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The Fergus Falls Otters travel to Red Lake Falls tonight and play at the Cardin-Hunt Arena. ClassAGuy says it’s one of the coldest rinks in MN. Would like to hear from other people on opinions of the coldest rinks in MN (past or present rinks).

My coldest rinks-

Former Simley Bubble (Inver Grove Heights)

Lily Lake (Stillwater)

St. Mary’s Point (Lakeland)

Oscar Johnson (Saint Paul)

Long Prairie Fairgrounds

Ted Johnson Arena-Park Rapids

Nymore in Bemidji
Hallock

BSUBeaver wrote: ↑Fri Jan 13, 2023 8:57 am Long Prairie Fairgrounds

Ted Johnson Arena-Park Rapids

YES, to the Long Prairie Fairground

#1 I think is Fryberger Arena "The Freezer" up in Duluth.

elliott70 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 13, 2023 9:02 am Nymore in Bemidji
Hallock

Ol' Nymore, good call!

I remember being in a rink I think in Benson that was very chilly. I remember there were ice patches in the fan area you had to be careful or you could slip and destroy yourself.

The tin shed that is the Ely arena. But the hardest, fastest ice around.

The old quonset in Williams was a refrigerator.

Minnehaha is the coldest rink in the metro area. Man, did parents bitch when we had games scheduled there! As a player I loved it once you warmed up.

The old rink in Cloquet, dirt floors, the kids walk on mats from the locker room to the rink. Good hard ice though

gopherpuck516 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 13, 2023 3:07 pm Minnehaha is the coldest rink in the metro area. Man, did parents bitch when we had games scheduled there! As a player I loved it once you warmed up.

Fryberger has always gotten all of the press in the Twin Ports, but the old Proctor Arena was almost as cold. Anything built with sheet metal in the 70’s did not have any warmth factor in the blueprints. To your point, the players loved it. It’s impossible to be cold playing Hockey out of the wind and the ice was amazing!

I'd have to throw a vote for Hodkins-Berardo ( still may have been West Range Arena) in Coleraine in the 60s before artificial ice. -30 & they had the garage doors open! Of course, if a Region 7 powerhouse showed up for a game the crowd would add 20 degrees to the atmosphere & the frost would drip from the rafters.
Even now it was pretty chilly in there before the new heating system a few years ago.

There is a difference between playing in and watching in.

For me playing was the old Shattuck arena, they shut the water off when the ground got to cold. No resurfacing of the ice, they would just scrape it. Mark Dusbabek (future Gopher and Viking) broke panes of glass there, often….requiring long stoppages where you just got colder.

As a fan, Fairmont’s old arena was in a barn, one net was actually outside.

I was never there but Indus was the last outside high school rink in the state I believe. Fairmont was considered an indoor rink.

Bagley had outdoor ice well into the 90’s
Maybe the 2000’s

ClassAGuy wrote: ↑Fri Jan 13, 2023 9:36 am

BSUBeaver wrote: ↑Fri Jan 13, 2023 8:57 am Long Prairie Fairgrounds

Ted Johnson Arena-Park Rapids

YES, to the Long Prairie Fairground

#1 I think is Fryberger Arena "The Freezer" up in Duluth.

I remember my son playing in a tournament at Freezeberger. Of course Duluth gave us the first game on a Saturday morning. It was so cold, the fans couldn’t see the game through the glass due to so much ice buildup on them. Just another reason for hating the hounds!

BodyShots wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 6:13 pm

ClassAGuy wrote: ↑Fri Jan 13, 2023 9:36 am

BSUBeaver wrote: ↑Fri Jan 13, 2023 8:57 am Long Prairie Fairgrounds

Ted Johnson Arena-Park Rapids

YES, to the Long Prairie Fairground

#1 I think is Fryberger Arena "The Freezer" up in Duluth.

I remember my son playing in a tournament at Freezeberger. Of course Duluth gave us the first game on a Saturday morning. It was so cold, the fans couldn’t see the game through the glass due to so much ice buildup on them. Just another reason for hating the hounds!

There’s literally ice on the bench it’s so friggin cold in there…. And I don’t know if it’s me but for a newer rink, I always find Pagel to be freezing. Great in the summer though.

The Ramsey County arena in Shoreview where Mounds View used to play was cold as a winter moon. You had to go outside to warm up.

That old barn in Cloquet was pretty chilly too.

I'll second Stillwater's Lily Lake but my first thought was Ramsey County's Shoreview arena--SEC Scotty nailed it. Only been to Tartan's arena once and it was on one of the coldest days ever and that arena was so cold that luke warm water warmed us up. Most crisp skating I've ever heard.

Rails Hockey wrote: ↑Fri Jan 13, 2023 7:13 pm

gopherpuck516 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 13, 2023 3:07 pm Minnehaha is the coldest rink in the metro area. Man, did parents bitch when we had games scheduled there! As a player I loved it once you warmed up.

Fryberger has always gotten all of the press in the Twin Ports, but the old Proctor Arena was almost as cold. Anything built with sheet metal in the 70’s did not have any warmth factor in the blueprints. To your point, the players loved it. It’s impossible to be cold playing Hockey out of the wind and the ice was amazing!

Yes, the old Proctor arena..............I dont remember Hermantown being that warm as well (but that was 20 years ago so maybe it is different now)

ClassAGuy wrote: ↑Fri Jan 13, 2023 9:36 am

BSUBeaver wrote: ↑Fri Jan 13, 2023 8:57 am Long Prairie Fairgrounds

Ted Johnson Arena-Park Rapids

YES, to the Long Prairie Fairground

#1 I think is Fryberger Arena "The Freezer" up in Duluth.

AKA Freezeberger
The Benson arena / converted corn flat storage gets my vote.

OtterPuck wrote: ↑Fri Jan 13, 2023 8:54 am The Fergus Falls Otters travel to Red Lake Falls tonight and play at the Cardin-Hunt Arena. ClassAGuy says it’s one of the coldest rinks in MN. Would like to hear from other people on opinions of the coldest rinks in MN (past or present rinks).

My coldest rinks-

Former Simley Bubble (Inver Grove Heights)

Lily Lake (Stillwater)

St. Mary’s Point (Lakeland)

Oscar Johnson (Saint Paul)

Saddle dome