The ice is ready to go at the Sunflower Gardens arena in Altona, and programs are well underway.
Recreation services Manager Eric Hildebrand says it will be a different kind of season at the facility, with the Altona Maroons taking a one-year leave of absence from the SEMHL (see story on Pg. 12).
“This comes as a disappointment to many, but it presents a unique opportunity for the Millennium Exhibition Centre (MEC) facility to fill some extra ice time.
“With the Maroons only playing a 20-game schedule in the past few years, this means a loss of 10 home games. That’s approximately 25 hours of ice time we’ll be looking to fill.”
The only other unknown factor regarding how many hours of ice time will not be needed this season is related to Maroons playoff games. In recent seasons, there were few or no playoff games.
“However, it wasn’t too long ago that the Maroons were in the league finals multiple times, especially during their back-to-back league championships in 2011-12 and 2012-13,” Hildebrand noted. “During those successful seasons, the Maroons were often the only team booking games in our facility past early to mid-March, keeping the ice relevant.”
Hildebrand also mentioned the natural ebb and flow of team success affecting ice time.
“I think it’s important to remember that as with anything, there are ebbs and flows regarding hockey teams and skating club programs having very successful seasons mixed with some less successful seasons. The teams that have successful seasons tend to require the most ice time. For instance, last season, the W.C. Miller Aces hockey team made it to their league finals, utilizing more ice time than if they hadn’t made the playoffs.”
While the absence of the Maroons this season is unfortunate, Hildebrand doesn’t believe it will significantly affect the MEC operations.
“We have already secured some bookings for some Pembina Valley Hawks U15AAA boys’ games, and a few other teams will also utilize our ice due to renovations at one of Winkler’s arenas.”
Meanwhile, the MEC has added a new feature to the Sunflower Gardens Arena which Hildebrand believes hockey and skating fans will love.
“LiveBarn is now available for anyone who can’t make it to the facility, but still wants to watch all the events. It’s a streaming service which allows you to share events with friends and family, so they never miss a moment of the game. It provides audio and a clear and full view of the ice surface.”
Hildebrand says you can download entire games or practices, and it could be a great tool for coaches and players to review games.
“Minor hockey was pushing for it for our facility, since so many arenas have it now. Now families from out of town can still watch little Johnny’s games; they just need to log on. It’s easy for us to add something like this, because it provides yet another service to the community.”
The company provides the cameras and service to the facility for free. Users pay a subscription fee which allows them to watch events Live or On Demand for 30 days. Recreation office staff will not handle subscriptions or problems with the service.
“If you’re interested, go to the Town of Altona website for all the details,” Hildebrand says.
