Roseau Hockey Story

[61ache]

so tell us more about this north rink in Roseau, the story on the news made it sound like it's open 24 hours a day everyday for open hockey...is this true? so can kids just show up anythime of the day and play hockey? something like this should be available in the cities

North rink is sponsored by the Citizen Area Improvement Association, (basically owned by youth hockey). They usually have practice starting at 6:30 in the morning (by either bantams or pee-wees). Then youth hockey has practice in the afternoon. Its open at night for "open hockey" until everyone leaves or someone shuts the lights out on you. On weekends its skate 'til you drop. Basically, if you can find someone to turn the lights on you can play.

[Neutron 14]

so tell us more about this north rink in Roseau, the story on the news made it sound like it's open 24 hours a day everyday for open hockey...is this true? so can kids just show up anythime of the day and play hockey? something like this should be available in the cities

North rink is sponsored by the Citizen Area Improvement Association, (basically owned by youth hockey). They usually have practice starting at 6:30 in the morning (by either bantams or pee-wees). Then youth hockey has practice in the afternoon. Its open at night for "open hockey" until everyone leaves or someone shuts the lights out on you. On weekends its skate 'til you drop.

Who patrols it so the crypts or bloods don't show up?

[O-townClown]

Can someone that doesn't live in Roseau just drop in and play too? I'm sure it isn't an issue in the middle of nowhere, but you can see the potential problem applying this business model to the suburban Twin Cities.

If Richfield builds the free rink and a bunch of people from Minneapolis, Edina, and Bloomington crash the party it would be a drag. I know that's how it is on outdoor ice, but the cost to provide an outdoor rink pales compared to the cost to run an indoor facility.

Also, what months is this place open?

[61ache]

Can someone that doesn't live in Roseau just drop in and play too? I'm sure it isn't an issue in the middle of nowhere, but you can see the potential problem applying this business model to the suburban Twin Cities.

If Richfield builds the free rink and a bunch of people from Minneapolis, Edina, and Bloomington crash the party it would be a drag. I know that's how it is on outdoor ice, but the cost to provide an outdoor rink pales compared to the cost to run an indoor facility.

Also, what months is this place open?

Anyone can come and play, it doesn't really matter. Its a natural ice sheet, so its open when Mother Nature makes it so. There's no real difference between the north rink and the hundreds of outdoor sheets that cities have besides a metal building around it.

[NeilGuf-yb]

Here's what the schedule looks like on a week to week basis at the Roseau North rink!

Mon, Nov. 26
6:30 A.M. - 7:30 Bantam B Practice
7:30-3:15 Open hockey
3:30-4:30 12U A Practice
4:30-5:30 Pee-Wee B Practice
5:45-6:45 Tiny Mites Practice
6:45-7:45 Mites Practice
7:45-until bedtime Open Hockey

Tues, Nov 27
6:30-7:30 Pee-Wee B Practice
7:45-5:45 Open Hockey
6:00-7:00 12U B Practice
7:15-bedtime Open Hockey

Wed, Nov 28
6:30-7:30 Bantam B Practice
7:45-3:30 Open Hockey
3:45-4:45 12U A Practice
5:00-6:00 Pee-Wee A Practice
6:15-7:15 Squirt B Practice
7:30-bedtime Open Hockey

Thurs, Nov 29
6:30-7:30 Pee-Wee B Practice
7:45-3:30 Open Hockey
3:45-4:45 Bantam B Practice
5:00-5:45 Tiny Mites Practice
5:45-6:30 Mites Practice
6:30-7:15 10U Practice
7:30-bedtime Open Hockey

Fri, Nov. 30
6:30-7:30 Bantam B Practice
7:45-5:45 Open Hockey
6:00-7:00 Squirt B practice
7:15-bedtime Open Hockey

Sat. Dec 1
Open Hockey All Day Long

Sun. Dec. 2
Open hockey
4:15-5:15 8U practice
5:30-bedtime Open Hockey

[NeilGuf-yb]

It's an artificial ice surface, which has been open since Oct. 9 and will remain open until early April!

