What could have been a disaster has become a testament to the positive virtue of cooperation between groups of people aligned for the good of the youth of their respective communities.
When it was reported in early October that Sukee Arena in Winslow was closing for the season because it was unable to make ice and couldn’t afford to fix the problem, ice time for four high school hockey programs was in jeopardy.
Central Maine youth programs also faced scheduling issues.
However, the rink managers at Colby College’s Alfond Arena in Waterville, the Bonnefond Ice Arena at Kents Hill School and the Camden National Bank Ice Vault in Augusta teamed up with athletic directors to find ice time for the displaced hockey programs.
The teams affected included Messalonskee High School of Oakland, the Lawrence-Skowhegan co-op squad and the Winslow High boys teams as well as the first-year Winslow-Gardiner girls team.
“When it first happened, you were thinking the worst,” said Messalonskee athletic director Tom Hill. “What can we do now?
“But it has come together much better than anybody could have anticipated,” said Hill. “There has been a lot of give and take. We can’t thank the three arenas enough. What they have done to enable four high school teams to be able to practice and play is a huge commitment for them.”
“We are really lucky that the three rinks stepped up,” said Winslow athletic director Jim Bourgoin. “What could have been a nightmare is just a bad dream now. They made it possible to keep our season alive.”
“It could have been a disaster,” agreed Lawrence athletic director Dave Packard.
Bill Boardman, general manager of the Ice Vault, said it was important to come to the aid of the hockey programs.
“That’s what we’re here for: The kids, the players and the skaters,” said Boardman.
Boardman credited the staff at Colby College for mapping out a plan so the three rinks could provide the ice time for the four schools.
The teams have had to adapt to altered schedules, including early-morning practices.
Packard said that is a minor inconvenience for the teams, each of which will play games at all three arenas.
“The kids are just happy to have hockey,” said Packard.
The one school that may be impacted more significantly from a financial standpoint is Winslow, which must bus its girls to the Ice Vault for early-morning practices with the Gardiner girls for their co-operative team.
The added cost is an estimated $2,000, although Packard would not disclose the number.
The Winslow boys practice early mornings at Colby, but Packard said it would have been unfair to ask the Gardiner girls to attend a 5 a.m. practice at Colby “because it would mean they would have had to get out of bed at 3:30 [a.m.] to make a practice. And we couldn’t practice at 6 [a.m.] because school starts at 7:22 [a.m.] and that would have given our girls just 22 minutes to get to school after practice.”
Hill said he isn’t sure about the financial ramifications.
“It will be interesting to see. We didn’t have to pay for ice time during games at Sukee because Sukee kept the gate [and concessions],” said Hill. “Now we’ll be paying for the ice at games and we’ll keep the gate, so we’ll see if the gate will [be enough to] pay for the ice time.”
Hill noted that ice time will be about $50 more per hour at the three rinks than it was at Sukee.
Another difference is that Messalonskee players will have to lug their equipment from rink to rink rather that having a permanent locker like they did at Sukee.
“I feel bad for the goalies. Their bags are bigger than half the kids,” said Hill.
The athletic directors didn’t offer much hope that Sukee will ever reopen, but they said that the level of cooperation between the schools and rink managers gives them optimism for the future even if Sukee never reopens.