Home-ice advantage
Rostraver Ice Garden owner Jim Murphy, left, reacts on live TV Saturday to winning the national Hockeyville USA title. Also shown is Chris Kostick, equipment manager for California University of Pennsylvania’s hockey teams.
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ mascot Iceburgh poses for photos with local hockey players Saturday at Rostraver Ice Garden.
Rostraver Ice Garden
BELLE VERNON – They raised the roof Saturday at a place where it collapsed seven years ago.
Rostraver Ice Garden is the 2017 Kraft Hockeyville USA winner, garnering more online, text and Twitter votes than fellow finalist, Bloomington (Minn.) Ice Garden, in the search for “America’s most passionate hockey community.”
“This is awesome!” gushed Jim Murphy, longtime owner of the arena off Route 51. He pledges to devote the $150,000 first-prize money to upgrades. Rostraver also earned the opportunity to host a National Hockey League exhibition game Sept. 24 between the Penguins and St. Louis. The Penguins made a large social media push for the local rink.
Bloomington also benefited, taking in $75,000 for taking second.
The winner was revealed during an afternoon “watch party” that drew an estimated 700 boisterous supporters to the rink, which is used by ice hockey teams from California University of Pennsylvania, area high schools and the Mon Valley Thunder youth program. Word came down during the first intermission of the New York Rangers-Ottawa Senators Stanley Cup playoff game, which was being televised by NBC Sports and shown on a large-screen TV.
Anticipation mounted as the crowd – urged by the public address announcer – “practiced” its cheer several times during the intermission, ramping up the volume with each take. Then at 4:04 p.m., Sydney Banasick, a student at Rostraver Middle School, held up a sign: “WE WON!”
The response was deafening.
Near the boards of one end zone, Murphy and Chris Kostick, the Cal U. senior who nominated the Rostraver rink for the competition, sat with microphones in hand, lights illuminating their faces, and gleefully consented to a live NBC interview of several minutes.
Kostick, a Harrisburg area resident, is the equipment manager for Cal U.’s three ice hockey teams, two for men, one for women. His motivation to nominate was simple.
“I’m at this rink five or six nights a week during the season. Seeing how important this is to the community and considering the tough things this arena has gone through inspired me to keep the spirit of hockey here,” said Kostick, who was accompanied by a large entourage of Cal U. players and fans.
He said he was a little surprised, but gratified when he found out Rostraver endured two rounds of voting to reach the final two. He said in an interview a half-hour before the verdict was revealed, “I’m pretty nervous. I’m not sure which way this will go. But I am hopeful.”
His hopes were realized. So were Murphy’s. He has owned the facility for 25 years, nearly half of its 52-year lifespan. The weight of a heavy snow caused the roof to collapse in 2010. Through diligence, hard work and a steep financial cost, Murphy reopened the rink eight months later. Saturday’s triumph was huge personally.
“This money is going to help a lot,” said Murphy, 70, a Bethel Park resident bearing white hair, a white mustache and a white Thunder jersey. He said he plans to use the funds to replace a 125-ton compressor, the current lighting with LED lamps and the manifold eight-inch pipes for making ice – and to spruce up flooring in the lobby.
This is the third year of the Kraft Hockeyville USA event, and two Western Pennsylvania facilities have won. Johnstown’s War Memorial Arena captured the inaugural title in 2015.
Ashley Miller of Johnstown, who was involved with her local rink’s victory, was in Rostraver Ice Garden Saturday, supporting its candidacy.
“When I saw (one of the finalists was Pittsburgh), I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, we have to help them bring it back here,'” she said, adding each winning arena also gets its name emblazoned on a cup that it keeps for a year, before handing it over to the next champ – similar to the Stanley Cup itself.
By raising the roof, Rostraver Ice Garden has raised the bar.