As many know, due to our home ice campaign last academic year, the College’s ice rink needed a generous donation of $2 million to replace the 45-year-old ice-making system and refrigeration equipment to keep it frozen.
If the athletics department did not raise the money, the men’s and women’s ice hockey team would need to travel to play their games at other locations. In the spring, the Foresters received the donation that was needed to fix the rink, and construction began as quickly as possible.
This academic year, the project is complete, which has allowed athletes to skate on a fresh surface far before the season even starts. Aside from the ice itself, the rest of the rink had improvements in recent years.
According to Forester Athletics, the department renovated the ice rink locker rooms, installed new and accessible seating to accommodate up to 500 fans, revamped the lobby and lounge area, created an honoree wall for past award winners, installed new scoreboards, dasher boards, glass, netting, and a new roof. With these enhancements, the Foresters hockey program has a new place to call home—including the new ice, which is essentially the most important element to play hockey.
“Most schools do not have a rink on campus,” women’s hockey forward Allie Girard ’17 said. “It’s a great advantage for the men’s and women’s teams to be able to play here in front of our Forester fans and the community.”
“The new ice ties together with the new lobby, which makes coming to the rink that much more exciting,” men’s hockey forward Jack Lewis ’17 said.
The men’s and women’s hockey season opens around fall break. Both teams are looking forward to playing in their new rink as well as accomplishing their biggest goal of the season.
“Our goal this year is to make the second round of the NCAA Tournament,” defense player Kayla Griffith ’18 said.
For the men’s team, “our goals for this year would be to win our conference and then a National Championship,” Lewis said. “I am looking forward to just playing the game I love and going on a journey with my teammates one more time.”
Both teams have been working hard during the pre-season on and off the ice in order to reach those goals. Because the new ice wasn’t ready the first few weeks of school, the Foresters spent most of their time off the ice building their strength in the gym.
“This is one of the most hard-working and talented groups we have had and I truly believe in our team accomplishing our goals of winning the division and a national title,” men’s defensive player Mark Esshaki ’17 said.
For the women, Griffith said the Foresters “have a really different team this year with a lot of freshmen, so we are getting to know each other and working hard to put our best ‘paw’ forward for the season.”
Both teams will continue to work hard and push tirelessly toward their goals for this season.
“The rink renovations are extremely motivating knowing how much work has been done to support our team,” Esshaki said. “We are truly thankful for everyone involved in the process from donors, to workers, to the rink staff, and to everyone in the athletic department who made it possible.”
Come support the Foresters this upcoming season and check out the new rink!