[finance_gal]

so if I show up there on Saturdy morning at 6:30 am with my 9 year old girl who dosen't skate very well she would be welcome to play with whoever is there?

[oldram]

One thing that's being missed here is that the North Rink isn't new. The article makes it seem like they just built it. There was always 2 indoor ice sheets in Roseau until Girls hockey and they built the Ram Center.

This is like the 3rd or 4th version of the North Rink. First it had no building around it. Then they added an annex on the Memorial and built a steel shed around it. In the late 80's or early 90's they had a plastic dome over it like the Metrodome but it was impractical because it was kept up with forced air. You can about imagine the temp. in there with wind blowing to keep up the roof and the air temp. is already 40 below. The last version was built a few years ago. It's a palace compared to what it used to be.

Anybody can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the North Rink has been around since the 50's. All the NHL players mentioned in the article all grew up on the North Rink. Maybe even Dick Johnson.

[finance_gal]

I realized form the story that it wasn't new, But it was such a novel Idea for someone from the cities to see in in reality where skating is free and available to the kids. Where we live we have a ice rink but it is rented out to teams outside our town during all of the prime hours so the kids that live around it don't get to use it

[NeilGuf-yb]

so if I show up there on Saturdy morning at 6:30 am with my 9 year old girl who dosen't skate very well she would be welcome to play with whoever is there?

Yep she'd be more than welcome! There's about 3 or 4 games going on at on time, older kids in one end (High school and Bantams) at the other end (Pee-Wees and Squirts) and at center ice playing cross ice is the mites and tiny mites! Along with all the girls teams playing right with the boys!

[finance_gal]

Great!! we'll be there 6:30 am Saturday morning complete with my kid that can't skate real well.

[Undercover Hockey Lover]

so if I show up there on Saturdy morning at 6:30 am with my 9 year old girl who dosen't skate very well she would be welcome to play with whoever is there?

For the most part...it used to be everybody who want to play shinny was assigned to a team, the older kids used to coach the younger ones where to stand usually off the post and tried to feed the youngin's to pop one in. Made you feel pretty good when a Ram or Bantam banked one off your stick and they'd give you a way to go. If a little one didn't participate it was kind of unwritten that they stayed out of the way when play came down to the end they were at. It also gives the older kids practice in being aware of the little ones on the ice so you'd have to keep your head up so you didn't run over a little kid. In my time this was usually done with no equipment other than hockey gloves I seem to remember Nealer wearing "choppers" many times....I can't imagine how he got so slick with a stick....now I believe it is mandatory to wear a helmet. Tears and stitches happened once and a while but there was never any serious injuries to the little shavers.

[RoseauWarrior]

Honest question here. Does Roseau field a HS basketball team?

Yep, they have HS basketball, as well as HS wrestling.

[61ache]

I played Roseau Hockey 80s - 90s and remember many a practice with Dicky Johnson when it was sub -20. You'd put an extra hockey sock around your head to keep your ears from freezing. You didn't want to skate too fast your face would freeze, but you didn't want to skate too slow either cause Dicky would pick kids to "scrape" at the end of practice (no Zamboni on the north rink back then). Besides the fact that Dicky had a bionic finger that could leave quite the impression in your chest if you found yourself on his @#&$-list. Reminds me of the time, during a game and while the puck was still in play, when a defense man (later to go on to D1 school) screwed up and was dragged over the boards by Dicky by his face mask--just so Dicky could "offer his opinion" of what he thought of the kids game.

finance_gal, if you want to take your 9 year old girl skating, and she doesn't skate too well you'd probably be better off going during "open skating" vs. "open hockey"...open hockey has a lot of pucks and kids flying around.

[OGEE OGELTHORPE]

I would like to thank the Warroad radio station for broadcasting the TRF/Roseau game Tuesday night, that was really nice of Warroad.

Are they going to annonce all the Roseau games this year?

[rightwinger]

I would like to thank the Warroad radio station for broadcasting the TRF/Roseau game Tuesday night, that was really nice of Warroad.

