2014 Begins with Changes

Hi Folks,

I am extremely juiced about the 2014 season. I think the new look will be accompanied by great talent and hockey fun.

My role will be a little different this year, and it remains to be seen how much I will be doing ice work. I have taken a full-time position at the arena as Director of Safety and Security. It sort of fulfills a loose life plan I had after retired from my former job, finishing a degree, and wanting to get back into something full time.

There is no way I can walk away completely from the ice, but if I want to grow, then I have to take the good with the bad. This is an opportunity I could not pass up. I've been on the job about 5 weeks and worked 4 major events: Showtime boxing, Pearl Jam, a private convention, and Brantley Gilbert. It is challenging and stimulating.

My heart is with the ice, but as I said, to grow I have to make some compromise.

The ice is going in today. Fairly late, and we would love to have more time but in a multi-use facility, you make do with the time you have. We had to complete some repairs and upgrades to the ice plant, and were somewhat at the mercy of waiting for the parts and the contractor's availability to get it done. They really hustled and got it done as quickly as they could when the parts came in. The condensing tower has been replaced at a cost of nearly 6 figures. The ice plant is very healthy now.

Here are a couple of photos of the ice work today. One is the rink painted white but before any line or logo work. the other is buckets of ice paint queue'd up waiting to be made into lines and logos.

First Face-Off is October 25, see you there!!