The blast of cold weather we’ve experienced recently has allowed the community ice rink to set up nicely. The rink, which is located at the Boundary County Fairgrounds, will be open to anyone with skates when the weather permits, and thanks in part to Steve Petesch and Matt Cossalman, who have taken it upon themselves to organize a recreational hockey league, it will also serve as a hockey rink a few days a week.

Cossalman says he has seen significantly more turnout so far this winter than in years past. Of course that can be attributed in large part to consistent subfreezing temperatures, which have become increasingly infrequent in recent years.

As Cossalman admits, it’s difficult to play ice hockey without the ice: “After last year when we put up the rink and never got to skate on it, yeah, I’d say it’s been a great year.”

According to Steve Petesch, they are just playing pickup games for now, as there aren’t enough people to form a legitimate league. “The more people we can get out there, the better,” he says.

Cossalman says that they were able to get in a few pickup games over the holidays and that as many as a dozen people came out to play — due to the rink’s small size, Cossalman says three-person teams are the norm.

Because of the small rink and team sizes, the league plays a style of hockey that is more informal and much less physical than its mainstream counterpart.

Known as “pond hockey”, the most obvious distinction between this style and the one broadcast on ESPN is the lack of a goalie. Instead, players utilize a much smaller “pond goal”, which Cossalman describes as “a wooden box the height of a 2x4 that has openings on the left and right side, but not the center...It forces you to keep your puck on the ice, which makes it safer for everybody, and shoot to the sides of the goal, which is good training.”

Even though hockey is universally recognized as one of the rougher, more violent sports, it doesn’t necessarily have to be that way, and Cossalman and Petesch put a lot of emphasis on playing carefully and safely. Pads are unnecessary, and while some of the players wear helmets, these are more to protect against accidental slips on the ice than anything else.

“Generally the play has been careful play, not rough play, with an eye towards keeping people safe,” Cossalman says.

Weather permitting, the local recreational hockey league meets at the community rink on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Pick-up games have been starting around 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and around 2 p.m. on Sundays.

Anybody in the community with a desire to get outside is welcome to come out and play during those times.