Hockey games for novice participants are going to look a bit different this year. Hockey Canada has instituted new policies and rules that will see games switch to half-ice surface. The move presents a bit of a challenge for conventional rinks. A novel solution comes in the form of portable boards that can be quickly deployed onto the ice and interlocked, giving the half-ice space the look and feel of a full-sized arena.

The Humboldt Minor Hockey Association made the decision to purchase the portable boards using some of the funds from last year’s quad raffle fundraiser. Jason Holtvogt with the Humboldt Minor Hockey Association says that the new rules and ice size contributes to the game in a number of ways.

“It’s a much more exciting game for a lot of the kids. You’re forced to play small area games which makes the better players much better. They’re playing in traffic all the time, so there’s a lot more focus on puck handling. The players are able to improve their skill levels a lot more by playing in these tight areas. It’s just a better game situation for a lot of the kids.”

It’s those types of skills Holtvogt maintains that are important to develop at the novice level, players aged 7 and 8 years old, for the future. The new model provides a greater opportunity to learn positional play and master manoeuvering and passing. It also supports those players who may not have developed strong skating skills by allowing them to get involved in the play.” 

The boards themselves are made of aluminum coated with board plastic. The lightweight interlocking boards are easy to move on and off the ice and have curved corners to maintain a realistic flow of play. 

Holtvogt is enthusiastic about the new boards.

“They stay upright well. We got to try them out last weekend, and they worked fantastic and looked fantastic.”

The boards were locally supplied by 1Stop Playgrounds. The costs of the boards were not fully covered by existing fundraising, so the Humboldt Minor Hockey Association has opportunities for advertising along the new portables to meet offset the cost of this and other projects. Inquiries about advertising can be directed to the Humboldt Minor Hockey Association through Jason Holtvogt at (306) 231-8845.