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CORAL HARBOUR
So far, things are going better than expected with the concrete floor and thermosyphon system at the recently renovated Coral Harbour Arena.

Tommy Paliak displays the ice surface he was able to put in just one week after recent renovations were completed at the Coral Harbour Arena. - photo courtesy of Noel Kaludjak

Rink maintainer Tommy Paliak has been involved with making natural ice in Coral for decades, and he's not a man who's easily impressed.

Also a star defenceman during his senior men's hockey career, Paliak has spent more hours than he can remember in Kivalliq arenas over the years.

Paliak said the renovations at the Coral arena went until almost the end of November before he could finally begin flooding.

He said with the new system in place, he was able to have the ice surface ready to go in a week, including painting the lines, which was about half the usual amount of time.

"The only thing negative, if you want to call it that, I can say about our ice is that it's not the same as what we're used to," said Paliak.

"The ice is a lot harder now, so it tends to chip off a little more.

"The ice was softer when we had gravel, but it's a lot easier to get ready now.

"When you put the water on the concrete, it freezes right away."

Paliak said the Coral arena will be able to open earlier and close later in the season now.

He said he could be starting to freeze the ice by the end of September this year, as long as the temperature drops to about -10 C.

"Making natural ice on top of gravel, we had to wait for it to get down to about -20 C before we could start.

"This new system works by itself and we don't even have to check it.

"The only problem we've had so far was when we first put in the ice.

"The ice wasn't thick enough and we put in the white paint too early, so it shifted a bit on us and we had to chip a little ice off."

Paliak said the hockey players will get used to the harder ice once they've been on it for a few months.

He said the earlier start to the season next year will also mean the players will be in better shape when they start travelling to tournaments.

"The community is very pleased with the renovations, especially having the bleachers on the south end of the arena now.

"Everyone's already starting to look forward to the community hosting our senior men's tournament in March."

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