Home Sweet Home

Optimist Ice Arena

Location: Jackson, MI


The next, and final, arena that I will be analyzing in my blog is the Optimist Ice Arena, which used to be home to the Jackson Generals.

I learned to skate and play ice hockey at Optimist Arena. I began skating there when I was three years old and never looked back. The facility was my home arena until I was 10 years old, when I began playing hockey out of The Summit in Lansing. That didn't stop me from skating at Optimist, however, as I continued to skate there during the summer and at sticks and pucks.

I played house hockey in the arena until I was 7, and then I began playing travel hockey for the Jackson Generals at the age of 8. I played there for two seasons and was fortunate enough to be voted captain by my teammates. I had a great time with the Generals, but I had an opportunity to play with the Lansing Pride, which I took advantage of. Before leaving to play in Lansing, I would spend at least 4 nights a week at the Optimist Ice Arena. The hockey community in Jackson was like a family when I was younger. There were tons of house and travels teams that skated out of there. On the weekends, the rink would be packed from 7am until 11pm at night with game after game. It was an awesome environment and it definitely helped fuel my passion for the game.

There are two rinks in the arena. The "South Rink" is the older one. It underwent renovations when I was younger which brought it up to par with the "North Arena." The south arena has a press box located above the benches and has seating on one side of the arena. The lighting is much darker in this arena for some reason, but the ice is always excellent. The quality of the ice is the best feature of Optimist Ice Arena. The staff keeps the arenas cold; therefore, the ice stays hard and doesn't get chopped up as fast. One cool feature of the South Rink is that it has a Zamboni door that rises straight up electrically. Most arenas have doors that must be opened by the rink staff manually, but this allows them to push a button like a garage door.

The "North Rink" is newer and has more seating available for fans. The locker rooms are not overly spacious but they get the job done. There are four locker rooms for each rink and there are private locker rooms for the local high school hockey teams of Jackson High and Lumen Christi. I'm not certain of the maximum seating capacity of the arena but there is definitely a significant amount of seating. I'm a firm believer that Optimist Ice Arena would be a good venue for a junior hockey team, particularly a NAHL or NAHL3 team. There is a strong hockey community in Jackson, and I believe that there would be enough support to fund the team, but that's besides the point.

I fell in love with the game at Optimist Ice Arena in Jackson and even though I left at a young age to
play elsewhere, I owe it to that building for shaping me into the player that I am today. I still occasionally skate there in the summer time, and it always brings me joy to see little kids hopping on the ice with big smiles because it brings me back on my childhood. I hope that they find the same love for hockey, or whatever else in their lives, as I did for the game. I think it is fitting that I end my blog on the arena that started it all for me. I want to thank all of my teammates, coaches, and arena staff members for helping me along the way; I would not have done it without you.

And this brings me to the conclusion of my blog, Within the Glass. I hope that you have enjoyed my reflections on the venues that I have played in during my hockey career. I have had tremendous joy in sharing these posts with you guys, and if any of you are considering writing a blog, I would highly recommend doing so. Write about anything, whether is very personal and intimate, or just something you're passionate or curious about. I think it is an important and helpful habit to get in to.

For the last time, I want to thank you for following my blog throughout this semester. Although I will not longer be adding posts to this blog, I am still writing blog posts for a website called Wiser Fans. You can check out this link and you will be able to see my posts about the NHL. Thanks again!

- Joshua Lammon

War Memorial

Cambria County War Memorial Arena
Location: Johnstown, PA
Opened: 1950
Seating Capacity: 4001

The next arena I will be covering in my blog is the Cambria County War Memorial Arena, which is home to the Johnstown Tomahawks of the North American Hockey League.

The Johnstown Tomahawks were one of my favorite teams to play against during my time in the NAHL. It would
always be a chippy and physical game when we would play them, which is my style of hockey. The Tomahawks had an exuberant fan base and they were always extremely fired up. They nearly filled the arena every time we played there. I feed off of the spirit of a highly-energized crowd. Although the arena seats over 4000 fans, it is not very
spacious so the fans are packed tightly to the ice rink.

The arena is styled after professional arenas and that it has a concourse that wraps around the rink. They have multiple concession stands that sell food, drinks, and Tomahawks' apparel. Our locker room was located on the opposite side of the concourse as the arena so the arena staff would have to rope off the fans as we would walk towards the ice.

The ice was the biggest downfall of this arena. For whatever reason, the ice was very sticky which slowed the game down immensely. Because the arena itself was so small, it made the ice surface feel narrow which countered the slow ice. The boards were lively which also helped against the slow ice surface. The boards sat really high which made it difficult to jump over them and onto the ice. Even through the door, there was still a foot drop onto the ice.

