Get Those Rinks Ready

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, which marks a big day American families to be together. It’s also a good marker for when you should start preparing to make your backyard ice rink. You don’t want to wait much longer as the temperature will drop considerably soon, and this long weekend makes a good time to put it together. You’ll notice it’s been about a year since I made a post. This is mostly due to the fact that I went through the crazy effort of making a backyard ice rink last winter. Because of that, I’ll export some of my hard earned knowledge to you.

My rink from last year

Before even thinking of what you’ll need for a rink, you should first ask yourself whether or not you really want to make one. From January to February last year, a lot of my free time was dedicated to keeping up the rink. Although truthfully that’s right in the middle of the winter, where you’re probably not going out too often to begin with. These nights were filled with going out after work into the freezing cold, working with freezing water, and staying up at late hours while the temperature was its lowest. But I did it because I wanted to know I could build that, and I knew it was the last year I would have a backyard for awhile since I moved in the Spring.

Once you do decide that you want to spend the long hard winter outdoors in the cold rather than inside, then here’s some things you should do to get going this weekend.

1. Measure the perimeter and area of the rink you want. Don’t bother trying for curved corners. 
2. Figure out the height of the boards you will need. This is mostly important if you’re working with uneven ground. The backyard I used was about a foot lower in one end than the other, so it needed higher boards on one side. The normal height you should use is 1’, and increase it on the lower end to make it level. If you’re low end is 1’ below the high end, then make the low end 2’ boards and the high end 1’ boards. 
3. Purchase your boards from a home development store like Lowe’s or Home Depot. Just go cheap with the untreated 4’ x 8’ plywood, and have them cut it into smaller segments. I did four 1’x6’ segments since that was the max size I could fit in the car that was useful for the rink size. The extra wood you end up with can be cut up into small stakes and joints. 
4. Purchase ample nails and screws which are long enough to go through the boards. Just ask someone who works at the store what they suggest. I used a power drill for putting this together, so I used a lot of long nails. 
5. Make sure you have a vise grip so that something can hold the stakes or joints to the boards while you nail or screw them together. It just makes it easier. 
6. Lay down painter's plastic tarps over the boards and cover the entire ice area. It shouldn’t be water tight, as you want the melted runoff to drain.  The plastic is just there to assist with building a proper ice base, though compacted snow can do this job too, but the sheets are easy to put down.  I used 10'x100' plastic sheeting.  Just tape the sheets together at certain points so they don’t fly away. Use a staple gun to attach the plastic to the boards. 

After all these steps are done all you have to do is wait for the temperature to drop and the first snow to come. It’s just a matter of time in December. Once you get your first snow fall, compress it down (like step on it or sled over it), and add lots of water to turn it into slush. Let it freeze, then keep adding water until it evens out into a smooth ice sheet. Alternatively if it doesn’t snow for awhile, but it’s really freezing (like lower than 20 degrees), you can probably just puddle the water outside and let it freeze. But that will take more water and time on your part.

I’ll put up another post detailing some temperature and watering guidance, and some gritty details on how to avoid having your hose frozen. At least for this weekend you’ll be all set for the rink before the temperate drops. Probably by this time next month you’ll be out there on the ice.

-Drew

My Sweet Goal Setup

As you'll notice from the current background of this swank new blog, I have a pretty sweet hockey goal setup in the ol' backyard. A less blurry version is shown on the left (click to enlarge). It's a pretty simple setup.

I never really thought about buying a goal before since I could easily go down to the roller park and shoot there, or even just go to a handball court and tape a goal to the wall and shoot on that. Which, by the way, is interesting just to see reactions from the other park goers to me taking loud slappers in a park. You feel like a circus act since everyone is amazed that someone actually plays hockey, or even annoyed that I'm taking up park space. But over the summer I really felt that I had stepped up my game enough to not be a defensive liability, and it was time to finally improve my shot since it was pretty weak and off-balance.

The goal is an E-Z Goal with backstop. I bought this for two primary reasons: the fact that it folds up so I can move it to my garage or car, and it was dirt cheap as far as goals go. Also it's quite a conversation starter when people look out the kitchen window. Even with the backstop, total price came to $150. That is an unbelievable deal, since most metal goals cost well over $200. I bought it from Hockey Shot, but I know there are other places with even cheaper shipping. It's full regulation size, although the metal isn't as thick as a pro level goal. Regardless though, it takes a pretty heavy shot at close distance to even dent this sucker. I've found this to be an excellect buy, and really simple to fold for transport or storage.

The only downside would be putting it together. That took about 6 hours total by myself. I bought this at the end of August, and was therefore outside with the mosquitos since I live by a bay. Whatever though, having it setup was worth being grimey. The diagram was pretty intuitive, perhaps not IKEA-level, but I made sense of it. The only suggestion I would have it connect the top crossbar last. Originally I had mine too tight, and I couldn't get the top shelf connected correctly. Also you'll definitely need a rubber mallet for this. For a full on review, you can go to How To Hockey.

The second item would be the shooting pad. I don't really have a smooth surface in the backyard, and needed something proper to rocket pucks off of. I bought the HockeyShot Extreme Passing Kit since it was pretty damn big and rolled up. The price tag is a bit hefty though, $140 total. A really nice feature is the bungie cord at one end, allowing you to practice passes and, my favorite, one-timers.

There are a few downsides though. It's really friggin' huge, and a chore to tie-up yourself, although still do-able. Additionally you need to let it lie flat for awhile so it flattens itself out (not an issue if you become lazy like me and leave it out all the time). And if you have it on an uneven surface, it can develop bumps where passes will cause the puck to bounce and roll. Bear in mind those are issues you'll find with most any shooting pad, and not specifically this one. Either way, when you have it setup, it makes for a great surface to shoot from.

Both items can be easily stored and moved. With the garage being jam packed with other crap, and it being autumn with grass to move, I have of course decided that reason enough to be lazy and leave out in the backyard. I'm not too worried about someone running off with it. Everything is positioned perfectly and it can't be seen from front, and also it's huge enough that I doubt anyone would be running off with a regulation sized goal. So if you are in the area, feel free to drop by and take a few shots. I like to imagine random passers-by taking shots on it while I'm not there.