Are they going to annonce all the Roseau games this year?

Rumor has it that Warroad is so poor this year and Roseau so strong that the Warroad high school pep band will also be covering the Rams' games.

[NeilGuf-yb]

I would like to thank the Warroad radio station for broadcasting the TRF/Roseau game Tuesday night, that was really nice of Warroad.

Are they going to annonce all the Roseau games this year?

Rumor has it that Warroad is so poor this year and Roseau so strong that the Warroad high school pep band will also be covering the Rams' games.

No there band sucks!

[ACTUALFORMERPLAYER]

One thing that's being missed here is that the North Rink isn't new. The article makes it seem like they just built it. There was always 2 indoor ice sheets in Roseau until Girls hockey and they built the Ram Center.

This is like the 3rd or 4th version of the North Rink. First it had no building around it. Then they added an annex on the Memorial and built a steel shed around it. In the late 80's or early 90's they had a plastic dome over it like the Metrodome but it was impractical because it was kept up with forced air. You can about imagine the temp. in there with wind blowing to keep up the roof and the air temp. is already 40 below. The last version was built a few years ago. It's a palace compared to what it used to be.

Anybody can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the North Rink has been around since the 50's. All the NHL players mentioned in the article all grew up on the North Rink. Maybe even Dick Johnson.

The Dome was not a north rink replacement. It was a third sheet of ice, north of the north rink. It was cold but a bigger problem was huge snowfalls would deflate it and then it had to be shoveled off. After enough snow was removed it would go up and occasionally sling shot shovelers off of it. Eventually the fabric wouldn't hold up anymore. The new current North Rink replaced the old north rink and the Dome.

[Fargo]

I would like to thank the Warroad radio station for broadcasting the TRF/Roseau game Tuesday night, that was really nice of Warroad.

Are they going to annonce all the Roseau games this year?

Rumor has it that Warroad is so poor this year and Roseau so strong that the Warroad high school pep band will also be covering the Rams' games.

No there band sucks!

Sew duz you're use of the word "their" - maybe won two many pucks too da noggin

[RoseauWarrior]

I would like to thank the Warroad radio station for broadcasting the TRF/Roseau game Tuesday night, that was really nice of Warroad.

Are they going to annonce all the Roseau games this year?

That was a nice surprise. You don’t find any better to listen to than Z!

[bauerhky22]

I remember a couple things about the OLD North Rink:

1. Scraping was probably the biggest memory. At the end of practice, part of your conditioning was to "scrape" the ice, literally with shovels. (These were usually the players who didn't score in the shootout. Players who scored didn't have to scrape.)

2. Shot accuracy: You had to be accurate with your shot because we all know damn well if you missed the net and it went over the boards, you wouldn't be getting that puck back and you'd be stuck out there with no puck (Only 8 year olds could fit between the boards and the tin walls to retrieve them.)

I think back about those Saturday's we'd skate on that North Rink from 10am til Jack Gross shut the lights off on you.....NOTHING BETTER IN THE WORLD!!!!

[Dexter Morgan]

I thought that was a warm hearted story that all of Roseau would be proud of. It was very interesting. Does Roseau have a dress code for games? Or do they just wear track suits? Why didn't they build the 3rd rink next to the other two?

[mouthofthesouth]

mhm

[Ram Hockey]

roseau this..roseau that...roseau hit me with a whiffle ball bat...
sick and tired about hearing how "good" they are ....state champs..big deal.
i think this year there a little to confidante

I find it kind of funny that you say this and minutes later create a thread asking how the Roseau-Crookston game will go.

[finance_gal]

we traveled to Roseau this past weekend for Hockey, very nice people, possibly the best hockey set up of anyplace in the world. Per capita much more ice time available than even the Super Rink in Blaine. Our daughter went skating on the North rink and everyone was extreamly nice to her especially the older boys who made sure that she got the puck on her stick every now and then. Roseau is the model that small communities should be striving for when it comes to building Hockey programs.