Area dads construct homemade hockey rink

By Kelly Kane
Norwich Guidon Staff Writter

When Abbey Goodrich and Haley Arnold weren't receiving equal opportunity to play in the local NAHA Squirts Hockey team, their fathers George and Ian built them a rink of their own.

The girls played on the same squirts team as the boys, according to their fathers.

"This is both of the girls' first year of playing Hockey, and they really love it," Goodrich said. "But no one takes them seriously, because they are girls. It is necessary to have ice time in order to improve your skills, and the coach's attitude was more geared towards winning than equal playing time."

The two fathers took three days off from work to build the 56-foot by 40-foot, 20,040 sq. ft. rink in Goodrich's backyard. The supplies were acquired at the local hardware store, and a large tarp represented the bulk of the expense; the entire project cost $1,000.

"The next step is to create an all-girls team," Goodrich said. "The competition exists for the girls; there are girls' teams in St. Albans, Newport, and Burlington."

Goodrich said he plans on coaching the team.

"You can guarantee that every girl on that team is going to play regardless of talent or experience," Goodrich said.

Goodrich plans to fundraise for the team to pay for equipment so that they will be more inclined to play and not have to worry about expensive equipment.

"I was so excited and very surprised," said Abbey Goodrich, "Hockey is my favorite sport, and I am very glad that my dad built the rink."

Girls' hockey is growing rapidly, and Northfield is a hockey town, according to Ian Arnold.

"We go to all the men's hockey games and have season tickets right on the glass," Arnold said. "We want to bring the girls to some of the women's games, too."

Tasha Pecor, 20, an English major from Northfield, VT, plays on the Norwich women's hockey team.

"Building the rink will really help the kids develop their skills, especially the girls," Pecor said. "I know how hard it is to play with boys at that age. They don't take you seriously."

Ian Arnold said that the homemade rink will be open to local kids.

All the kids in the area will have a chance to use the rink, including his two sons, Garret Arnold, 9, and Cameron Arnold, 13, who both play Squirt A-B and Pee Wee respectively.

"I told my friends about the rink, and they were so excited," Cameron said. "I can't wait until it is ready to skate on."

Goodrich and Arnold said they hope that the rink will be ready by the 15th or 16th of Jan.

"My hopes for this rink is that the kids improve on personal skills such as shooting, movement of the puck and skating," Arnold said.

The future plans for the rink include lighting for nighttime play, plywood backstops at either end the of rink, and nets.

"We plan on making the rink bigger next year," Goodrich said. "We were really just feeling things out this year. This project took a lot of work, but I think in the long run it will be worth it to see our kids improve on their game but also just to see them have fun," Arnold said.

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