The year 2020 is in the rearview mirror. I don’t know about your family, but I don’t think there’s been a year when we’ve gone through a December without watching It’s A Wonderful Life at least three or four times, and last year was no exception. You may remember the scene when the pack of youngsters is playing on the frozen pond and George’s brother falls through the ice, and if so you might be a bit leery about strapping on the ol’ ice skates this winter and heading out to the ol’ mill pond. Well, no need to worry about it, because Reno has a brand-new ice rink opening up, with plans for the doors to be open for business any day now. Photo at left: Pixabay.
The official title is a mouthful – Reno Ice: The Jennifer M. O'Neal Community Ice Arena. When everything is up and running for public skating, there will be some health and safety protocols for the facility, such as everyone will need to wear a mask, the number of skaters will be capped at 50 people and there will be no walk-up admission; people who want to skate will need to sign up online beforehand. Down the road when the pandemic restrictions are lifted, the rink plans to offer group admissions and a monthly pass program. Photo at right: Facebook, Reno Ice: The Jennifer M. O'Neal Community Ice Arena.
The rink’s hockey director is Mike Harder, who has 13 seasons as a pro-player in the U.S. and throughout Europe. The facility operations director is Shane Truskolaski, who worked on the rinks for the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea and also a bit closer to home at the Utah Olympic Oval. And the skating director is Joanie Malarchuk. She holds a whole slew of certifications and experience, including being a USFS double gold medalist and having nearly four decades of coaching experience. She’s also married to former NHL goalie Clint Malarchuk, so he’ll probably be hanging around the rink now and then too.
But the opening of Reno Ice isn’t the only ice-skating news for the area. Rumor has it that the National Hockey League is going to hold two of their regular-season games up at Lake Tahoe, on the South Shore at Edgewood Resort. The schedule is for the Colorado Avalanche to play the Golden Knights from Las Vegas on February 20 and for the Boston Bruins to go up against the Philadelphia Flyers the next day on the 21st. Don’t plan on making the drive up, though, because there are no fans allowed at the games. The plan is to construct a temporary ice rink near the 18th hole and to televise the event on NBC. So no San Jose Sharks this time around, although I guess it’s kind of nice to at least have the Silver State represented. Photo at right: Facebook, Edgewood Tahoe.
And I’d be remiss not to mention that the rink at the Grand Sierra Resort is also open for the season. Health and safety protocols are similar to those announced at Reno Ice, with a maximum of 50 skaters at a time and a strict mask requirement. The schedule is set for multiple hourly sessions with time in-between to clean the ice and watch the Zamboni. Log onto the GSR website to reserve your session, and you can bring your own skates or rent some on-site.
About the Author Keith Rugg
R. Keith Rugg has worked on staff for a number of local publications, including Lake Tahoe Action Magazine, the Tahoe Daily Tribune and the Reno Gazette-Journal.
