[Sly Fox]

From the Roanoke fishwrap:

Radford, Tech cut back on home hockey games
The teams are practicing at the Roanoke Civic Center, which can't host too many home games.

By Jared Turner
381-1643

The shortest road between Virginia Tech and Radford University stretches a mere 17 miles. The schools' respective club hockey teams have grown accustomed to traveling much farther.

Come 2007, they'll be on the road even longer.

The Roanoke Civic Center, where both clubs have convened on the ice since this fall, won't be able to accommodate "home" games for the Highlanders and Hokies next semester because of scheduling conflicts.

The civic center hosts numerous concerts and other commercial events throughout the year.

Radford will nearly double its number of road games from the fall semester this winter, hitting the road for eight away games. Tech will play at the civic center only once, a January date with the University of Virginia.

Until the spring, at least, both teams will continue to conduct weekly practices on the civic center ice formerly occupied by the now defunct Roanoke Valley Vipers of the United Hockey League.

The club teams aren't panicking.

"Coming up to this season when a lot of the guys thought that we weren't going to have a place to play, morale was low," said Stu Smith, vice president of the Radford club. "But when we found out that we were going to be able to play and practice on a regular basis, it kind of lifted everybody's spirits."

The future of the clubs appeared in jeopardy in April when Roanoke's Ice Station, the place where the teams had practiced and held games for several seasons, closed because of dwindling business. With the closest ice rink about two hours away at Liberty University in Lynchburg, both clubs opted to contact the civic center booking department in hopes of securing a rink closer to home.

The teams had used the civic center for the same purposes before moving to the Ice Station several years before but figured a return to their old stomping grounds might be a long shot after the Vipers' May departure. There were no guarantees the civic center would continue to roll out the ice in the absence of its minor league team.

"There was a lot of uncertainty, and it was a big trial-and-error process ... trying to get this all worked out," said Radford club president Bryan Fender.

The pieces finally began to fall in place after negotiations with civic center booking representative Wanda Pilkinton, who said the teams were "ecstatic" upon reaching an agreement to use the facility -- albeit at a rate of $150 an hour funded by club dues and a stipend the clubs receive from the universities.

"We've really enjoyed being in the Roanoke Civic Center," said Michael Spradlin, who serves as volunteer coach for the Tech team. "The transition was smooth and seamless almost. As a matter of fact, they've almost kind of welcomed us."

The civic center has also welcomed fans to attend the games free of charge with open concessions. The club games have attracted audiences of several hundred.

"It's kind of exciting playing in front of 3, 400, 500 people rather than just a few," Fender said.

Next semester, when the clubs play all their games at other hockey rinks scattered across Virginia and North Carolina, will pose a whole new set of challenges.

"It's a bit of a hassle having to go on the road the whole semester," Fender said. "Usually, we would like to spread it out: a week home, a week away. ... It's going to be tough this semester going on the road every week."

The clubs hope to reclaim the civic center for games again in the fall of 2007, but there are no certainties.

"A lot of these boys have been playing little league, travel hockey their entire lives," said Tech club manager Courtney O'Neal. "For them to lose it really would be losing a part of what they've always had with them when they go to school. ... It'd be sad to see that go away."

http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/sports/wb/wb/xp-95193

[FlameDad]

$150 per hour or per practice slot is a steal - ice time in Philly 'burbs is twice that number.

Liberty has their own rink but the D2 team still plays at 10:30 PM, even when the D1 team is out of town....

[givemethemic]

That's my man good old JT, I went to High school with him and he just graduated from VT... Biggest Nascar fan I know...

[bigsmooth]

no one cares that the writer is a neckcar fan or that you went to high school with him! quit post padding loser. and back to the thread, it is a shame those teams can't get more ice time, but it is an issue the flames battled for years.

[PAmedic]

"It's kind of exciting playing in front of 3, 400, 500 people rather than just a few," Fender said.

oh, to know the thrill of playing in front of 500 fans

actually, we've been there- but what an atmosphere you get by having your own ice ON CAMPUS. I seem to recall a lengthy thread on another board where that came up........... remember too, a lot of doubters. Once again- TOLD YA SO!

anyway- sorta surprised the folks at the Polytechnical Institute haven't been able to throw together a refigerated pole barn with a set of bleachers. Isn't this type of engineering thing supposedly why the school was established to begin with? I mean, they ARE the states largest university- how expensive could it be?

Esp w/ little ol' LU doing it- they really need to step up.

[givemethemic]

You caught me Smoothie...

[ATrain]

Actually Medic, the state's largest university would be George Mason University. Too bad for Radford and VT though. Hopefully they can work things out next semester, I'm sure if the Civic Center couldn't accomodate them then maybe something could work out with us

[SuperJon]

I doubt they're driving an hour and a half for practice.

[jimflamesfan]

Ice time is a crazy thing. When I played in High School...we'd have games that would start at 10 or 11PM, because we had to play later. We'd take a bus to pittsburgh to play at 11PM, and we'd get back at our school parking lot at 4AM. What fun.

But there is an answer. Synthetic Ice. You can Google it - there's a couple of companies that make it. It's not that expensive, and it lays down like tile. You'd think that they could at least find a level parking lot that they could build some boards around and put some synthetic ice on. I think that's the cheapest way to go.