I was not a fan of the travel that our team had to endure to get to Johnstown, PA. We had an 11-hour bus ride through the middle of nothing but corn fields, forests, and mountains. That was the nightmare of junior hockey; the long road trips. I dreaded going on these grueling trips but Johnstown's arena made the trek worth while.

One interesting fact about the arena is that it is the same arena that they filmed the movie Slap Shot in. Whether you are a hockey fan or not, I would recommend watching it. The Hanson Brothers will have you on laughing throughout the whole film. I actually met one of the Hanson brothers on my first visit to
Johnstown which was awesome.

In 2015, the arena also won the Kraft Hockeyville USA contest, which was a $150,000 award to undergo renovations for the rink. It also hosted an NHL preseason game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning, which as a cool event for a junior hockey arena.

Overall, Johntown's arena is actually much better than some of the NCAA arenas that I covered in earlier posts. It's old age and long history provide it with so tons of character. I would love to play in that arena again because I enjoyed the many times that previously played there.

Thank you for your continued support of my blog. Please feel free to share with your friends and family!

-  Joshua Lammon

Farewell Joe

Joe Louis Arena

Location: Detroit, MI

Opened: December 12, 1979

Seating Capacity: 20,027

I have covered all the NCAA ice arenas that I have played in. Therefore, the next arena I will be writing about is the Joe Louis Arena which is the former home of the Detroit Red Wings.

Joe Louis Arena was the home for the Detroit Red Wings since its opening in 1979. It has been named one of the toughest arenas to play in in the NHL. Most hockey fans referred to Detroit, and Joe Louis specifically, as Hockeytown. The Red Wings won four Stanley Cups while playing at the arena and they had an impressive 25 consecutive year playoff run that was snapped this season. Maybe it was fitting that the playoff streak ended the same year as LittleCaesars Arena takes the title from the Joe as “Home of the Detroit Red Wings.”

I have watched the Red Wings play at Joe Louis arena throughout my entire life. I have also skated there multiple times. Watching the Wings play inspired me to be the player I am today. I fell in love with the game of hockey partly by watching the winged-wheels on the Red Wings. I skated in the Red Wings’ youth hockey camp when I was younger. I had the chance to skate with some of the Wings’ coaching staff and gain some valuable lessons. The first game I played at Joe Louis was with the Jackson Generals. This was a youth team out of my hometown. I remember being super excited that I was going to play on the same ice as Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull, Sergei Federov, and Nicklas Lidstrom played on. I honestly can’t remember if we won or lost the game, or even who we played for that matter. But I remember skating on the ice and being in awe while looking at the legends who had their jerseys hanging in the rafters.

The next game I played at the Joe was during my last year of youth hockey for Victory Honda. I was much older this time around but that still doesn’t change the way I felt about playing there. Sure, I had matured a lot since the last time I skated there, but I still felt like a little kid stepping onto that ice. I remember that I played with a vicious cough that should have kept me out of the lineup, but there was no way in hell that I was going to miss that game. Luckily, I played through it because it would be the last time I ever play in the arena.

It should be obvious that the arena played like a professional arena. The glass and boards are extremely forgiving. They’re so forgiving that it almost makes you want to get hit into them…okay, maybe not that much. But still, you get the point. The boards are very lively, and fans would always hear Mickey Redmond and Ken Daniels mention that in their commentary. They would always explain why players intentionally miss the net to make an indirect pass to their teammates. The ice surface, however, was probably the best ice that I have ever skated on. The Joe was famous for having the best sheet of ice in the NHL. The staff took tremendous pride in the condition of the ice.

The Joe is considered one of the most historic arenas in the entire NHL and I’m just thankful that I was fortunate enough to not only grow up watching games there, but to also play in a few myself. The concourse is similar to that of a junior hockey arena. It was simplistic and small compared to modern arenas in the NHL; however, it had as much character as the best of them. There were murals painted of legends who wore the Red Wings jersey, pictures of Stanley Cup winning teams, and a sea of red walls and writing. Joe Louis Arena will always be home to the eight-legged octopus that represented the number of playoff wins it used to take to win the Stanley Cup. I was a huge supporter of the arena, and I am sad to see it go, but hopefully Little Caesars Arena lives up to its hype. Also, let’s hope that the Wings can get back to their winning ways in their first season at the new arena because its Hockeytown after all, right?

Let’s Go Red Wings!

Thank you for your continued support of my blog. Please feel free to share with your friends and family!

-  Joshua Lammon