Marlborough Mass

[UMWhockey 0]

My squirt team is going up for the Coloumbus Day classis at the New England Sports Center and I wanted to see if anyone has skated their before. Really I am looking for some good local bars or night time activities as I will be up there for 4 nights. Thanks for the help

[greech 4]

Five pads, rink one is the only one with good ice. Pure Hockey's right there down the road, always worth the trip.

[Skunk 1]

Mass may be liberal but I don't think the bar owners will allow the Squirts to indulge in happy hour :) :P

Pure hockey is a must see, esp the first time

[zales17 0]

this is not going to do you much good, but ill share anyways, just as a reflection of good (sort of) times past.

My family is from central MA (auburn, worcester) and so when I would go up to visit the cousins and uncles and grandparents we would always talk about playing some pickup hockey (cousins v. cousins). Well one year it finally worked out that I was able to skate with one of my older cousins Fri night pickup group (MA open hockey is scarce and most pickup is run by a guy that has a bunch of buds that shell out 10/12 bucks for the skate to cover costs) I was like 16 and these guys were all 30 and over. Needless to say I made a decent showing for NC hockey up in new england (mostly because these guys were "old" :P ) Well, after the skate, just like most beer league-ish skates go, the guys passed brews around the room and everyone had a few, myself included (the"kid"). I had a decent buzz, and then threw in a lipper (something I had only done a handful of times at that point) when a guy asked if I wanted one. Well, the combo of low alcohol tolerance and very low nicotine tolerance gave me one hell of a buzz, which then turned into one hell of a case of spins, which then progressed to one hell of a puke session, right there in the Sportsplex parking lot....(ahhh to be "the kid" :( ) Soooo, long story short, I know the Sportsplex pretty well, (especially the paved area that I was hoverd over for a bit).

Anyways, its a great rink with the 4 sheets, and its right behind a pretty big mall (Solomon Pond) which has some food joints that might also have bars (IE TGIFriday...) not sure on the bar scene right there, but if you get a chance to hunt down Squire Whites (a bar in central mass) there is a night (not sure of specifics, but worth finding out) that is triple lobsters for some great price...thats a good one to check out (KENO too I think)

Have fun, and Pure hockey WAS right down the road from there, but im not sure of the status of that shop anymore as I am not in the area

[Steve_v3 289]

The rinks are very nice. I played in a men's league there for a few years. There are 5 rinks with a small pro shop and they serve food upstairs. From upstairs you can see all 5 rinks.

Pure Hockey is in a about a mile away now. They moved over a year ago.

There are a few restaurants in the Solomon pond mall and an Olive garden close by. Within 15 minutes is Worcester east on Rt.290 and Westboro to the south by Rt.290 west to Rt. 495 south to Rt. 9 east. Plus Hudson is only 5 minutes to the west. You should have quite a bit to choose from.

In the mall there is movie theartre also.

[whbd18 0]

I used to go up there a couple times a year when I was younger for tournaments. Ice was usually pretty good, especially Rink 1.Theres alot of resturants in the area, but I cant recall of any bars. The mall is a good place to kill time during the day. Always stayed at Embassy Suites and they have a pretty big bar area inside the hotel as well as a resturant, but thats only good if your staying there.

[shooter27 116]

Been up there for a number of tourneys over the years. That mall near the rink is huge, I've got to believe that some of the places in there will have a decent sports bar type atmosphere. Other than that your best bet is going to be the hotel bar. If you;re there for a youth tourney and are staying close to the rink I've got to believe there are going to be plenty of hockey parents / groups hanging out in the bar at night.

[gerbe3:16 19]

Hey, that's where I play!

Best bet for food and drinks is TGI Friday in the mall, as mentioned below. The ice is a mixed bag, sometimes it's great, other times it's horrendous (some of the zamboni drivers are clowns). I find rink 5 has the best ice consistently.

Nighttime activities? There are none, except for going to the mall, which is a pretty nice one right down the street. And as mentioned, definitely take a trip to Pure Hockey, also right down the street.

[UMWhockey 0]

Thanks for the help guys

[chippa13 1844]

Rte. 20 and Rte. 9 aren't too far away. There are some places along those roads.