While broken down parts and uncertainty may seem like a bad way to start the hockey season, what began as a tough situation has turned into a "win-win" opportunity, bringing communities together on and off the ice.
Work was already taking place to get the ice into the Bonnyville & District Centennial (C2) Centre when a heat exchanger for the ice plant failed. The parts needed are required for both the Cenovus and R.J. Lalonde arenas to operate, leaving Bonnyville without ice for an undetermined amount of time.
Knowing there were some bookings coming up quick, staff at the C2 Centre sought ice elsewhere, immediately turning to the Glendon Arena. While there wasn't technically ice in that arena yet - and typically there isn't ice until the end of September or early October - the arena had a working facility, and plenty of helping hands to get the job done.
Over 30 hours of hard work later, and the Glendon Arena was ready - just in time to take in a Lakeland Lightning training camp that had originally been schedule for Bonnyville, along with other bookings.
"It was a good networking opportunity, getting to meet the people from the Ag Society out in Glendon . . . it's just a win-win for everybody when you come together as a community," said Todd Muir, general manager with the C2 Centre.
He added that the Glendon Arena caretaker was able to be part of the process of putting in the ice and spent time with the staff members from the C2 Centre, learning the techniques used to care for the Bonnyville ice.
And for residents in Glendon, it appears that having an early start to the season is welcome news.
"For us, it's great because we just did many new upgrades to our facility, including a new ice plant last year, which allows us to operate in warmer weather," explains Ashley Whelen, vice president with Glendon Minor Hockey Association and director with the Glendon Ag Society.
Having the ice in early allows Bonnyville residents to continue to access the facility during public skating and public shinny times, along with offering other area residents convenient access to the arena.
"It also allows communities like St. Paul access to ice and public programs, because we are central to both communities. For minor hockey, we are excited to get our year underway earlier as well," says Whelen.
Right now, the Glendon Arena is using the C2 ice schedule. How the schedule will look after Bonnyville gets its ice back has yet to be determined, says Whelen.
When asked when he thought Bonnyville would have ice, Muir said he was shooting for shortly after the September long weekend, put that timeline was only tentative.
