INUVIK - There was a moment in the 1960s when Roy Ipana considered leaving Inuvik for Fort Good Hope to cash in on the mini oil boom there at the time.

He was a heavy equipment operator and such workers were desperately needed there, according to his close friend Harold Cook, who was living in the community at the time.

With his father's original jersey in the foreground, Mickey Ipana thanks everyone involved in Friday's ceremony to rename the arena in Roy Ipana's honour. - Andrew Rankin/NNSL photos

"He had lots of friends there. We would have gladly welcomed him," he said.

Luckily for Inuvik, he stayed put.

On Friday evening his friends, family and hundreds of residents gathered at the arena to commemorate Ipana's life by renaming the structure the Roy "Sugloo" Ipana Memorial Arena.

Appropriately the event happened in the middle of the four-day IRC Cup tournament, of which he was a founding member.

"We came specifically to hear the speeches for him and about him because he was a great man and that's not just my opinion but the opinion of the whole community and the Delta," said Tanya Gruben, who attended the ceremony.

She said having the arena named in Ipana's honour is great acknowledgement for all he did for the community.

"He was special," she said. "He always gave you a warm feeling because every gesture he made was from the heart."

Cook, a founding IRC tournament member who worked and played hockey with Ipana in town for several years, came from Yellowknife to speak at the event. In a warm and funny address, Cook talked of Ipana's warrior presence on the ice, where he playfully suggested his own teammates were afraid of him, and his relentless commitment to developing hockey in the Delta.

His number 7 Old Dogs jersey was retired in an emotional address by current Old Dogs' assistant captain Kurt Wainman, who shared a hug with Ipana's wife Sandra after the unveiling. The jersey will be placed inside the complex's trophy case.

As rough-and-tumble as Ipana could be on the ice, Cook said he was known for his compassion and love of people, especially for his family.

"To sit at the dinner table with Roy and his family, there was such love and harmony," he said. "Roy could eat like he was not going to eat again. But he was a spiritual guide for us all."

Nellie Cournoyea, Inuvialuit Regional Corporation chair and CEO, was among the many friends and dignitaries who expressed similar sentiments at the event. She had worked in a variety of capacities with Ipana over the years.

"Believe in all the ones who have little things to offer," she said. "It doesn't have to be big, but everybody counts. Don't be afraid to love your neighbour. Don't be afraid to offer compassion when others need it.

"These are not necessarily my words, these are the words that Roy and I and others aspired to make sure our people go in that direction."

Event organizer and emcee Vince Sharpe, Ipana's brother-in-law, exchanged his old Town of Inuvik ball cap and flannel work shirt for a dapper suit, complete with a tie and black overcoat.

A sign reading Home of The Roy "Sugloo" Ipana Memorial Arena was also unveiled at the ceremony, which will be placed in front of the complex.

The town as well as the Gwich'in Tribal Council and Inuvialuit Regional Corporation will also place plaques at the complex in tribute of Ipana's service to Inuvik.