Palmer wins with ice

J's World/Jeremiah Bartz

I have a feeling there might be a change in Palmer. A good change.

A change in attitude. A change in atmosphere.

More people may be carrying around sticks and the use of the word 'eh' could rise exponentially.

Why?

Palmer finally has its own ice rink.

Yes, Palmer has a pond, a barn, a rink; whatever you'd like to call it. Palmer is now a small town hockey community and it is about time.

Despite a growing interest and great success of youth and prep hockey programs in the Valley, the little town bordering the Matanuska River has long been without the indoor ice.

All those looking for an alternative to skating the local lakes or the slick Palmer side roads have had to make that 10-mile trek to Wasilla and the Brett Memorial Ice Arena, or just recently the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Rink. With little indoor ice in the Valley, the average Palmerite might have had an easier time finding a service station in Canada that sold gas by the gallon, than a measly hour on the indoor ice.

But that is all over now, Palmer has its own barn tucked in the trees right across the street from Palmer Junior Middle School. And if the roads stay slick enough, the average hockey loving seventh grader skate could lace up his (or her) skates duirng math class at PJMS and skate right on over to the rink.

The biggest winners in the long term may be the Palmer High hockey program. For years the Moose have struggled on the ice, because they struggle to keep people in the program. The lack of local ice and the lack a youth hockey program can be reasons for Palmer's small roster.

The Moose have lost students interested in hockey to their regional rivals. Players compete in the Big Lake and Wasilla-based youth competitive teams and move on to compete with the likes of Colony, Wasilla and Houston.

Other players interested in hockey do not get a chance to learn the game, because they do not get the chance to get on the ice prior to high school. Many do not have the means to travel even 10 miles to hit a daily practice.

With the new indoor ice, the door is opened for a youth program based in Palmer. And in a few years, the Moose will see not only their numbers, but checks in the win column increase.