ice is fine. It got a bit soft when we had a warm spell, but it's come around OK. Just don't show up expecting things to be perfectly smooth or anything. That puck will be bouncing a little, and you should expect a few "imperfections" in the surface. It is FREE ICE after all. It is still perfectly skate-able though, and most outdoor places have the lights on until about 9PM.

I highly recommend dressing in layers, because that way you don't waste your time sitting in the warming house. Also, if you have some of the really cheap/thin elbow and knee pads (available at almost any sporting goods store), they can really make a big difference if you take a spill. I started wearing them because I ended up with some nasty bruises on my elbows and knees when one of my buddies would get carried away in a pickup game and take me out.

As far as the St. Paul indoor rinks, I doubt that any of them have a lot of stick & puck time. Usually the indoor rinks have only Public Open Skate, which means no sticks and no pucks. Some of them do have stick & puck time, but it is usually at an odd time. It's worth a call to the rinks you'll be close to, in order to see what their schedule is like. There should be info on the web as well.