Valley packs the rink at 'Save LC Ice' event

Mar. 23—A standing ovation from a sold-out crowd followed the University of Idaho versus Washington State University club hockey game at the "Save LC Ice" event Saturday at LC Ice Arena.

The fundraiser event started at noon with free skating, games, a silent auction, raffles, live music and vendors and culminated with the 6 p.m. hockey game showdown. It did not end until nearly 9 p.m. with a 7-5 victory in favor of the Vandals.

But the players said that the event itself — a fundraiser for a new "chiller" to keep the venue alive — mattered more than the game.

Micah Clark, a WSU club hockey player who grew up in Pullman, said that he has been playing at LC Ice Arena since he was 5 years old. He said that he was happy with what the two teams were able to accomplish.

"I grew up coming to this rink for years, driving from Pullman to practice and play games here," Clark said. "So to see it continue and see all the kids here with their families and continue to make memories like I did when I was a kid — it's a great feeling."

Many of the people that put on the event were stunned by the community involvement and the willingness to show up to a venue that needed support.

The chiller acts like a generator to maintain the arena's ice. It is 37 years old and is quickly approaching failure. The cost of a new chiller ranges from $450,000-$600,000.

If the chiller fails, LC Ice Arena will be forced to stop all activities.

Stopping all activities would mean no place to skate for more than 100 kids who use the rink for hockey. It would also halt adult leagues and open free skates during the winter months. The next-nearest ice rink is in Moscow, which would mean limited ice time for the kids. They would have to share the rink with UI and WSU and other teams around the area.

Nate Parker, the president of the Lewis Clark Amateur Hockey Association, said that he could not be happier with the turnout, which was about "100-times better" than he expected. He said for the UI vs. WSU game itself, LCAHA sold over 350 tickets.

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"I love this community because when they see issues like this, they get involved. It's amazing to see the community come out and help when they know there's a need," Parker said.

The main draw of the event was the UI vs. WSU club hockey game. It was four-on-four instead of the usual five-on-five due to the smaller ice rink.

Idaho jumped to an early lead and it led 4-0 at the end of the first period. WSU scored a pair of goals in the second period, Idaho struck back and the score was 5-2 at the end of the frame.

The Cougars fought back, literally, with a pair of fights in the third period, but also scored three goals compared to the Vandals' one and were down just 6-5 with 2:05 remaining in the game. However, Idaho scored on an empty-netter to seal the game at 7-5.

Idaho's Benton Wilson and Noah Goertzen led the Vandals in scoring with two goals each.

Mack Hagenbaugh, a player on UI's hockey club who grew up in Moscow, said that he played at the LC Ice Arena for his whole childhood. He started playing when he was also 5 years old. He said that he loved seeing everyone come together to support the arena.

"I've never seen anything come together like this in this kind of rink. This is awesome. The whole community came together, everybody showed out, I just hope it accomplishes what they're hoping for. It's a good show of the hockey community and what it can do," Hagenbaugh said.

Anna Helmich, who is part of the chiller committee at LCAHA and helped create the "Save LC Ice" event, said that the hockey community is incredible and that the venue brings something for people to do in the valley.

"We have had a ton of community support once they started hearing and getting the word out there," Helmich said. "We have people donating their time to advertise it and what we're needing. I think making this a big event and welcoming the whole community has been a big support to us, knowing that they also want to keep the rink here too."

Junt can be reached at 208-848-2258, tjunt@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @TrevorJunt.

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