03/16/2006

'Pond hockey'

Backyard rink means fun under the stars

Record-Eagle/Jan-Michael Stump
Dave Johnston and his friends play hockey on his lighted backyard rink. The rink is equipped with lighting and boards to keep the puck in bounds.

TRAVERSE CITY — Back when Gordie Howe, Alex Delvecchio and Frank Mahovlich were leading the Detroit Red Wings "Production Line," David Johnston, Rick Cook, Ken Olsen and Dick Mann were just graduating from high school in a Detroit suburb.

Some 30 years after going their separate ways, the former Livonia Clarenceville classmates are back together again and leading their own "Production Line" — on Johnston's backyard ice rink in Traverse City.

The friends were reunited after settling in northern Michigan, where they often played hockey together at the Almira Township ice rink. About nine years ago, Johnston decided to build his own rink on his one-acre wooded lot near Long Lake.

Now they play about three times a week on the 50-by-100-foot lighted rink, which is about half the size of a National Hockey League regulation rink. More often than not, they're joined by other friends, family, neighbors and co-workers, who together range in age from 6 to 70.

"It's for fun, but it's still competitive," said Johnston, 54, who used to play in men's hockey leagues. "Everyone's trying hard out there and there is some contact. When we get done, everyone's soaking wet with sweat."

The games start at about 7:30 p.m. on weekdays and 5 p.m. on Sundays and are usually over by 9. Johnston keeps them friendly and safe with a few simple rules. The puck has to stay on the ice. No slap shots, and no checking. Sides are randomly chosen after players toss their sticks into a pile on the ice.

"We don't play fully equipped, so to speak, so it's not a goal if the puck is off the ice," said Olsen, who grew up watching hockey on Canadian television but didn't pick up skates until he was 42. "It's not about getting injured, it's about having fun."

Dee-Dee Gorno plays forward on women's leagues in Traverse City and Cadillac, but prefers the camaraderie of Johnston's outdoor rink.

"It's really neat to have the multi-generational people come together and have such fun together," said Gorno, who played with the group for the first time this year. "Everyone's laughing and having fun."

Gorno, 39, calls the games "old-style shinney hockey," or "pond" hockey.

"What's fun about it is you're outdoors, you're under the stars," she said. "Because there's not referees, you've got to be respectful of the other players."

Johnston and his friends put in hundreds of hours each season building and maintaining the ice rink. The work starts at Thanksgiving, when they erect boards around the perimeter that are made from painted scrap lumber and chicken wire.

After the first good snow, Johnston starts packing down the fluff for a base, using a garden tractor and a lawn roller. When the weather turns cold enough for the ground to hold water, he begins the long process of flooding the rink, which is topped by eight 550-watt halogen lights on long poles.

Even then, the work isn't finished. The ice must be shoveled off after every snowfall with a tractor and snow-throwers, and constantly replenished as chips, cracks and thaws take their toll. Johnston has gradually worked to make the rink better by leveling the ground under it and removing some surrounding trees.

"It's like a part-time job," said Johnston, who works full-time as a tool and dye maker for Lear Corporation. "It's just constant upkeep and repair."

"There's years he puts, on top of his job, 35, 40 hours a week into it," added Olsen. This season was worse than usual for outdoor ice rinks around the area, said Amy Rosa, administrative assistant for Benzie County's Almira Township, which has maintained a rink for at least 10 years.

"We had it a few times last year, but it kept melting because the weather was so funny," Rosa said. "We didn't even try it this year because it started out so funny."

Poor weather conditions also mean poor playing conditions, Johnston noted.

"We only plays if it's below freezing, and then there's snowstorms," he said. "This year was one of the worst. The whole month of January we did nothing. We'd just get ready to do something and it would melt. January was one big thaw."

If they're lucky, he and his friends may get in a few more games before they start taking down the rink at the end of the month.

"I could go to Centre Ice or Howe Arena and play in the men's league," said Johnston, "but it's nice to put your skates on right at home and walk right out the door."