No home games at R.P. Lumber Center Ice Rink

The Tigers had a few teams in the league previous year, including a person in the varsity division and two in the junior varsity division. The top EHS ice hockey workforce competes in a separate league in Missouri in the Mid States Club Hockey Affiliation.

The MVCHA commonly schedules video games in between the beginning of November as a result of the center of March.

Criswell gave his reasons for the determination in an e-mail:.

“The MVCHA stance is quite distinct and very simple. We do not now need to have extra ice for online games. We are not likely to consider ice (earnings) absent from our rinks we at this time guidance and that supports the MVCHA just to give it to a new rink that is not even up operating and functional.  If we are in have to have of further ice we would be far more than pleased to go over getting ice,” Criswell wrote in an e-mail on April 8.

MVCHA video games ended up performed final time at the East Alton Ice Arena, Granite Town Ice Rink and the McKendree Metro Rec Plex in O’Fallon.

Edwardsville Parks and Recreation Director Nate Tingley pressured the city is not seeking to consider profits from other rinks in the place. It was wanting to do the job with these rinks and assistance enable for the Edwardsville hockey plan to engage in some game titles on campus.

Edwardsville hockey mentor Jason Walker was disappointed with the conclusion.

“This was a thing we were hoping to do because the whole task started out. Now that we’re receiving near to the complete line, we required to make absolutely sure we had everything lined up. In the approach of earning guaranteed we had the dates for dwelling game titles, this type of popped up. It came out of nowhere. We expected them to be enthusiastic about the new rink and the potential to develop the game,” Walker explained.

For the duration of discussions with the league about Edwardsville taking part in online games at household, Walker claimed various safety difficulties have been brought up, such as the track that operates earlier mentioned the rink and the temperature of the ice for games. Walker claimed ice rink facility superintendent Phil Zamora tackled the concerns. Zamora labored for 21 decades at The Rinks of Lakewood, which is household for the Anaheim Ducks of the NHL, and due to the fact 2018 was at the Webster Groves Ice Rink ahead of becoming hired at Edwardsville very last November.

“We’re kind of in shock and it is annoying,” Walker reported. “There have been problems about the observe up there with spectators potentially staying higher than the benches throughout online games. There was also a concern about the ice and building confident it was up to technical specs for online games.

“Obviously, Phil is great and was in a position to consider treatment of all those issues. He’s likely to operate the rink and do an outstanding career.”

Development on the R.P. Lumber Center Ice Rink, which will seat 650 people today, started in March 2021 with S.M. Wilson, Inc. as the main contractor. The cost, like engineering and FF&E, was believed at $13.5 million for the facility that also bundled a observe and teen centre.

Much more than a 12 months before the begin of design, then-Edwardsville Mayor Hal Patton fashioned three group teams – style and design, functions and funding – to go over the new facility. He reached out to the community for any one intrigued.

Volunteers have been permitted to pick a committee or be assigned centered on talents.

Criswell mentioned he nor any users of the MVCHA board were invited to both team.

“Prior to the construction of the rink in Edwardsville, there was no interaction with the MVCHA Board nor did the Board indicator a letter of intent to use it,” Criswell wrote in an e-mail on April 11.

In accordance to Tingley, had Criswell stated he would have preferred to join either committee, he would have been more than welcome.

“It would have been an uncomplicated determination,” Tingley said. “We would have even said the exact same factor if a rep from Mid States preferred to do the identical. We had been hoping to get input from any person.

“We are hoping that (the MVCHA) wouldn’t refuse games to local groups to engage in in Edwardsville mainly because we didn’t request them for ideas in the concentrate group.”

Last season, the a few EHS teams in the MVCHA performed a overall of 77 online games, together with 41 at the East Alton Ice Arena, 26 at the Granite Metropolis Ice Rink, nine at McKendree Metro Rec Plex and a single at the Fenton Discussion board Ice Arena. Edwardsville was scheduled as the home group for 39 of those game titles.

Start situations ranged any place from as early as 4:10 p.m. on the weekends and 7 p.m. on weekdays to as late as 10:30 p.m. on the weekends and 9:15 p.m. on weekdays. That is not counting if game titles started out late because of to before online games that day.

Walker was hoping with the R.P. Lumber Centre Ice Rink, his software would be ready to timetable household game titles with earlier get started periods than 9 p.m.

“We desired to permit our youngsters have the opportunity to participate in video games on our campus just like the other sports activities. We are not seeking to choose absent property online games from other groups and pull them into this rink. We preferred to make absolutely sure we could make sure our property online games,” Walker stated. “We’re attempting to improve the sport. We performed video games on weeknights at 9 p.m. and weren’t obtaining property until finally 11 p.m. on a faculty evening. We were being hoping to alleviate that with this rink with far better activity situations and becoming ready to get household at a much more fair time.”

Walker also thinks the late online games and 30-moment drives to rinks have impacted the community and school guidance for the method.

“We would appreciate to have the university student system additional involved. Young ones want to go to these game titles and see their close friends enjoy, but mothers and fathers really don’t want to send out them 30 minutes on the road at 8:45 p.m. at evening on a university evening,” Walker claimed. “We’re hoping we can get this all figured out, which would make it possible for additional little ones to engage in and for the student physique to be extra involved.”

The Edwardsville hockey groups will be capable to follow at the facility, regardless of the MVCHA’s selection on household game titles.

Last period, the system paid out a flat rate of $16,006 for the year for the a few MVHCA teams for ice time for games and functions, including referees and scorekeepers. 

With the league costs, the MVHCA purchases ice time for video games from every facility.

Ice time charges for techniques are individual.

The Edwardsville Large Faculty ice hockey program announced on June 15 a 10-yr lease for exceptional locker rooms at the R.P. Lumber Ice Rink. According to the deal, the software was to cover all construction expenses linked with the area.

If the MVCHA does not routine any games at the R.P. Lumber Ice Rink, the facility will nevertheless be active.

“We have many other groups that are hunting for ice time, including for practices. We also have Twin Bridges, the neighborhood youth hockey group, on the lookout for ice time. There is a women’s hockey group dependent in St. Louis searching for ice time,” Tingley reported. “Phil is also setting up time for in-residence programming, together with a learn-to-skate plan. The revenue will come to the metropolis and we workers it, educate the children and present gear. We’re not just relying on rentals. We’re also trying to create desire from the floor ground up.

“We want to make it obtainable and obtainable to all family members in the region to give them prospects to understand. We are heading others to sign up for in and master to skate. There will also be tons of general public skate sessions and freestyle time for figure skaters.

“We would also love to have the MVCHA there and sign up for in with East Alton, Granite Town and O’Fallon.”

In the meantime, the Mid-Condition Club Hockey Association is thrilled about the opening of the R.P. Lumber Middle Ice Rink, in accordance to Walker.

“They are so supportive of it. We’re enjoying all our home game titles there for Mid States. They were also intrigued in participating in other game titles other than us there. They really don’t want to program game titles at a late time. They are extremely involved about the little ones and building positive they aren’t actively playing at late instances on faculty evenings. They see this as an prospect to do that,” Walker said.

Edwardsville played 10 house game titles in Mid-States at the East Alton Ice Arena past period.

This time, the program’s best ice hockey team will be actively playing residence games right on campus.

“We want to use this rink to its best potential,” Walker said.